Malati and I stopped over in Ho Chi Minh City on our way home from Hong Kong – We had planned a leisurely trip over five days without the pressures of a tight itinerary. The iconic buildings of the French colonial era are a must see for any tourist to HCM city. Our room in the Caravelle hotel provided us a grand view of the one of the many magnificent buildings of the French Era – Saigon Opera House. Built in the 1890s it was converted to house the Vietnamese National Assembly and reverted back to the original purpose after the end of the war in 1975. We saw the well acclaimed AO show which provided us an opportunity to explore the rich interiors of the building.

Our first stop was the Saigon Central Post Office.Built in 1891 by Alfred Foulhoux and is often wrongly attributed to Gustav Eiffel( remember Eiffel Tower).This Post office is still fully functional and we sent a few picture postcards home. Don’t miss the arched roof and the Telegraph Map of French Indo China circa 1892. I particularly fancied the flooring tiles but not the souvenir shops!

Across the road from the Post office is the Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon, The Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception built around the same time as the Post Office- Alas the building is still under renovation and after having slipped many deadlines is now scheduled to reopen in December 2024 . An interesting story dating to 2006 tells of the statue of Virgin Mary shedding tears.!! An event not corroborated by the local clergy but the believers nevertheless thronged the place in large numbers.

Our next stop was The Independence Palace, built in the 1960s, which is an outstanding example of modern architecture. Formerly the Presidential Palace of the Vietnamese government it was the site of bombings, attempted coups till finally it witnessed communist tanks crashing through the building marking the end of the war. Unless you have some knowledge of the key events and markers in the Vietnamese struggle for independence it is like walking through the rich and opulent interiors (left largely intact) of a luxury resort. I would suggest that you read up on some history of the Vietnam war to fully appreciate the import of the description of the events and people transcribed in the building.

Yet another example of French colonial architecture is the People’s committee building. The building houses the offices of the Vietnamese Government and visitors are not allowed. This majestic structure must be viewed both by day and night when it is illuminated. Across the building is a park with a large statue of Ho Chi Minh and is a great draw for locals and tourists alike. The area around the park makes for a very pleasant walk in the evenings.

The last of the buildings which we visited was the Ben Thanh market which is located in the center of the city and very close to our hotel. The present structure was last renovated about forty years ago though the building is nearly a hundred years old. Despite the natural ventilation and some air conditioning the market was hot and muggy at midday. Housing almost a few hundred plus shops the market is typical of any Asian market – mostly clothes, jewellery , souvenirs and other household items. There was nothing that really caught my fancy except for some jade bangles for folks back home. Try your hand at bargaining. We were pleased with our skills when we negotiated 25% off which i was later told by locals is just he starting point! Also visit the night market if you have the time. In fact why just the market – Every one of these buildings takes on a magical look when fully illuminated at night . Do read about them in the Night ride through Ho Chi Minh City .I

In my next post do read about two places closely connected with history of the Vietnamese war – The Chu Chi Tunnels and the War Remnants museum –