Posts Tagged Ho Chi Minh
Saigon – The City That Has It All
Posted by Thanh Vu in Destinations, Travel Blog on December 22, 2009
Before I launch into Saigon, I want to update everyone on our itinerary, as we just booked the rest of our flights last night, since we are (sadly) nearing the end of our Asian campaign. On Sunday we will be catching a bus over the border of Cambodia and going directly to Siem Reap, the town bordering the famous Angkor Wat temples. We will spend almost a week there touring the temples before catching a flight down to Singapore for two nights. After that we’re hopping a flight to Sydney, Australia, for 3 days, before our final flight to Auckland, New Zealand, on Saturday December 5th. We would love to see more of Australia, but right now our dollar to theirs is extremely weak, and it’s an expensive country to begin with, so we’re hoping that at some point during our year in NZ we’ll be able to take a couple weeks and fly back over to explore some of “Oz.”
On that note, too, to our friends and family who are planning a visit to us in NZ next year, you now have a deadline – as do we. Our visas are good for exactly one year, which meansthat as of December 4th, 2010 (at the very latest), we will need to leave NZ and begin making our trek home – with a few stops along the way, of course. So keep that in mind if you are planning a visit! When I searched earlier (www.kayak.com is a goodie), the best fares from the states to NZ seemed to be in the May-June range, which is our late fall-early winter season. Our rough itinerary for our trek home is something like northeastern Oz-Bali-Malaysia-Thailand, so if you were planning a visit over the holiday season in 2010, we’ll most likely be somewhere in those areas, and we can coordinate something! At any rate, we have a whole year in NZ to get through, but I know quite a few of you were serious about visiting, so I wanted to give you our plans as soon as possible so you can begin making your own!
The Veteran does Nam
Posted by Thanh Vu in Destinations, Travel Blog on December 21, 2009
After saying a sad goodbye to Lloyd I headed back into Bangkok where I managed to get some cheap accomodation. The next day it was off to the Vietnam embassy first thing to try to sort my visa. Thankfully they were very nice and efficient and I managed to pick it up that afternoon. I risked heading straight for the airport where I managed to get on the same flight only a day late!
It was great to be in Hanoi but unfortunately I had missed the start of the tour where they headed to Halong Bay (gutted Id been really looking forward to that) and had to wait for them to come back. Not really knowing where I was going I grabbed a bus into town and managed to find my way to a hostel unfortunately it was full so I wandered round before finding a lovely hotel where I got a stunning room for only $12.
The next morning I met up again with James and Anna and caught up on the gossip of the last few weeks. Anna wanted to get her hair dyed so deciding this sounded like a fab idea we both went to the hairdressers. 2 hours and a tenner later Anna had flaming red hair and my own mother wouldnt have been able to tell mine was dyed (aside from the fact the greys had gone). We had a chilled out day before I headed over to the hotel to meet my group (Vanda, Sarah, Sophie, Richard, Jessica, Posh Richard and Louise). They all seemed nice but my first impression was that they were all (Oli tour leader included) so very young. Deciding to be anti-social (Ive got 7 weeks with them) I went out for dinner with J&A not knowing when I would see them again as they were heading off that night.
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“HCM City – Hidden Beauty” photo contest debuts
Posted by Thanh Vu in Destinations, Travel Blog on December 21, 2009
HCM City(sai gon) Department of Tourism has launched a photo contest about the city’s tourism titled “HCM City – Hidden Beauty” with total bonus of nearly VND70 million ($4,300) and bonus tours to Thailand and the Mekong Delta.
This is the first photo contest about the beauty of Ho chi minh city(sai gon), which will last until April 16. The contest jury will gather famous photographers like Dong Duc Thanh, Dao Hoa Nu and Tu Luong Van.
“Winning photos must discover hidden beauty of HCM City through the daily life, culture, landscapes, etc. of the city,” said HCM City Department of Tourism’s Dong Thi Kim Vui.
7 Things to do in Saigon
Posted by Thanh Vu in Travel Tips on December 15, 2009
Looking for more of those Vietnam experiences that make you take a moment to scratch your head and marvel at the situation you’ve found yourself in? Fred Bane finds seven mind boggling destinations, all within a day’s travel from Saigon.
Dam Sen Park is Saigon’s take on Disneyland. Hard to miss, with an enormous three-arched red gate heralding the entrance, inside the park guests are welcomed by enormous statues made of china bowls. Standard amusement park fun includes Ferris wheel, roller coaster with a loop-de-loop, a seriously fun aviary, and a fishing hole shaped like Hanoi’s West Lake. But the piece de resistance is Dam Sen’s dinosaurs. The 5000 square meter Cong Vien Khung Long (the same name the film Jurassic Park was given in Vietnamese) houses around 200 model dinosaurs, half of which are animatronic, and the smallest which are between two to four metres tall. After paying and entering you take a riverboat trip to see the things in their ‘natural habitat’. Amazing.
Vam Sat Tourist Site
Posted by Thanh Vu in Destinations on December 10, 2009
Location: Ly Nhon commune, Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City.
Characteristics: Vam Sat Salt-Marsh Forest Ecological Tourist Zone contains most beautiful forests of Can Gio which is one of the world’s Salt-Marsh biosphere preserve.
Situated between the stream flows of Vam Sat and Long Tau River, Vam Sat Salt-Marsh Forest Ecological Tourist Zone contains most beautiful forests of Can Gio which is one of the world’s Salt-Marsh biosphere preserve, sited in Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City. Historically, this land had been damaged by toxic chemicals that turned the zone into an uninhabited land. Thanks to the hard work of people, the forest has gradually recovered, and its beauty and magnificence feature have been returned.
According to foreign specialists that Can Gio salt-marsh forest is the best recovered, taken care of, protected and managed in Vietnam and in the world. With total area of 75,740ha, Can Gio forest is diversified by wide variety of fauna and flora, which is an ideal place for scientific research, ecological tourism and rejuvenation. Read the rest of this entry »
Dam Sen Cultural Park
Posted by Thanh Vu in Destinations on December 10, 2009
Location: 03 Hoa Binh St., Ward 3, District 11, HCM City
Characteristics: Dam Sen Cutural Park is one of largest and most modern parks in the country with area of approximately 50 ha.
Dam Sen is a harmonic association of two cultures: gardens rich of Oriental characteristics such as Nam Tu Thuong Uyen (Southern Royal Garden) with flowers, ancient ornaments, bonsai, and a large garden of orchids of strains all over the country. On the other side of the lake, European garden and Roman Square are located in style of Western architecture.
Along with natural landscape, Dam Sen is an attracting place for entertainment for children and juvenile: Youth Entertainment Place, Animal Circus, water puppetry, or sensational games such as Overcoming Waterfall, Roller Caoster, Discovery of Virtual World, Ferris Wheel 60m high, and Flying Trapeze, Spinning Coaster, Hausted Castle. Annually, the Park invests in new modern games of the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Ben Thanh Market
Posted by Thanh Vu in Destinations on December 10, 2009
Location: Ben Thanh Market is situated at the intersection of Le Loi Avenue, Ham Nghi Avenue, Tran Hung Dao Avenue and Le Lai Street, 700m south-west of the Rex Hotel.
Characteristics: At first, the market was situated near the Ben Nghe River Dike. After being moved many times, it is now standing in the centre of the city where consumers can conveniently find all sorts of products.
According to Vuong Hong Sen, author of “the book Saigon of the Past”, in 1912, the French filled a pond, the Boresse, into a solid foundation of 12,000m2 and built a market on it. The market was close to a landing stage (Ben) of the old city (Thanh), hence its name of Ben Thanh. The opening ceremony for the market in March 1914 was a big festive event.
At present, the front of Ben Thanh Market faces Quach Thi Trang Square; its rear faces Le Thanh Ton Street; its right, Phan Chu Trinh Street and its left, Phan Boi Chau Street. At all of its four sides, there are bustling trading shops.
Located at the centre of the city, Ben Thanh Market is always loaded with varieties of goods, such as consumer goods, cakes and candies, food and foodstuff, and particularly high-quality fruit and vegetables. Goods are displayed in a very attractive way that always catches the eyes of the buyers. They meet all requirements for the customers’ daily life or for their families. The market has four gates that are very convenient for the market-goers. For all of its advantages, Ben Thanh Market is one of the most attractive tourist sites in the city for both domestic and foreign visitors.
Can Gio – a biosphere reserve of the world
Posted by Thanh Vu in Destinations on December 10, 2009
Location: The ecological forest of Can Gio is situated 50km away from downtown Ho Chi Minh City.
Characteristic: With an area of over 70,000 ha, of which 35,000 ha is salt-watered forest, Can Gio has been recognized as a biosphere reserve of the world by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Can Gio has been recognized as a biosphere reserve after evaluation of various aspects, including the people, ecology, environment and biosphere sustainability. Those who visited this place decade ago can hardly recognize it today, due to the countless towering trees and plants that stretch out of sight, and the harmonious biosphere of the coastal mangrove forest. So far nearly 40,000 ha of forest and land have been restored. According to the Can Gio Forest Managing Board, at present more than 600 households with 1,500 people reside in this area. They live on reforestation, forest protection and aquatic production. Read the rest of this entry »
Giac Lam Pagoda
Posted by Thanh Vu in Destinations on December 10, 2009
Location: Giac Lam Pagoda is located at 118 Lac Long Quan Street, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City.
Characteristic: It is one of the city’s oldest pagodas with many Buddha statues made of brass and precious timber
Giac Lam Pagoda (also known as the Cam Son or Cam Dien Pagoda) was built in 1744, under the reign of Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat. Unlike many other local religious structures, it has not been renovated since 1900; the architecture, layout, and ornamentation remain almost unaltered. The scenery around the pagoda is picturesque and many people come here to write or recite poetry. Read the rest of this entry »
Duc Ba Cathedral – Ho Chi minh city
Posted by Thanh Vu in Destinations on December 10, 2009
Location: Duc Ba Cathedral is located on Han Thuyen Street, facing down Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Characteristic: The resplendent Governor’s Palace, completed in 1875, symbolized the regime’s political power in Asia. And five years later, the Duc Ba (Our Lady’s) Cathedral was inaugurated, and became the spiritual and cultural crucible of the French presence in the Orient.
After the first French colonizing force arrived in Vietnam in the mid – 19thcentury, it took only 21 years before the country had a cathedral to match the hulking Gothic edifices of France itself. The cathedral is supposed to represent the glory of the French Empire. Yet, as is always the case with colonization, this attempt to import French traditions into Vietnam transformed the colonizers’ culture in the process. Even though the cathedral is built in a Western architectural style, it has a uniquely Eastern aspect. Read the rest of this entry »
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