Ho Chi Minh City was formerly known as Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. It is now a bustling, thriving city with the largest population in Vietnam (circa 8.9 million).
The port that serves HCMC is a long way from the city (similar to Bangkok) which means, long coach journeys to and from the city each day (1h 30m).
HCMC is BIG, and as hot / crazy as Bangkok, without the plethora of Temples everywhere.
On the streets leading to the city center, every building seems to have a business on the ground floor, whether planned / official, or ad-hoc. Everyone is trying to sell something. The people look busy, and generally seem to be happy. The outskirts look chaotic in a fun sort of way.
We visited several of the classic buildings of Saigon. The first being the old Saigon Central Post Office, a lovely wrought-iron French-style building built in 1890 during the French colonial period – still functioning today as the main post office.
Facing the Post Office is the ‘Notre-Dame Cathedral‘, another relic from the colonial past, this one built in 1880 and still operating as a Catholic church. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovation so we just got a glimpse of the outside.
The next sight we saw was the Opera House; built in 1898, it is also known as the Municipal Theater.
Just a few blocks from the Opera House, we saw the impressive “People’s Committee” building – also known as the “City Hall”. It was originally built in 1908.
After seeing all these classic buildings, we visited the Ben Than market building, a massive market hall with high ceilings and open sides. Serving everything from prepared foods to knock-off designer handbags, it first opened in 1912 and is a vibrant destination.
We also visited a traditional pharmacy, which is now a museum.
The streets of Saigon are endlessly fascinating, with random architecture, colorful shops, and interesting people.
Perhaps the most memorable thing about Vietnam is the scooters! Living in ‘the west’, where traffic safety has become quite restrictive, it was amusing to see people zipping around on small scooters with almost no protection, and holding babies and young children. Apparently the law requires a helmet, but does not specify the type, so everyone buys cheap plastic helmets that are probably useless in a serious accident. And of course, the kids are totally unprotected!
From HCMC, we sailed for over a day to Hue.
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