25th Feb 2013
Our second stop in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh City (formerly know as Saigon) I preferred Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, there was more of a buzz and energy to the place. On the first day of sightseeing we opted for the cyclo tour which was a wonderful way to see the place, stopping off at the key sites with our guide. We visited the Reunification Palace, the War Museum, a Buddhist Temple and the old Post Office. We visited the Cu Chi tunnels on the next day which was an area outside the city where the Viet Cong dug a maze of tunnels and rooms underground during the War. It was a fascinating place and there’s option to crawl through a tunnel if you want (yep, crawl- the tunnels were tiny even though they’ve been widened for tourists!)
My sis and I on our cyclo’s- she’s in the left pic. I look like a kid in a pushchair!
In amongst the traffic
The Reunification Palace
The Reunification Palace
Where we stayed: Rex Hotel- The Rex was the original luxury hotel in Ho Chi Minh City and is home to all the major European fashion stores from Balenciaga, Marc Jacobs and Chanel. I don’t think you could call it a luxury hotel any more, in fact I don’t think there’s been a refurb since its 1970’s heyday but saying that I found the kitch interiors and the ‘Faulty Towers’ type employees rather charming!
Outside the War Museum
Indian Propaganda poster
Cuban posters
At the Buddhist Temple
Where we ate: There’s a lot more choice of restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City our fav place was Givral in District One, the food was delicious esp the deserts and it’s a great place to people watch.
The Old Post Office
Inside the Post Office with a poster of Ho Chi Minh
Flowers were everywhere as people started to decorate for Tet festival
Me posing in a tunnel although its huge compared to the original tunnels which I refused to pose in- a girl no more than a UK size 12 got stuck and the guards had to pull her out!) the other pic shows how rice paper is made
Next Stop: Vinpearl Luxury, on the island of Vinpearl off the coast of Nha Trang- blog post coming soon
the asian fashion journal 