Ho Chi Minh City – A City of it Owns
Apart from attending the Palme Light and Sound show in Vietnam we also took an opportunity to visit the Ho Chi Minh City (HCM) down town and experience the city.
Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon as commonly known is the largest City in Vietnam with the city population of 7 million people.
When in down town we saw lots of motorbike and bicycle rules the street. They are skilful and manoeuvre easily at the traffic light and on the street. Like my friend if they can drive like this here they can drive anywhere in the other part of city.
Ben Thanh Market in Ho CHi Minh City
The hotel where I stay recommended us to visit the Ben Thanh Market which we did. This is largest old-style market in the central district, with several hundred small stalls stuffed with goods on almost impassably narrow aisles.
I have not seen such big market like this where you can get local foods, fresh vegetable and seafood, kitchen wares and clothing and souvenir items. Most of the sellers seen to know how to speak English, Bahasa and some in Mandarin so communitarian in bargaining make easier for us. Being Malaysian bargaining like this is not a problem to us.
Went to Saigon Corner where it is air cond and sell modern clothing for ladies.
War Remnants Museum
From here we took the motorbike taxis to visit to War Remnant Museum. Formerly known as the Exhibition House of American War Crimes, the outside museum exhibits some U.S. military hardware like tanks, jets, helicopters.
Inside in the three stories building is where the picture and photograph of the past war is display here. The picture show how the Viet Cong fight the war they never wanted. Many of them suffer ever though the war is over from Agent Orange a kind of most dangerous comical weapon.
One of the gruesome discoveries is the “Tiger cage” prison that use to torture the Viet cong. Very disgusting.
We visited hair salons as advice by the motorbike taxis man. We were told that washing hair here is good and cheap. It is a must do for tourists we so we wash our hair.
Drinking coffee here in Vietnam is a must try. I don’t like coffee very much back home but here we start with coffee on the first day until the last day. I understand that Vietnam is the world’s second largest exporter of coffee after Brazil and cà phê is very popular among the Vietnamese.
The coffee is brewed fresh on the table in a little metal apparatus placed over a cup. It is strong and sweet just how the local like it. The taste is good and quite different from the coffee in Malaysia.
Over all Ho Chi Minh City is a city of it owns and it is an interesting place to visit for tourist with a different experience.