Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam Part 6)

After landing in Ho Chi Minh City in the morning, our tour guide picked us up at the airport and we immediately started our city tour.

First, we went to Chinatown and had time to visit the market there. 300 years ago, Chinese people fleeing from southern China settled here, and today, most of the city's pagodas are located here.

We then visited the Chua Ba Pagoda. It is dedicated to the "heavenly woman" and was built in the early 19th century.

There were many incense spirals to celebrate the new year. In an assembly room, there were pictures of all the Chinese zodiac signs, and our guide explained to us that the Year of the Pig is a particularly good year for children born in that year. Some couples would wait after their wedding to have a baby, so they wouldn't have a baby born in the Year of the Rooster or the Year of the Dog. Although we were both born in the Year of the Pig, we couldn't quite share the tour guide's enthusiasm for an animal that only "eats and sleeps"...

We then went to the Reunification Palace. In 1975, after the end of the war, the flag of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was raised here.

The palace was built in 1966 after the previous building was bombed and eventually demolished.  

Today, it is a museum, but until 1975, it was the residence of the President of South Vietnam. Visitors can now see the working, reception, and living spaces.

In the basement, there is a bunker where the government could retreat in case of emergency. There was also a command center and a bed for the president.

The ambassador's hall for official events is decorated with Vietnamese lacquerware. That's why we also visited a factory afterwards, where we could see how they are made.

In the French Quarter, you are reminded of the colonial era, which can still be seen in the magnificent buildings. Unfortunately, we only saw Notre-Dame Cathedral from the outside. It is not open to tourists anyway, but it is currently undergoing renovations.

Right next to it, our eyes were caught by the yellow Central Post Office. 

Inside, you can admire not only a huge picture of Ho Chi Minh, but also the old interior with wooden telephone booths and old maps.

Lastly, we went to Ben Thanh Market, which is located in an old market building with a clock tower.

Inside, the stalls are crowded together, and while walking through some of the alleys, we were approached from all sides asking if we wanted to buy a T-shirt or something else.

In the evening, to conclude the day, we treated ourselves to a cocktail at the rooftop bar of our restaurant, from which we could overlook a small part of the city - although quite a few other buildings were in the way.