In Ho Chi Minh City there are more than enough cultural events and museums to keep even the most dedicated museum goer happy. I spent quite a lot of time in book street, a lane near the Hotel Intercontinental completely dedicated to booksellers. Obviously most books are in Vietnamese, but there is a large choice of titles in other languages, mainly English. I even found Astérix translated from French to Vietnamese!

Of course, no visit to Ho Chi Minh City is complete without seeing the Independence Palace and its grounds. The states rooms are really impressive and their emptiness was a bit ghostly. A lot of important history took place here, including a communist tank ramming its way into the grounds in 1975 shortly before the city fell. The Norodom Palace Gatehouse is on the same grounds and the exhibition there was highly interesting. All this was complemented by a visit to the War Remnants Museum and the horrors that are shown there are not easy to digest. You have to prepare yourself before going into this building. I think it's important to see it once, just once. Interesting was the testimony of several American soldiers, who were equally horrified as to what was going on.

Other very interesting and worthwhile visits included the Xa Loi Pagoda, with its sense of peace in its inner sanctum, and the Mariamman Hindu Temple (ignore the people trying to sell you things outside). Finally, I saw the monument to Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk who self immolated in protest in 1963. Otherwise, just wandering the streets was an adventure in itself, with thousands of food stalls, grocery stores and little shops (get your beer and drinks from these stores, it will cost almost nothing compared to the hotels). Wandering into the colonial style post office, with its fascinating map murals on the walls, really takes you back to an early era. And plying the bookstores of Book Street, near the Intercontinental Hotel, was absorbing.

A couple of important things: I found Ho Chi Minh City incredibly clean with little trash in the streets and good hygiene everywhere. Eating in all those stalls and restaurants with no name did not result in a single problem with my stomach. Also, I felt safe at all times in all the places I visited. I would add to this just to exercise the usual common sense, especially in the party streets full of bars.



New Year celebrations were still very evident in Ho Chi Minh City


Book Street in Ho Chi Minh City, a street full of bookstores


Independence Palace in Ho Chi Minh City


One of the state rooms in Independence Palace


Underneath Independence Palace are old listening and communications systems


Outside, in the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, one of the more "hot" neighbourhoods


Taoist temple in Ho Chi Minh City


Iconic photograph from the Vietnam war


View over Ho Chi Minh City from the Intercontinental Saigon


Saigon central post office with a portrait of Ho Chi Minh himself at the far end


Buddhist temple with prayer "seats" for the young monks