lthough it is also a big and chaotic metropolis, I consider this city friendlier to tourists than Hanoi. Ho chi Minh has a nice colonial center, with broad promenades and squares and some French influence buildings that should not be missed. There are also many nice temples and pagodas. Another of the things visitors should not miss are its popular markets -- a great place to taste the local food specialties, by the way. If you come with me I will try to show ...More

Today Ho Chi Minh City is very much the heart of Vietnamese business and entrepreneurs. Incomes here are typically twice that of Hanoi and the city’s skyline is rapidly changing, reflecting the sharp influx of foreign trade within the last decade. And yet for all this modernity, the city still retains its connections to the past, particularly so in Cholon, Saigon’s Chinatown. Here dozens of elegant temples and pagodas can be seen. The French too left their mark here – the city has many street cafes and patisseries where fresh croissants can be purchased The Cu Chi Tunnels ...More

Located in the northwest of Ho Chi Minh, Cu Chi district is now famous around the world as the base for the Vietnamese operation known as the TET Offensive in 1968 with more than 200 km of underground tunnels. The tunnel network provided sleeping quarters, meeting rooms, hospitals and social centers and are between 0.5 to 1 m wide, with just enough space for a person to walk along by bending or crawling ...More

Cao Daism is an interesting mixture of Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism and Confucianism, all of which are evident in the garish temple at Tay Ninh. Essentially, Buddha and the Christian God are believed to both exist as deities, but Cao Dai is the third, highest deity, all of which was revealed to Ngo Van Chieu in the 1920’s. By 1930, there were half a million followers, with a square kilometre around the temple at Tay Ninh owned by the Cao Dai ...More