If you are wondering why sightseeing in Viet Nam is venturing, then you need to find the answer when you get there and you will be amazed. If you have been there, then, you definitely know it is a risk doing sightseeing by foot on the road.
Well, Ho Chi Minh City is indeed an amazing city. It has a lot to offer to a traveler like me who is seeking for fun and adventure. In Ho Chi Minh City or also known as Saigon, you will see great and magnificent piece of architectural designs inspired from Europe. To mention the places I’ve been to are:
1. Saigon Opera House
It is located in the famous shopping street of Dong Khoi. Saigon Opera House is inspired in a French colonial architecture. Every night, they have a show for an affordable fee.
Saigon Opera House
The AO Show in Saigon Opera House
2. Dong Khoi Street
The street itself is a tourist attraction. It has wide choices of store known locally and internationally. Thus, a lot of tourists comes to this street to shop.
Dong Khoi Street
3. People’s Committee Hall
They also called it Ủy Ban Nhân Dân Thành Phố Building. Too shame that I didn’t appreciate the view due to the current construction of a subway yet I was able to get some photos of the building. The façade of the building was amazing.
UBND Thanh Pho Building
4. Reunification Palace
The Reunification Palace is also one of the attractions in Viet Nam. It has an entrance fee and opens from 0800H to 1200H with 1 hour lunch break and resumes from 1300H to 1600H daily. It is known also as the Independence Palace. I have decided not to go inside because there were a lot of tourists and maybe it was overcrowded. I saw almost 5 big buses coming inside so, I have thought to just take pictures outside the palace.
Reunification Palace
5. Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica
The cathedral is in honor of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. It is located in downtown city and is also inspired in a French architecture. Upon seeing the cathedral, I was astonished with its magnificent design. I have the opportunity to look on the interior design and it was stunning. Since I am a Catholic, I sat down and spent almost an hour of prayers there. I made also a wish because it was my first time to get inside the church. My family does that whenever we entered a new church.
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica
View Inside the Basilica
6. Central Post Office
It is just across the street from Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica. Currently, they are doing restoration on the right wing of the building. But it still looked great.
Central Post Office
7. Bến Thành Market
This market is so famous in the country. It is a large marketplace in central Ho Chi Minh and is popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, souvenirs, as well as local food cuisine. Most vendors here were wearing the national costume called áo dài. When you want to buy something, you can haggle the price until you can buy it at its lowest cost. I bought my souvenir here.
Ben Thanh Market
Souvenir
Here is the tour map I followed during my free and easy tour and I did that by foot without any help of anything that has wheels.
Tour Map
OK, too much has been featured about this city yet you might still wonder why sightseeing in the country is risky. Well, in Viet Nam, most of the locals travel by motorcycle. They can take the motorbikes wherever they want to go, they even use footpaths as roads just to get away from traffic. So, if you are not careful enough, you might get hit by motorbike while walking in the sidewalk.
To sum it up, wandering in Ho Chi Minh City felt like I was somewhere in France. As you all know, Viet Nam has been under the French for quite some time during the years of 1862 to 1945. That might be the reason that most structures and buildings in the city are influenced by French.
The Traveler Carl 