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Notre Dame Cathedral - Provided by vietnam720.com Ho Chi Minh Museum 1 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4 Tel: (08) 940 1053 Opens 9am to 6pm. Closes Fridays and Mondays. It was from this old customs house, known as the Dragon House (Nha Rong), that in 1911 Ho Chi Minh set sail for Europe. Now a museum, the eclectic collection of artefacts features many of the leader's possessions including the his sandals and his beloved Zenith radio (ironically made in the United States). Most of the signs are in Vietnamese. The museum can be reached by crossing the new bridge at the end of Ton Duc Thang, just next to the junction with Ham Nghi. Notre Dame Cathedral Cong Xa Paris, Junction of Nguyen Du and Dong Khoi, Q1 A red-brick cathedral built by the French made largely with imported materials (the bricks are from Marseilles and stained glass windows from Chartres). Known in Vietnamese as Nha Tho Duc Ba, a statue of the Virgin Mary stands in the park grounds in front. The cathedral is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the City. Reunification Palace 106D Nguyen Du, Q1 (main entrance on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia) Opens at 7.30am and closes at 4pm daily 11am until 1pm the palace closes for lunch The former location of the Saigon government that fell in April 1975, the Reunification Palace offers an informative historical account of the war years and the life of the Saigon Regime. Propaganda does rear its head, but a trip here is interesting nonetheless. Sri Thendayyutthapani Temple 66 Ton That Thiep, Q1 Opens 6am to 7pm daily One of a number of Hindu temples – the colonial era Indians came from French Pondicherry in India - this is a charming and incongruous place to find in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. The main deity here is Thendayyutthapani, also known as Lord Moruga, but there are also shrines for Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna. Lavish murals, paintings of historical figures such as Nehru and Gandhi, and multi-coloured baubles adorn the ceiling. Make sure you go up the stairs to the roof terrace, where you have a good view and can see some more statues of Hindu deities. War Crimes Museum 28 Vo Van Tan, Q1 Tel: (08) 3930 5587 Open daily from 7.30am to 5.15pm. Closes for lunch from 11.45am to 1.30pm Forget your politics, a visit to this museum is an absolute must. Located in the grounds of a former American administration building, it has several different sections. These contain photos and exhibits with loose translations, all with a common theme - the 30-year war in Vietnam that ended in 1975. The museum changes frequently as more exhibits are displayed and further development occurs, but the overriding emotions is the same; it is both shocking yet compelling. True to its name, the museum has one main purpose – to remind us of the horrors of war. Xa Loi Pagoda 89 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan, Q3 Open 7am to 7pm daily. Closes at 11am until 2pm This is a colourful seven-tiered pagoda which is revered as it houses a sacred Buddha relic. There is also a Buddhist book publishing centre in the grounds. The pagoda is also of historical interest as it became the centre of opposition to the government in August 1963 when 400 monks and nuns were arrested. Thich Quang Duc, one of several monks who publicly set himself on fire as a protest against the war, has a memorial around the corner. |
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