Here We Come, Ho Chi Minh!

What's cool about traveling in continental Asia is that it makes it easier for us to travel overland, from one country to the next. I first had a taste of overland travel when my Ate Richie and I went to Malaysia, coming from Singapore. The thrill of crossing borders didn't escape me since then.

After the trip around Phnom Penh, it was high time that I leave the hotel for the Mekong Express Bus Station. It was a different experience from the Mekong Express bus ride from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh as you have to pre-register your passport at the bus station. But after that, everything went smoothly because the bus conductor would be the one to submit your passport to the immigration officers and all you have to do is wait. It was a very long ride from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh. We even had to cross the Mekong River via a ferry boat to get to the border.  

Well hello there, Mekong River!

Eight hours later, I'm in Ho Chi Minh, baby!

The park along Pham Ngu Lao Street

Checked in at Golden Wind Hotel in District 1 as soon as we arrived. District 1 is known as the backpacker district of Ho Chi Minh and everything is inexpensive here. One disadvantage though, is that it's a long walk going to the major attractions of the city. But I didn't care because I'm used to walking anyway.

I'm not going to say much about our itinerary but I'm just going to enumerate the places that you must visit in Ho Chi Minh. I have to warn you that I'm a museum connoisseur so expect to get a nerdy must-visit list from me. 

1. War Remnants Museum - I enjoyed this museum although the Agent Orange section broke my heart. It's like the feelings from Tuol Sleng resurfaced. But all in all, this place made me admire the resilience of the Vietnamese and the indomitable spirit of President Ho Chi Minh.

2. Reunification Palace - The ultimate soshala place in town. My personal favorites are the banquet halls and movie theater.

Other tourists

3. Saigon Opera House - One of the prime examples of the influence of the French. This also houses the AO Show, an acrobatic performance that starts at 8:00 PM.

4. Notre Dame Cathedral - This is the replica of the Notre Dame Cathedral in France. Remember that Vietnam used to be a French colony back in the day. In this church, I attended my first mass...in Vietnamese. Hrhr.

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5. Post Office - This is one of the prettiest post offices that I've ever been to. It reminds me of a European train station.

I found this arch enchanting and I have no idea why

6. People's Committee Hall - my most favorite building in Ho Chi Minh City. It's so pretty that I had to take a photo of it during the day and during nighttime. Haha. Beat that!

Day view

Night view

7. Cu Chi Tunnels - Technically, this is not in Ho Chi Minh City but it's just a bus ride away. Nestled in the Cu Chi district, this is the highlight of the tour because you'll get to see the ingenious ways of how the VietCong outsmarted the enemy. Plus you'll get the chance to crawl into the tunnels. Just make sure that you go first if you plan to go through the entire length of the tunnel because if you have slowpokes ahead of you, tourists would be compressing on a certain area and you'll run out of air.

It's a trap!

An American tourist trying out this hole in the ground

Me inside the tunnel :D

I don't have photos of the following. I just bought stuff from here.

8. Ben Thanh Market - just three blocks away from the hotel in Pham Ngu Lao Street. I went here for the food. Hrhr.

9. Saigon Square - a few yards away from Ben Thanh. This is where I bought my Nike running shorts and Everlast dry fit shirt for just a fraction of the price. This is overrun heaven! You can also buy authentic North Face items here, just be careful because there are some replicas being sold here too.
10. Vinacom Center - a few minutes walk from the Notre Dame Cathedral, this is a high street mall.

It was on my map but I decided to forego this:

11. Ho Chi Minh Zoo

12. Ho Chi Minh Museum

There are other places outside of Ho Chi Minh that I can visit but I just have to save it for the next trip because it's sure that I'll be coming back to this place over and over.