 | Ho Chi Minh City Things To Do | Tips 1 - 10 of 863 |  |
 | |  |  | Blast From The Past: The Heart Of The City | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
Lê Lợi, Nguyễn Huệ and Tự Do were the heart of Saigon, but when I grew up, we called the boulevards downtown by both their French and Vietnamese names -- Bonard, Charner and Catinat respectively. Imitating our older siblings, my younger brother and I often began our day at Givral with café au lait and a croissant. If I spotted him around the area later on, it would be a sure sign he had played hooky from school that day. I strolled the boulevards every day after classes or work with often a stop in Khai Trí or Xuân Thu to check out the new books and magazines. The week after Thương Xá Tax (Tax Trading Center) opened, my older brothers and his friends had a crush on the beautiful owner of a cosmetic boutique on the third floor, "a woman whose face was sculpted out of marble", they sighed and praised. To justify the ogling, they bought me now and then an item of cosmetic. That was the beginning of my life-long love with Chanel N.5. In the weekends, us young people gathered downtown with our Hondas, Vespas and Lambrettas, our dates and our friends, we lingered for hours eating ice cream and drinking milkshake in Brodard before ending the day at Ciné Vĩnh Lợi. Lê Lợi, Nguyễn Huệ and Tự Do were the soul of Saigon and the core of our social life then. Presently, the noise of thousands of motor scooters had robbed away its peacefulness and Tự Do had lost its name, nonetheless, the trace of the area's elegant past still can be found here and there. Khai Trí had been replaced but Xuân Thu although was taken over by the government still maintains the same façade and interior. Givral is still painted in blue and white, and the croissants are still served warm. If I closed my eyes, I could even see a generation of young people smiling and laughing with their faces lifted up toward the sun -- the future was bright from where we stood, not a hint on the drastic change that would alter our lives forever. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Ben Thanh market: Still As Busy As Always | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Since its birth in the early 19th century, Bến Thành Market has seen its share of disasters. In 1859, a French canon destroyed the market and resulted in its location being moved from Saigon River to Tổng Nha Ngân Khố (Treasury) on Nguyễn Huệ Avenue. In 1870, a fire destroyed a large part of the market. In 1911, the market was intentionally demolished for safety reason and construction began on the present location. The work finished on March 1914 and the inauguration lasted three days. With the second new location, Bến Thành was also known as Chợ Sài G̣n or Chợ Mới (New Market) while the old location with only few remaining stores being called Chợ Cũ (Old Market). Bến Thành Market is a square building with four gates that look onto Quách Thị Trang Plaza, Phan Bội Châu, Phan Chu Trinh, and Lê Thánh Tôn Streets. The side that looks onto the plaza has a tower with three clocks, all made by Citizen and none showed the correct time for the entire twenty years I lived in the city. Since the last interior makeover in 1985, the clocks seem to work properly most of the time, so kudos for the new regime. With over 3000 stalls in the market, there is nothing you cannot find in this oldest and busiest market in Vietnam. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Blast From The Past: Turtle Lake | Tip Rating: | | | | |
The avenue is now named Phạm Ngọc Thạch after a Central Vietnamese revolutionary physician, but for more than three decades, it was known as Duy Tân, the name of the 11th emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty. For the college-aged Vietnamese in the late '60s and early '70s, Duy Tân was not just an avenue, it was the seat of the University of Saigon where all the colleges convened. This area was an important part of their academy world, the world of science and literature, of classic learning and modern living, of on campus dreams and off campus reality, of love affairs and political demonstrations. Duy Tân was a tree-lined avenue back then with a large dome of green foliage stretching its half-mile length. The pond located on the avenue was given the nickname Hồ Con Rùa (Turtle Lake) for the solid copper turtle at the end of the pole. The pond was the hang out place for lovers and loners, for slackers and bookworms. Some even shared with the turtle their utmost secrets, the turtle did not mind, it had seen and heard it all. After the new regime took over the city, the trees were chopped down and the turtle disappeared. The officials blamed the loss of everything on the war, but since the trees and the turtle were gone only after the war had ended, a truer story was told and shared among the local residents. With the new name came the new face, Duy Tân/Phạm Ngọc Thạch is surrounded by cafés and restaurants today, the old university quarter had gone to the same place where the trees and the turtle did many years ago. The old college students make the pilgrimage to their homeland but no longer recognize their old world. Leave a Comment Address: Phạm Ngọc Thạch St., Dist. 1
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| | | | War Remnants Museum: See the War from the Eyes of Locals | Tip Rating: | | | | |
I went to the War Remnants Musuem after spending half a day crawling inside the Cu Chi Tunnels. It was a good follow-up, not only did I listen to more propaganda, I got an opportunity to see the "American War" through the eyes of the locals. Yes, I got to see gripping Pulitzer-prize winning photos, deformed babies preserved in formalin and other gory relics, including a French guillotine. Good thing I didn't have too heavy a lunch. In any case, I was spell-bound, I heard much of the war yet I knew so little about it ! I have to admit that I was quite disturbed by all the images, so were many tourists, some of whom were shaking their head away in disbelief. There was one photo that caught my attention, a grim photo of a mother fleeing away from her enemies with her children. Leave a Comment Address: 28 Vo Van Tan St , District 3Phone: 08/829-0325
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| | | | Ben Thanh market: Ben Tanh Market , Place of Curiousities | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Tip Update: This place is listed under Patricia Schultz's "1000 places to see before you die" so it's a must see. Have you heard of the old adage, " if you want it, we have it?" Well, this applies here, they have coffee beans for the isomniacs, snake wine for impotent men, enough bags and shoes to satisfy Imelda Marcos , etc etc. Just remember to drive a hard bargain when you are here. There's always a two-step pricing for people who look sadly like a Japanese ( moi ) or Caucasians. Yeah, it's almost as though we are wearing T-shirts that say , "Big Spender" To see photos of the snake wine and other curiousities, click on b'packer's HCMC page Leave a Comment Directions: At the intersection of Le Loi, Ham Nghi, Tran Hung Dao and Le Lai streets, District 1. Not too far from backpacker's district
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on June 11, 2007
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