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War remnants museum Saigon Vietnam

Vietnam: War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City

Date: 24 October 2019

After starting the day at Ben Thanh Market and Mariamman Hindu Temple in the morning, Independence Palace and Norodom Palace Exhibit in the afternoon, I decided to head to Nguyen Hue Street.

Tree Ho Chi Minh city
I decided to walk it as it wasn’t too far away

Nguyen Hue Street is a 60 metre wide promenade and the largest such open public space in Saigon. I’ll showcase more from Nguyen Hue and its surroundings in a later post.

People's Committee building Ho Chi Minh City
This is the People’s Committee building Ho Chi Minh City. It used to be a grand hotel during the French colonial era but now it’s a government building and not open to the public.

I came to this area because Citibank has an office right on Nguyen Hue Street. I wanted to use the ATM to withdraw cash as there was no withdrawal fee for Citibank card holders.

Vietnam Citibank ATM withdrawal Indian rupees
I withdrew 3 million VND for the above rate. There was maybe a ₹100 +/- difference compared to the rate quoted on XE.com. This was far more cost effective than buying USD in India and then exchanging them here.

I walked around the area to find a Vietnamese restaurant but one that had a menu in English. I wanted to eat anything besides Pho and Banh Mi, which I planned to eat later and both are dishes I could find plenty of everywhere around my hotel.

I sat down at a restaurant where most of the diners were Japanese for some reason… but I forgot to note down the name :/

I was most amused by these water-activated compressed coin/tablet towels. Apparently a Japanese innovation. You get them at Daiso stores but I managed to find them on Amazon India too.

When the waiter first gave me one, I nearly popped it in my mouth thinking it was a mint candy! The waiter told me to pour water on it but didn’t laugh at me. I’m guessing it’s a mistake he’s seen many make when first presented with such a novelty.

Green fried rice prawns sake
The Com Chien Toi (garlic fried rice) was crap… but the Tom Chien Sake (shrimp fried with sake) was delicious. Along with a beer, lunch cost me 270,000 VND (₹870/$11.25/€10.30) — a bit on the higher end for Vietnam but then again, I was in an expensive part of the city.

Post lunch, I hailed a Grab bike taxi and headed towards the War Remnants Museum. I did take videos along the way and you can watch the ‘vlog’ I made; it’s at the end of this post.

Chinook helicopter Vietnam war Saigon
There are lot of US Army military vehicles and artillery on display outside the main building
American tank Vietnam war Saigon
A lot of them were abandoned after US forces fled Vietnam having lost the war
US Army bulldozer flame thrower Vietnam war
Now all this are on display as remnants of the tools US forces used on Vietnamese soil
F5 jet Vietnam war Ho Chi Mnh
And in the air. This is an F5 fighter jet.

There are more planes on display, some of which were shot down by North Vietnamese forces. I’m not going to upload all the photos I took. (Sorry, but it’s a lot of work)

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Reunification palace Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam

Vietnam: Independence Palace and Norodom Palace Exhibit

Date: 24 October 2019

I began my sightseeing around Ho Chi Minh City with quick stops at Ben Thanh Market and Mariamman Hindu Temple in the morning. Next on my itinerary was going to be Saigon’s Independence Palace.

Sushi Tei Ho Chi Minh city
Using Google Maps, I walked towards Independence Palace
Blue building Ho Chi Minh city-vietnam
Lots of colourful buildings in this part of the city
Huyen Tran Cong Chua Vietnam
I entered this green space
Tao Dan Park lawns Vietnam
This is a part of Tao Dan Park — the largest public park in Ho Chi Minh City
Tao Dan park sculpture Vietnam
You have a bunch of sculptures… and benches to rest on
Ho Chi Minh boulevard Vietnam
As I walked towards the entrance, it was nice to see the remnants of French city planning in these boulevards. Makes this part of Ho Chi Minh City all the more scenic.
Independence palace exhibition building tickets
The exhibit ‘From Norodom Palace to Independence Palace, 1868-1966’ is housed inside this building

Tickets to the Independence Palace costs 40,000 VND as does the individual ticket to the exhibit. But the combination ticket costs 65,000 VND (₹210/$2.7/€2.5) and that’s what I opted for.

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Ben Thanh Hindu temple Ho Chi Minh city

Vietnam: Ben Thanh Market and Mariamman Hindu Temple, Ho Chi Minh City

Date: 24 October 2019

After arriving in Ho Chi Minh City from Phuket yesterday afternoon, I was going to begin my sightseeing today.

Dinh Phat hotel lobby Saigon
I went down to the lobby (of the hotel I was staying at) for my breakfast

Breakfast options were from a set menu list. It was pretty much a choice of Vietnamese breakfast options (noodles, noodle soup, fried rice) or Bánh Mì (Vietnamese for bread). But what bread is to Vietnamese is essentially their take on the French baguette.

Bánh Mì egg fry breakfast
Since I don’t like Asian fare for my breakfast, I stuck to Bánh Mì with omelette and sausage.

On the way out, close by was a tour agency. I inquired about a few tours and their prices were lower than what I saw quoted online.

Day tours from Ho Chi Minh costs
I booked the Mekong Delta 1 day tour. To get picked up for the tour, I merely have to step out of my hotel and just walk a few steps to this tour office.

I then walked a few metres from the hotel to Ben Thanh market, my first stop for the day.

Ben Thanh market entrance Saigon
Ben Thanh market is one of the oldest surviving markets in Sai Gon and is open daily from 6am to 6pm
Ho Chi Minh city Ben Thanh area
The Ben Thanh market junction is very busy and sees heavy traffic flow. The blue walls you see in the photo is part of the construction of Ho Chi Minh City’s metro.

After 6pm until 10pm, the Ben Thanh market area all around the building turns into a night market with plenty of street vendors selling wares and food.

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