I spent my Christmas holiday at Singapore with my family and we planned a side trip to Ho Chi Minh City or the famous Saigon in Vietnam.
We stayed at Liberty Central Saigon Riverside Hotel.
The hotel have a rooftop swimming pool with a splendid view of the Saigon River. Did I mention that there’s a bar beside this pool if you don’t want to dip yet you want to relax?
Upon arrival at the hotel, you’ll be served with fresh juices of the day. My parents did the reservation so I just have to relax from the trip. I vomit so bad at the plane because of the bumpy ride. It was so scary because during this trip, the accident involving the AirAsia plane also happened.
Moving on, so we checked-in and rest until late afternoon. Also, the hotel provides buffet meals. I accidentally gained 2 kilograms because of this.
The white building behind me is the Municipal Theatre of Ho Chi Minh, otherwise called the Saigon Opera House. It is also an example of a French colonial architecture.
One of the vibrant streets of Vietnam. Until the end of this road, there’s Christmas decorations lighted up.
Then we had our dinner in one of the restaurants in this street. Forgive me because I forgot the name.
With the same afternoon, we booked for our tours because we don’t know where to start. There are a lot of package within the vicinity of the hotel. A tip is that, get accredited tour company from your hotel because that’s what we did.
We were advised to be ready at 7 am in the morning because the trip to our destination will take about 1-2 hours.
First stop. The Cu Chi Tunnels.
The Củ Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong’s base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968.
That’s my brother trying to squeeze himself with this hiding hole. Actually, anyone could fit in. It may look small but it’s ironically big.
This part of the land was actually a bomb crater. It’s where one of the bombs that exploded during the war where it left a big crater.
At the farthest destination you could reach before the Cambodian border, there are locals making these rice paper wraps. The process is very tedious and meticulous. They sell it in reasonable prices.
These two men model how to disarm the powder in the bomb. It was discussed that they used small saw to divide it while pouring water on it so that it won’t explode because metal to metal can cause heat that might fire the remaining powder of the bomb.
And tadda! That’s me wearing the typical Viet hat and scarf. I only tried it without actually knowing that my mum is paying for it behind me, so thank you I got a nice hat! Ha ha
There were so many traps within these tunnels and in the entire forest. If you won’t be careful, you might caught yourself hanging or torn with the booby traps. They said the Cu Chi tunnel is 121 km long. However, we were only allowed to explore like 25 meters because it’s suffocating.
There are also free teas and cassava after the trip where you experience how the Vietnamese eat during the war. Cassava’s are good alternatives for rice. It’s delicious with sugar or salt.
It’s undeniable that I’m tired. I just don’t know how my siblings felt. They’re still young anyway so they probably have more energy than I am.
Going back, we were all tired and went back to the hotel while we’re free for the afternoon. However, my mum insisted that we go out and papa with my two sibs will have an afternoon dip in the pool.
So here I am, trying to hide my tiring face. It’s obvious that we went shopping, look at that Louis Vuitton shop.
So, we were able to reach the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica or the Basilica of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception. With two bell towers, it heights 58 meters.
During our third day, we took our chance to stroll beside the Saigon river while waiting for our 1 PM tour.
Walking to the left side of our hotel, we saw this monument of Tran Hung Dao. He was honored as one of the greatest military leader of Vietnam leading many victories for the country.
From our stroll, we also glanced at the tallest tower in Saigon which is the Bitexco Financial Tower. It’s 68 floors above the ground making it the 3rd tallest building in the country and 124th in the world.
To end our last day, we were brought by our tour guides at the Ben Than Market which is like the Divisoria of Vietnam. Due to the crowd, we were only there for a short period of time. I bought chips that are made out of different fruits and vegetables like carrots, banana, sweet potato, etc.
Monument in the middle of Ben Thanh Market.
Then, to the War Remnants Museum. It primarily contains exhibits relating to the Vietnam War, but also includes many exhibits relating to the first Indochina War involving the French colonialists.
One of the jets used during the War.
Again, we dropped by the Basilica.
It was indeed a very educational, splendid, and great post-Christmas vacation for our family. My siblings enjoyed it too.
Before I forgot, did you know that Vietnam is the motor capital of the world because motorbikes are one of their mode of transportation. You can even flagged down some motorists like a taxi. You can even rent one.
Vietnam is indeed one of the must-visit places in the world. There’s so much to learn from this country.
’till my next travel adventure!
Ciao,
Capricious Fate
Unconsciously Capricious 