Tourists coming to Ho Chi Minh City from Cambodia often do not suspect that several centuries ago the territory of the metropolis belonged to the builders of ancient Angkor. The first settlement in these places bore the Khmer name Preinokor. (Prei Nokor). The Viets first appeared in the Mekong Delta only in the 16th century, and already at the beginning of the next century, the flow of migrants from the strife-torn North increased several times. Cambodia, having just experienced a devastating war against Siam, could do nothing about this human tsunami.

In the middle of the XVII century. a new wave of emigrants came from China, fleeing the Manchu invasion. The Chinese settled in the village of Tölong and engaged in commerce, while the Viet in the nearby community of Bennge grew rice. The name Saigon, meaning "kapok forest" (kapok is a tropical tree, also called ceiba), first found in Vietnamese sources in 1674.

In 1698, the Vietnamese presence there was officially established, and General Nguyen Huu Canh became the first ruler of the newly formed Zia Dinh prefecture. This event is considered the starting point of the history of the city. At the end of the XVIII century. it was from here that the northern campaign of the army of Nguyen Phuc Anh began, ending with the defeat of the Teishon rebels and the accession of a new dynasty. Having established himself on the throne, the first emperor of the Nguyen clan did not forget what he owed to the South. On the threshold of the XIX century. French engineers built a fortress in Saigon, which was located in the very center modern city, in the northeastern part of the current rue Le Duan. The appearance of the fortifications has been continuously changing for half a century. In 1859, the redoubts were attacked by a French squadron and were so badly damaged that Admiral Louis-Adolf Bonard, who became the first governor of the Cochinchina colony in August 1861, had to start building the city virtually from scratch. Admiral who managed to accumulate administrative experience as a ruler French Polynesia, energetically set to work.

In 1862, the capital of the new possessions of Napoleon III was officially named Saigon.

At first, the city grew slowly, especially since the "Annamites" were not at all going to give the invaders an easy victory. In January 1863, a young midshipman of the Russian fleet, Konstantin Stanyukovich, arrived in Saigon, on a confidential assignment from the command. He had to find out the state of the new colony and its military forces. The city disappointed the future writer, seeming to him "just a big, sprawling village with 10-15 buildings, showing that a European lives here." After staying in Saigon for a month and a half, Stanyukovich changed the tone of his notes to a more favorable one, praised the French for their "ability to live" and promised the city a great future. The author of "Maximka" turned out to be right: after a couple of decades, the former village began to be called nothing more than "Paris of the Far East." Boulevards and streets were laid on the site of drained swamps and covered river branches. The city received a beautiful embankment on the Saigon River and a well-maintained market, between which a wide avenue stretched - the current Ham Ngi Street.

The main thoroughfares of the city - Bonara and Katina streets - already in 1866 received lighting. A year earlier, the first local newspaper, Zyadinbao, began to be published in Saigon. The port, which already in 1877 received more than 400 ships, was the center of attraction for local life. The first high-rise buildings in the colonial style were erected near the embankment (current districts I and III). There is also a botanical garden and a zoo. (1865) , rose Cathedral of Notre Dame de Saigon (1877-1880) and post office building (1891) . In 1898, the first film show took place in Saigon, and two years later the luxurious Opera House was built. The transfer of the capital of the Indochinese Union to Hanoi, which took place in 1902, had no effect on the development of the city. 1920s became a real "golden age" of colonial Saigon. Trade flourished - only one rice was exported up to one and a half million tons a year! The city was visited by many famous people: scientists Alexandre Yersin and Albert Calmette, future Emperor Nicholas II and composer Camille Saint-Saens...

In 1929, 300,000 people lived in Saigon. The Vietnamese were the working class, the Chinese traded, the Indians were in charge of the financial business. The French owned power, and this did not suit the patriots of Vietnam. Throughout the 1920s. riots often broke out on the streets of the city and anti-colonial demonstrations took place. In October 1930, the First Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Indochina was secretly convened in Saigon, and ten years later an uprising broke out, the participants of which held control over the city for several days. Only after the suppression of the unrest did the center of the anti-French struggle move to the north of the country. Immediately after this, Saigon was occupied by Japanese troops.

Five years later, the capital, which was subjected to several Allied air raids during the war years and left without owners, fell at the feet of the Viet Minh fighters. The first communist rule in South Vietnam lasted only a few days: already on September 13, a Franco-British airborne assault landed in Saigon. During the First Indochina War, the city served as the seat of several pro-French governments. The death of the French commander in chief, the talented Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (together with Georgy Zhukov, who at one time signed the capitulation of Nazi Germany), decided the fate of the campaign in favor of the Viet Minh, but the campaign of the "red" forces against Saigon was postponed for several decades. In June 1954, with the support of the United States, the first president came to power South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem.

The new leader was a much brighter and more independent figure than is commonly believed. He began his reign by replacing all the French names on the map of Saigon with Vietnamese ones. Exceptions were made for only four names - Pasteur, Yersin, Calmette and Alexandre de Rode. Numerous monuments appeared on the squares, perpetuating the memory of the figures of Vietnamese history. After the assassination of Diem in 1963, Saigon again became the scene of political struggle. For 10 years there have been 13 government coups.

Each new "caliph for an hour" began his reign with assurances of loyalty to friends from Washington, in connection with which the city rapidly acquired many American features - from Coca-Cola advertisements to John F. Kennedy Square. Oddly enough, despite the political instability, in the early 1970s. Saigon outpaced the growth of the capital of neighboring Thailand and Malaysia. By 1975, 2.5 million people lived in the city, there were 400 thousand streets and lanes, 80 thousand cars and 600 thousand motorbikes. Tan Son Nhat airport served flights of two dozen foreign airlines.

After uniting the country, the communists carried out a new name campaign in Saigon that surpassed all the achievements of Ngo Dinh Diem. The very name of the city, which had become almost a curse in the North, was solemnly erased from the map of Vietnam. The city has changed - businessmen fled, dissatisfied people hid, and the center of the wild nightlife of Southeast Asia finally moved to Bangkok. New town grew rapidly and soon absorbed many surrounding settlements - Tölon, Zyadin, Govap, Tanbin and others. The population exceeded 3 million, and in 1995 it reached 4.8 million people.

Since the early 1990s, the SRV government has set a course to revive the attractiveness of "Far Eastern Paris". In 1994, the Communist Party called on Chinese businessmen who had once left South Vietnam to return their capital to the country's economy. The call was heeded - already in 1997, foreign investments "worked" in Saigon for the implementation of more than 600 projects.

The city has become the main economic center of the country, attracting a huge army of potential workers.

Location and transport

Official Ho Chi Minh Square (2056 sq. km) almost double the area of ​​Moscow. This is due to the fact that in addition to 16 urban areas (kuan, or district) the capital Nambo includes 5 vast rural areas (huyen) stretching south to the mangroves of the sea coast. The share of 16 kuans, denoted by Roman numerals, accounts for only about 10% of the area of ​​Ho Chi Minh City, while as many as 75% of the population of the agglomeration lives here. The most famous, attractive and full of sights I and III districts. From the southeast, they are adjoined by the former territory of the city of Tölon - "Chinatown", which occupies the V and VI districts. In the western part of Ho Chi Minh City, the Saigon River meanders. Highway 1 crosses it in the northwestern part of the city. Within Ho Chi Minh City, the highway is called Dien Bien Phu Street.

Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Tan Son Nhat) is located in the northwestern part of the city, about 6 km from the center. In September 2007, a new international terminal opened here. Bus number 152 (VND 1000) will take you to the center of Ho Chi Minh City, a taxi for the same distance will cost no more than 80,000 VND. Motocabs (2 USD/ 30,000 VND to the center) can be found at the domestic terminal, located about 200 m to the right of the exit from the international terminal.

Myendong bus station (Ben Xe Mien Dong, 292, Dinh Wo Linh Rd., Tel. 08-8984893) where the buses arrive long distance from the north, located in the northeast district of Bintan, at the same distance from the city center as Tan Son Nhat Airport. Several bus lines connect Myeongdong with the city center (final stop at bentany market). Tourist open-tour buses take passengers to Pham Ngu Lao Street in District I - the main tourist quarter of the city.

Myentai bus station (Ben Xe Mien Tay, Kinh Duong Vuong St., Tel. 08-8752953) in the same area, Bintan serves flights from Saigon to the south.

Ansuong bus station (Ben Xe An Suong, 22, Quoc Lo St., Tel. 08-8832513) has recently appeared in the Hokmon area and serves flights to Tainin.

The train station is located on Nguyen Thon Street. (1, Nguyen Thon St., tel. 08-8245585). It is interesting that, despite the renaming of the city, the station is still quite officially called the “station of Saigon” (Ga Sai Gon).

• Taxi: Mai Linh Taxi Company - tel. 08-8226666
• Vina Taxi - 08-8111111
• Saigon Taxi - 08-8424242

Chaotic picture traffic on the streets of the city is able to scare even the most sophisticated motorist. If courage does not leave you, and driving skills are not in doubt, you can rent a motorbike (any travel agency on Pham Ngu Lao Street), which will cost from 5 to 15 USD per day, depending on the size and power of the "horse".

Hotels in the city are mainly located in the center of Ho Chi Minh City. At the same time, luxury hotels are grouped around Dong Khoi Street, and inexpensive guesthouses are concentrated along Pham Ngu Lao Street and to the south of it.

Low price calendar for flights to Ho Chi Minh City

Climate

The dry season in Ho Chi Minh City is from November to April, when average temperature air is about 26 °C. At this time, the weather is clear and sunny. The rainy season lasts from May to October at an air temperature of about 29 °C. The average air humidity in the city throughout the year is about 80%.

Attractions Ho Chi Minh City

From Pham Ngu Lao Street to Ton Duc Thang Promenade

Neighborhood of Pham Ngu Dao Street (Pham Ngu Lao St.) in the 1st district of Ho Chi Minh City - the most famous tourist area of ​​the city. There are many restaurants, travel agencies and hotels here - from small family-run guesthouses to the huge 5-star New World Saigon Hotel. Stopping at the intersection of Pham Ngu Lao and De Tham (De Tham St.), you will see across the road a long green strip of Le Lai Park, behind which is the street of the same name. A little further north rises the gothic spire of Huyen Shi Church. (Huyen Sy Church) standing at the crossroads of Nguyen Chai (Nguyen Trai St.) and Ton Tat Tung (Ton That Tung St.). This beautiful Catholic temple is one of the five largest places of worship in Saigon and keeps the memory of the family of the last Vietnamese Empress Nam Phuong. The monarch's grandfather, a major businessman Huyen Shi, converted to Christianity at the beginning of the 20th century. decided to build a new temple in Saigon. The project of the church was made by the architect-priest Boutier, who also led the construction work. The material was granite from the quarries of the nearby city of Bien Hoa. The temple was completed in 1902 and immediately became one of the centers of the city's religious life. In a small side aisle of the central nave of the church, you can see marble tombstones on the graves of Huen Shi himself and his wife.

From Huyen Chi Church you can easily and quickly get to the historical center of the city - Pham Ngu Lao street or Le Lai street will lead you there (Le Lai St.). Both of them go in a northeast direction almost to the very Tran Nguyen Hanh square. (Tran Nguyen Han Sq.), on the north side of which stands the building of the Bentan market (Ben Than Market) topped by a clock tower. The statue of Tran Nguyen Han rises in the center of the square. (1380 - 1442) - poet and commander, leader of the resistance to the Chinese invaders at the beginning of the 15th century. The bird that the hero holds in his raised right hand is not a hunting falcon at all, but a carrier pigeon. Tran Nguyen Hanh was the first in Vietnam to use these birds to transmit military reports. A white female head at the foot of the monument keeps the memory of Kat Thi Chang. This believing Buddhist was killed in the square in 1963, during a protest against the policies of President Ngo Dinh Diem.

From the eastern side, the quarters of colonial Saigon approach the square, where many two- and three-story old mansions with balconies and wooden blinds have been preserved. Boulevard Le Loi departs from the square in the northeast direction (Le Loi St.) - the main street capital of French Indochina. Once this wide highway bore the name of Admiral Louis-Adolphe Bonard (1805-1867) , the first French governor of Cochinchina. The current name, which appeared in the 1950s, is reminiscent of King Le Loy (1384- 1433) . Back in the 19th century the boulevard has become a traditional place for festive festivities of the townspeople. During the era of French rule, military parades were often held here, one of which took place on March 17, 1891 on the occasion of the visit to Saigon of the heir to the Russian throne, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich. The future emperor and other Russian guests from a special podium watched the march of the marines, artillery and Annam riflemen, dressed in blue uniforms and conical wicker hats trimmed with polished copper.

As you continue walking along the boulevard, you will soon see in perspective the streets beautiful building Opera Theatre. The first European theater troupe appeared in Saigon already in 1863. Around the same time, the first small wooden theater was built on the site of the current Continental Hotel. The Opera House was erected in the Belle Epoque style in 1899-1900. designed by the Parisian architect Felix Olivier. The construction was supervised by the architect Ernest Guichard. The cost of a luxurious building with a hall for 800 seats exceeded one million francs. After the completion of construction around the Opera, the current Lam Son Square was planned. In 1944, the theater building was damaged by allied aviation bombs, but was soon restored. During the years of the First Indochina War, a temporary hostel was set up in the theater for refugees who moved to Saigon from the northern regions of the country. Nowadays, the name of the Opera House does not correspond much to reality: the building stands and pleases citizens and tourists with its beauty, but instead of opera performances, concerts of national music are only occasionally given here.

Standing in the middle of the square facing the Opera, you will see on the right a 4-story cream-colored building with huge windows of a cafe on the ground floor. This is the famous Hotel Continental, built in 1885 at the expense of the French industrialist Pierre Guizot. The hotel is located on the corner of Le Loi Boulevard and Dong Khoi Road. (Street of General Rebellion), in former years bearing the name of the French commander of the 17th century. Nicholas de Catina. President Ngo Dinh Diem renamed it Ty Zo Street (Freedom), and the modern name arose in 1975. As soon as it opened, the Continental entered the prestigious Indochina Grand Hotel Society. Over the long years of its existence, the hotel has changed several owners, has seen many eminent guests and has become a mute witness to all the dramatic events recent history Vietnam. In the 1920s writers André Malraux and Somerset Maugham, who described their Saigon experiences in the book of travel essays The Gentleman in the Foyer: From Rangoon to Haiphong, stayed at the hotel.

At the turn of the 1940s - 1950s. the hotel turned into a press club: journalists from the world's leading publications, who covered the ups and downs of the Indochina war, rented rooms for their bureaus here. The exception was a correspondent for the London Sunday Times. (and part-time - British intelligence agent) Henry Green, who entered the history of literature under his middle name Graham.

The writer spent the last three years of French rule in Saigon, staying at different places, but with particular preference for the more conservative and quiet Hotel Majestic, which opened in 1925 at the very beginning of Rue Katina. The writer went to the Continental to sit on the open terrace of the cafe - this habit was inherited by the heroes of his famous novel"The Quiet American", written in 1955 in the wake of Vietnamese impressions. The terrace at the Continental has for years been a meeting place for the cream of the Saigon society - it can be seen in numerous scenes of the famous film Indochina.

Continuing our walk along Dong Khoi Road towards the Saigon River, we pass by the Mondial Hotel (d. 109). At this location in the early 1950s. stood the house in which Graham Greene settled the protagonist of his novel, the journalist Tom Fowler. A little further down the street stands out a beautiful building with a round corner tower, which also remembers the English writer. This is the Grand Hotel, first opened in the 1930s. and renovated in 1997. A block away, Dong Khoi Street leads to Ton Duc Thang Promenade (Ton Due Thang)- the former Quai de Belgique (Belgian embankment). Turning left and walking about 200 m upstream of the Saigon River, you come to the round square Me Linh (Me Linh Sq.), in the center of which there is a monument to General Chan Hung Dao (1228-1300) To the left of the monument rises the modern Renaissance Riverside Hotel. Parts of the Ton Duc Thang Promenade near the square have been turned into shady gardens where you can stop and look at the calm waters of the wide Saigon River. Green islands of water hyacinth float slowly towards the mouth, and upstream the docks of the shipyard are visible.

Not far from the place where we are now, on March 16, 1891, a detachment of Russian warships anchored. On board the cruiser "Memory of Azov" was the heir to the Russian throne with his retinue, he was accompanied by the frigate "Vladimir Monomakh", as well as the gunboats "Manyzhur" and "Korean" (the latter 13 years later shared the fate of the famous "Varyag"), The commander of the flagship had to sweat a lot: the huge cruiser "did not fit" in the river. When the anchor was dropped, Governor-General Jules Piqué personally came on board to greet the distinguished guests. Near modern area Me Lin on the shore was built a richly decorated arch with the inscription "Saigon - to the Tsesarevich", through which the future Nicholas II entered the Vietnamese land.

After walking along the embankment for about 400 m to the south, we come to the confluence of the Bennge Canal into the Saigon River. Bennge means "Calf Wharf". Once this was the name of the Vietnamese village located here, from which the history of the city of Ho Chi Minh City began. Here the embankment makes a bend, leaving along the canal in a westerly direction. At this turn rises an old flagpole made on the model of a real mast of a sailing ship. At the top of the flagpole, the national flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam flutters, replacing the French tricolor and the yellow-red flag of the Republic of Vietnam. Next to the flagpole is the Batdang pier, from which the Comets leave for Vung Tau. A beautiful three-story building under a red tiled roof, standing on the opposite bank of the canal, is the former French Directorate of Maritime Communications, next to which were the passenger berths of the Messagerie Maritim shipping company. For many years, for all visitors to the city of Saigon, it began here. Now the local Ho Chi Minh Museum is located in the building of the directorate.

From Ton Duc Thang Promenade to Notre-Dame De Saigon

To the northwest of Me Lin Square goes Hai Ba Chung Street. (Hai Wa Trung St.). After walking two blocks along it, you can turn left at an establishment called Java Coffee Bar. Here, on a small street of Dong Zi (Dong Du), is the main Saigon mosque, built in 1935. Surrounded by a garden, the white mosque is open from 8 am to 8 pm. Here you can relax, provided that your shoes will be waiting for you at the entrance. The bulk of Saigon Muslims, which include citizens of Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia, visit the mosque on Fridays, as is customary in Islam.

Having reached the end of Zong Zu Street, we again find ourselves on Dong Khoi Street. Turning right, you can see the building of the Saigon City Hall in perspective (Hotel deVille), built in 1902 - 1908. in imitation of the famous building of the Paris City Hall. Heading towards it, we leave on the left hand the Rex Hotel, standing on the corner of Dong Khoi and Le Loi, opposite the Opera. The building has come a long way from a multi-storey car park to a 4-star hotel, which first opened in 1959. By the start of the American War, the Rex was Saigon's most modern hotel, and for this reason it was especially sympathetic to the officers of the expeditionary forces. American generals lived here, and lower-ranking officers liked to go to the bar on the roof of the hotel.

The City Hall houses the City People's Committee, and it is closed to the public, but after dark it pleases with beautiful illumination. In front of the main facade of the Hotel de Ville there is a garden and a small, very intimate monument to Ho Chi Minh. Dong Khoi Street circles City Hall on the right and ends two blocks northwest at the square in front of Notre Dame de Saigon Cathedral (Cathedral of Our Lady of Saigon).

First wooden churches appeared in the city immediately after the French conquest. It soon became clear that the tree was quickly destroyed by termites, and in 1876 the governor of Cochinchina, Rear Admiral Dupre, announced a competition for the design of a new cathedral. The temple was to become not only the center of religious life, but also a symbol of the power of France in the eyes of the local population. The architect J. Bura, who won the competition, presented a project for a building in a monumental neo-Romanesque style. The construction of the cathedral began in 1877, and it was consecrated in 1880. The 60-meter towers that adorn the main facade of the temple were crowned with spiers in 1895. (in photographs taken before this event, they resemble the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral).

Six bells with a total weight of about 30 tons emit a sound of different tones. During the construction of the Saigon Cathedral, only imported materials were used: even the brick was delivered by sea from Marseille. The architect Bura, who personally supervised the construction, was able to provide exclusively high quality works. At the end of the XIX century. on the square in front of the cathedral, a monument was erected to Father Pierre Pigno, known in history as Pigno de Been. This missionary, who in 1770 became a bishop and head of the Catholic Church of Cochinchina, at the end of the 18th century. won the favor of the future emperor Gia Long and laid the foundation stone of French Indochina. The monument depicted Pinho holding the hand of his pupil - the young prince Kan, the son of Gia Long. In 1945, the monument was destroyed by the Viet Minh soldiers, who spared only its round pedestal. In the mid 1950s. Bishop Joseph of Saigon (Pham Van Thien) commissioned a granite statue of Our Lady in Rome. On February 16, 1959, the statue was solemnly installed on the old pedestal, where it remains to this day. In 2005, a rumor spread around the city that ... tears appeared in the eyes of the stone Maiden, but later it was not confirmed and the miracle did not take place.

To the right of the cathedral is the pink building of the central post office. The existing building was completed in 1891 and is located on the site of a post office built in 1886. (both dates can be seen above the main entrance). Gustave Eiffel also had a hand in designing the metal structures of the post office. At the end of the XIX century. The first telephone exchange in Vietnam was opened here.

Bentanh Market and areas northwest of it

Despite all the efforts of the authorities, none of the largest monuments of the colonial era managed to become a symbol of Saigon. For almost a hundred years, this role has been played by an artless functional building - the Bentan market. The modern building with a tower and a clock was built in 1912-1914. Until 1954 the market was known under the French name Les Halles Centrales (Central market). The main entrance to the market is located on Tran Nguyen Hanh Square, under the clock.

If you stand with your back to the entrance, then to your left on the other side of the square you can see a bright 3-story building with large windows and a red gable roof. This is the former office railways French Indochina (Bureaux du Chemin de Fer). Interestingly, the Saigon railway station once also adjoined the square, located on its western side, approximately where the greenery of Le Lai Park now ends. Later, he was "expelled" from the city center and moved almost 3 km towards the airport. Once under the arches of the Bentan market, a foreign visitor immediately falls into the tenacious hands of souvenir sellers. Further on, there are shops with clothes and shoes, and in the center of the spacious hall, covered with a dome with a diameter of 28 m, there are “glutton rows” where you can buy fruits and have an inexpensive snack.

After passing through the market, you exit through its northern gate onto Le Thanh Ton Street (Le Thanh Ton St.). Head left first and after 100m turn right onto Truong Dinh Road (Truong Dinh St.). This short street is home to the colorful Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple. In the last quarter of the XIX century. a large colony of Hindus appeared in Saigon - they moved to Indochina from the French East Indies, a small possession on the Coromandel coast of Hindustan. The colony was dominated by Tamils, so the temple was built in the style of South Indian Tamil architecture.

The gopurama is striking - a pyramidal tower above the entrance gate of the temple courtyard, decorated with countless painted plaster sculptures. The temple is open for free visits from 7 am to 7 pm (shoes should be left at the entrance). Although only a few dozen Tamils ​​now live in Ho Chi Minh City, their temple remains active.

Leaving the temple, turn left and at the intersection with Nguyen Dhu street (Nguyen Du St.) we will take a course to the northeast along the fence of the central city park Kongvien Wanhoa (Cong Vien Van Hoa)- former Jardin de ville (City Garden) colonial era. At the corner of Nguyen Dhu and Nam Ky Khoi Nghia streets (Nam Ky Khoi Nghia St.) you should look to the right and pay attention to the white palace, located a little lower towards the river. This building, built in 1886, housed the residence of the Lieutenant Governor, who was in charge of the state of affairs in South Vietnam. During the independence period of the South, the building was called Gia Long Palace. President Ngo Dinh Diem lived here in 1954 - 1955, as well as in the last year of his life. It now houses the Ho Chi Minh City Museum. (VND 15,000, 65, Ly Tu Trong St., tel. 08-8299741, 8.00-11.30/14.00-16.00, Mon). It deserves a separate visit, but for now let's turn left and walk along the fence to the main gate of the Reunification Palace, whose territory is adjacent to the city park. The first palace was built on this site in 1868-1871. and was intended for the official residence of the governor of the colony.

The first governor who settled within the walls of the palace was Admiral Pierre de Lagrandiere. The two-story building with galleries and a dome was named Norodom Palace. (Palais Norodom) in honor of the King of Cambodia, who in 1863 voluntarily accepted the protectorate of France. In March 1891, it was here that Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich stayed during his visit to Saigon. During the Second World War, the highest ranks of the Japanese occupation troops settled in the palace. In September 1954, the last representative of Paris in Indochina, General Paul Ely, handed over the residence to the new leader, President Ngo Dinh Diem. The latter renamed the residence the Palace of Independence and lived here for seven years.

On February 27, 1962, the palace became the scene of a grandiose attempt on the life of the president, organized by conspirators from the ranks of the South Vietnamese army. To eliminate the dictator, ... two Skyrader attack aircraft were used, which bombed the building, completely destroying its left wing. Having miraculously survived, Ngo Dinh Diem abandoned plans to restore the palace and ordered a new residence to be built in its place, which can be seen to this day. The palace stands exactly on the site of the former Palais Norodom, with its main facade facing the beginning of Le Duan Street. The building was designed by Vietnamese architect Ngo Viet Thu. (1926-2000) , awarded in 1955 the prestigious scholarship of the French government Grand Prix de Rome and studied building art in Italy for three years.

In 1962, Ngo became the first Asian architect to be elected an honorary member of the American Institute of Architecture. The four-storey palace designed by him has a height of 26 m and has 95 rooms and halls, while the total area of ​​​​the complex is 22,000 square meters. m. The project was based on both the achievements of Western architecture and the ancient principles of Feng Shui. The various parts of the palace resemble Chinese characters in plan, denoting the concepts of “luck”, “prosperity”, “power”, “king”, etc. Ngo Viet Thu managed to create a truly original building, devoid of pomposity and very comfortable.

Ngo Dinh Diem did not have time to admire his new palace: on November 2, 1963, a successful coup put an end not only to his political career, but also to the life of the president. The solemn "acceptance" of the residence took place only in 1966, and General Nguyen Van Thieu, who lived here as head of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975, became its main owner.

Interrupting the walk around the city, we will enter the gates of the palace, which played a huge role in the history of Vietnam (admission 15,000 VND, open daily from 7.30 to noon and from 13.00 to 17.00, www.dinhdoclap.gov.vn). A wide square with a fountain separates the central gate from the front entrance of the building. Pay attention to the facade of the building: behind the marble screens, made in the form of bamboo knees, there are verandas that run along the second and third floors. The verandas were borrowed by the architect from the legacy of colonial architecture, but the screens are his indisputable find. They protect the verandas from direct sunlight, while at the same time helping to ensure the free circulation of air in all rooms. Just outside the front doors, a wide staircase leads to the second floor. To the right and left of it are the Great Hall, the Cabinet Room and the Banquet Hall.

Large hall of about 450 sq. m is authentic historical place. On April 21, 1975, Nguyen Van Thieu held the last meeting of the government here before his flight to about. Taiwan. Nine days later, the last president of South Vietnam, General Duong Van Minh, known as "Big Minh" and the leader of the 1963 coup, surrendered in this hall to officers of the North Vietnamese troops. This happened at 1:30 p.m. April 30, 1975 Tank engines were still roaring in the yard when a group of people in field uniforms entered the hall. Big Ming declared with dignity that he was ready to transfer power to the revolutionary government. There was a pause, and in the ensuing silence, one of those who entered mockingly said: “You cannot convey what you do not have!” After the war, a commission to work out the conditions for the unification of the country met in the Great Hall. It was at the end of her work that the palace received its current name.

The second floor of the palace during the years of the "Saigon regime" was intended for the residence and work of the president. Here you can see the office of the head of state and his reception rooms: one for Vietnamese guests, the other for foreigners. The offices of the adjutant and duty officer of the headquarters, the radio station and the room for working with maps remind of the war. Here were the office and reception of the vice president.

Most of the third floor is occupied by a comfortable living room with a bar and gambling tables, as well as a cinema room. The entire fourth floor is, in fact, a huge covered terrace. Here you can see the dance floor covered with teak wood. It is interesting that, according to the architect, this place was intended for concentrated meditation. A little lower is a helipad. The captured American helicopter standing here, one of the famous Hueys, helps to imagine the scenes of the flight of the last inhabitants of the palace in 1975.

T-59 and T-54 tanks were installed in the palace park, identical to the famous cars that broke into the residence on the morning of April 30, 1975. The first tank with tail number 843 crushed the park fence from the side, while the second car tore off the main gate grill . A little further on is the American Northrop F5 fighter-bomber. On April 8, 1975, a pilot of the South Vietnamese Air Force, Nguyen Thanh Trung, took off from the air base in Vien Hoa on an aircraft of this type. Sending him on another mission, the command did not suspect that the pilot had long joined the ranks of the Communists and had received a much more important order from the party the day before: to bomb presidential palace! Trung broke away from his link and, appearing over Saigon, dropped two bombs. One exploded on the empty helipad of the palace, and the second broke through the ceiling and damaged the front staircase. The action cost no casualties, and the pilot flew to the location of the "Reds" and a week later bombed Saigon again on the captured Dragonfly bomber. After the war, Trung took a seat at the helm of the Vietnam Airlines liner.

Stepping outside the palace fence, you find yourself at the beginning of the former Norodom Boulevard, which has turned into Le Duan Street. After walking along it three blocks in a northeast direction, you find yourself in the diplomatic district of Ho Chi Minh City. Now there are 29 foreign consulates in the city. The site closest to the palace is occupied by the PRC representation, and about 200 meters from it the Stars and Stripes flag flutters. The US Consulate still occupies the site of the former US embassy in the Republic of Vietnam.

The first embassy building in Saigon was built by Uncle Sam in the late 1950s and can still be seen at 39 Ham Ngyi Street. As US influence in South Vietnam increased, more space was needed. The new complex on Norodom Boulevard was completed in 1964, and for the next 10 years all the most important decisions in the life of the puppet state were made here. In the last month of the war, a continuous air bridge operated between the embassy and the American ships stationed at the mouth of the Saigon River. Helicopters landed directly on the roof of the mission, while huge crowds of frightened people besieged the gate day and night, hoping for an evacuation. The atmosphere that prevailed here on the eve of the denouement of a 10-year-old drama is well conveyed in the famous film by American Michael Cimino "The Deer Hunter". Around 4:00 am on April 30, 1975, the last staff, led by Ambassador Graham Martin, left the embassy, ​​and three hours later the last helicopter took off from here, carrying away the Marines-guards. After the fall of Saigon, the mission buildings were partially destroyed or rebuilt. After the reconciliation of the former opponents, diplomatic life is again seething in the ashes.

Continuing the walk along Le Duan street, you can go to Nguyen Binh Khiem street (Nguyen Binh Khiem St.), on which the Botanical Garden and the Zoo are located (adults/children 8000/4000 VND, tel. 08-8293901, 7.00-20.00). Their common history began in 1864. The Historical Museum is also located on the territory of the garden (VND 10,000, tel. 08-8298146, 8.00-11.30/13.00-16.00, Sunday: 8.30-16.00) and the Temple of King Hung Vuong. The yellow building of the museum was erected in 1929 in the style of oriental eclecticism, which crossed a Chinese pagoda with a French colonial villa. Before gaining independence, the building was occupied by the Society for Indochinese Studies, which opened the first museum here, until 1956 it was called the Musée Blanchard de la Bose. The modern exposition tells about the history of the country starting from the period of the Dong Son culture. (XIII century BC). Much attention is paid to the ancient Khmer and Cham states that once existed on the territory of South Vietnam.

The museum has a large collection of temple sculptures. (some samples were taken from Angkor) and ancient weapons. The halls of the museum are well lit, and the expositions are provided with explanations in English. Photography in the halls of the museum is prohibited. From time to time, the museum organizes performances of puppet theater on the water, but the condition for this is the presence of at least five interested spectators.

Returning to the gates of the Reunification Palace, it is worth turning right and, after going around the fence of the park, get to the intersection of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai streets (Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St.) and Le Quy Don (Le Ouy Don St.) located about 10 minutes walk from the palace. A block northwest along St. Le Quy Don is Ho Chi Minh City's most impressive museum - the War Memory Museum (entrance from Wo Van Tan street (Vo Van Tan St.), open daily from 7.30 to 12.00 and from 13.30 to 16.30, entry 10,000 VND). Opened on September 4, 1975, the museum until the mid-1990s. It was called the "Museum of the Crimes of the American Military". Then the exchange of ambassadors and the prospect of investment forced the name to be changed to a more neutral one...

The contents of the exposition, however, remained unchanged: terrible pictures of the victims of sadistic military technologies, documents and captured weapons. The hall called "Requiem" contains the works of 134 photojournalists from 11 countries who died on the battlefields of the Indochinese wars. The famous Hungarian Robert Capa was the first to fall back in 1954, and the last front-line photographer was killed just two days before the fall of Saigon. The fate of several correspondents who went missing in the jungle on the Cambodian border is still unknown...

On the western side of the museum, a full-size replica of "tiger cages" - solitary confinement cells, in which prisoners of South Vietnam's political prisons were kept, was attached to the museum. Here you can also see a genuine ... guillotine that belonged to the French colonialists. The last time such an archaic execution tool was used in South Vietnam was in March 1960.

If visiting the museum did not take away your last strength, then to complete the tour it is worth visiting the Thich Quang Duc memorial and the Sa Loi pagoda. To do this, after leaving the museum, you need to turn right and go southwest along Wo Van Tan Street (Vo Van Tan St.) to the intersection with Cat Mang Thang Tam street (Cach Mang Thang Tarn St.). Turning right again and walking about 200 m, you will find yourself at a busy intersection. On June 11, 1963, this place was even more crowded: Buddhists held another protest demonstration against the anti-Buddhist policy of President Ngo Dinh Diem. Their claims to the head of state were quite justified: from the first days of being in power, the Catholic Diem actively patronized his co-religionists to the detriment of the Buddhist majority of the population.

Catholicism became the de facto state religion. Non-Christians could not hold official positions and receive officer ranks in the police and army. It came to the prohibition of Buddhist rites and festive celebrations. Thich Quang Duc, 66, a senior monk from Thien Mu Temple in Hue, traveled to Saigon to set himself on fire to protest the ruling order. The car in which the monk was traveling with two disciples stopped at a crossroads. Thich Quang Duc sat down on the pavement in a lotus position with a detached face. The demonstrators surrounded him in a dense ring, while one of the novices doused the teacher with gasoline. Saying the name of the Buddha, Thich calmly struck a match...

Despite their best efforts, the police could not break through the human barrier. When it was all over, the monk's remains were transferred to the nearby Sa Loi Pagoda. On the same day, President Ngo issued a statement expressing "regret and concern". Despite this, the secret services broke into the pagoda the very next day and unsuccessfully tried to confiscate the ashes of a willing martyr. The daughter-in-law of the unmarried president, who played the role of the “first lady” of the country, cynically called the act of the monk “barbecue show”. With this “witty” statement, she drove the last nail into the coffin of the family’s power: less than six months later, a coup took place in the country, and the president and his younger brother (husband of the First Lady) were killed... Now, at the site of the death of a monk, there is a monument decorated with flowers in the form of a small pagoda.

To the north of the intersection, the bell tower of Sa Loi Pagoda is visible. To get to it, you need to go a little further along Cat Mang Thang Tam street and turn right onto Ngo Thoi Nyem street (Ngo Thoi Nhiem St.). Sa Loi Pagoda (Pagoda of Holy Relics) was built in 1956 - 1958. This is the largest Buddhist temple in Ho Chi Minh City. The main prayer hall has big statue Buddha Shakyamuni. The heart of Thich Quang Duc is also kept here, the remains of which were cremated in the courtyard of the pagoda after a martyr's death. According to legend, the monk's heart was not touched by fire and is now kept in a crystal vessel on the altar of the temple.

The seven-tiered bell tower of the temple, built in 1961, has a height of 32 m - this is the tallest structure of its kind in the country. The bell suspended from the tower weighs 2 tons and is a copy of the Thien My pagoda bell in Hue.

Tholon (Districts V and VI)

Saigon's Chinatown is no younger than the city itself. Already at the end of the XVII century. there was a large Chinese settlement, which served as the main trading center of the district (The word "Telon" itself means "big market"). At the end of the XVIII century. The population of Tölon grew even more due to the Chinese who fled from the uprising-ridden North. In the war with the Teyshons, Chinese merchants supported the feudal lords and had every reason to fear the wrath of the rebels. Once safe in the prosperous South, the Chinese tended to unfold in all the splendor of their commercial talents.

The French invasion reduced the population of the Mekong Delta by more than half and dealt a severe blow to the wealth of the Chinese colony. With their characteristic dexterity, the Chinese quickly adapted to the changed situation and were able to benefit from it. Tholon returned to its former prosperity and began to grow rapidly. In 1910, the Chinese settlements actually merged with Saigon, and in 1931 they formed with it a special administrative unit, the Saigon-Tholon District. The last remnants of self-government disappeared in 1941, and Tholon finally became an urban area.

Like all colonialists, the French acted in Indochina on the principle of "divide and rule." The predominance of the Chinese in trade was encouraged by the authorities, as it prevented the recalcitrant Viet from accumulating "excessive" wealth. Under the terms of several treaties concluded between France and China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Chinese enjoyed the right to duty free and free border crossing, as well as many other benefits. The Chinese minority, for their part, understood that they owed their prosperity to the authorities, and paid loyalty to any regime that respected the "rules of the game." The Chinese much faster than the Vietnamese adopted the French way of life, manner of dressing and doing business. A colorful image of a young westernized Thelon rich man of the late 1920s. can be seen in Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Lover. Many scenes in the film by the French filmmaker reproduce the life of Tholon of that era.

The "golden age" of the Thelon Chinese was the era of independence of South Vietnam. Businessmen from Chinatown quickly forgot their French habits and even changed their names in a Vietnamese way. Chinese capital actively interfered in politics, sponsoring the most promising participants in the struggle for power. As a result, after 1964, 80 ethnic Chinese became multimillionaires. The Thelonians held in their hands 100% of the wholesale and 50% of the retail trade in the republic. 80% of the loans issued by the banks of the republic were received by Telonian firms. The most successful Chinese businessmen in Saigon were called "kings". Ma Hu was the "rice king", Lee Hong was the "gasoline"; "steel king" Lam Hue Ho controlled about 20 import routes and had the exclusive right to buy scrap metal from the army. The Chinese Li Long Thang, who owned 23 enterprises, was referred to as the "de facto president" during the time of Nguyen Van Thieu.

The fall of Saigon did not take the Thelon "oligarchs" by surprise: in anticipation of the collapse of the republic, their capital was prudently transferred to Hong Kong and Singapore. It was worse for small entrepreneurs from Chinatown, who had nowhere to run. Their shops and workshops became the main focus of the campaign to introduce "socialist farming methods" in the south. As a result, many Thelonians in the 1970s and 1980s replenished the army of "boat people" who sought to escape from the country by any means. All this led to the decline of Saigon's Chinatown...

Tholon is located at a distance of about 3 km from the "colonial center" of the city. You can get here by bus from the stop at the Bentan market (15 - 20 minutes, 2000 VND), this will cost about 20,000 VND. The main attractions of Chinatown are concentrated in the vicinity of Chan Hung Dao Street. (Tran Hung Dao St.), which goes from the Bentany market itself and crosses Tholon from east to west. To the north of this street are a mosque and several Chinese temples.

Thien Hau Pagoda (Thien Hau) on Nguyen Chai street (Nguyen Trai) built at the beginning of the 19th century. corporation of Cantonese merchants. The temple is dedicated to the goddess already familiar to us - the mistress of the sea, "responsible" for the safety of merchant ships. Kuan An Pagoda (Quan Am) is located next to the previous temple. It was built in 1816 by merchants from the Chinese province of Fujian. The pagoda is richly decorated with painted sculpture, gilding and lacquer. Phuoc An Hoi Quan Pagoda (Phuoc An Hoi Quan) much younger than the previous two temples: it was built by a Fujian corporation in 1902. Its highlight is the countless ceramic sculptures and reliefs that dot its roof, walls and altar. All pagodas are open to the public.

There is also a Christian temple in Tölon - Cha Tan Catholic Church (Cha Tat, 25, Duong Hoc Lac St.), standing at the very end of Chan Hung Dao Street. A beautiful yellow church with a high spire is separated from the street by gates built in a purely Chinese style. In November 1963, President Ngo Dinh Diem and his younger brother took refuge in the Cha Tan church during a coup d'état. The army command sent a detachment of soldiers in armored personnel carriers to the temple. The president was told that the military was ready to save the legitimate head of state. Having believed, the brothers got into one of the military vehicles and were treacherously killed on the way to the center of Saigon. About 100m southwest of the church is Binh Tai (Cho Binh Tau)- the main market of Tholon. It was built in the Chinese style at the beginning of the 20th century. funded by wealthy merchant Guo Dong (Quach Dam, 1863-1927), who started out in Tholon as a junk dealer and ended up amassing a huge fortune. A granite monument to Guo Dong, surrounded by bronze sculptures of lions and dragons, can still be seen in the center of the market.

Only a few hundred Chinese live in Cholon today. However, this area is very different from other areas of the city: many signs here are written in Chinese characters, not Vietnamese romanized writing. Excursions to Saigon's Chinatown are especially popular with tourists from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. On the streets of Cholon, there are many restaurants with good South Chinese cuisine.

At a distance of about 1 km northeast of Tholon is Dam Sen Park. (Dam Sen, adult/child admission 18,000/12,000 VND, funny www.damsenpark.com.vn)- a local analogue of Disneyland, which will surely appeal to children. The park has two lakes surrounded by gardens and attractions. In the Royal Garden you can admire the flora of South Vietnam, and in the Bonsai Garden - dwarf trees (Vietnamese non bo). Walking through the park, every now and then you come across bizarre statues of dinosaurs, dragons, giant beetles and shrimps. There is a miniature monorail here. (travel 15,000 VND) and pleasure boats. In the northwestern part of Dam Sen is a water park (adult/child visit VND 50,000/30,000, www.damsenwaterpark.com.vn), and on the opposite side is the ancient pagoda Gyak Vien (Giac Vienna) built at the beginning of the 19th century. Several Buddhist monks live in the pagoda and practice the art of Chinese calligraphy.

The secluded Gyak Lam Pagoda is located about 1 km north of Dam Sen Park, in the direction of the airport. This is the oldest Buddhist temple in Ho Chi Minh City, founded in 1744 and still operating. The architectural ensemble of the pagoda was formed by 1900 and has not been rebuilt since then. The pagoda is not only open to the public, but also provides tourists with the opportunity to relax with a cup of tea in the courtyard of the temple. The inner surface of the walls of the temple courtyard is painted with scenes of Buddhist hell and the afterlife. A cab or taxi to Dam Sen Park and Giac Lam Pagoda from the center of Ho Chi Minh City will cost 20,000-30,000 VND.

Museum of Fine Arts (97A, Pho Due Chinh St., District 1, tel. 08-8222441, 9.00-16.30, except Sundays. Admission 10,000 VND). The youngest museum in the city occupies a beautiful building built at the beginning of the 20th century. by the same architect who designed the Bentan market. The museum is located a block away from Tran Nguyen Hanh Square. The exposition presents many works - from ancient Cham sculpture to socialist battle painting.

Ton Duc Thang Memorial Museum (5, Ton Due Thang St., tel. 08-8297542). The museum is located on the waterfront, 100 meters north of Me Lin Square. The statesman and politician of democratic Vietnam was born in 1888 in the city of Long Xuyen near Saigon. During the First World War, Ton Duc Thang was called up to serve in the French fleet and even visited the Black Sea during the Russian civil war. In the 1930-1950s. he took part in the anti-colonial movement and the 1st Indochina War, and then for a long time held high positions in the leadership of Vietnam. The museum opened in 1980, on the centenary of Thang.

Daoist Temple of the Jade Emperor (Chua Ngoc Hoang), built in 1909 by people from Canton (Guangzhou), located on the northern outskirts of the city center, at the intersection of Dien Bien Phu and Dinh Tien Hoang streets (Dinh Tien Hoang St.). This place is located about half a kilometer from the Zoo and Historical Museum. The temple, erroneously referred to as the "pagoda", is considered one of the most picturesque buildings in Ho Chi Minh City. Not too pompous when viewed from the outside, inside it amazes with the richness of carvings and sculptural decoration. The walls of the prayer hall are finished from floor to ceiling with expensive teak wood, and on the altar there are statues of the gods of the Taoist pantheon, including the Jade Emperor himself and the lord of hell Yanwang (Vietnamese Thanh Hoang).

In the courtyard, the waters of a picturesque reservoir quietly sway, on the surface of which a turtle appears from time to time. The temple is more prayerful than tourist place. Half a kilometer north of it, along Dinh Tien Hoang Street, is the Lang Ong Memorial Temple dedicated to the memory of General Le Van Zyet (1763 - 1832) , viceroy and commander of the Zyadin citadel in the early years of the reign of Emperor Gia Long. Every year on the 30th day of the 7th lunar month, a festival is held in the temple, including mass prayers for the prosperity of the country.

Leisure

In addition to the mentioned Dam Sen water park, there are several more places with water entertainment in Ho Chi Minh City:

Saigon Water Park

Kha Van Can St.
Tel.: 08-8970456

9.00 - 17.00, on weekends and holidays open until 20.00, admission for adults / children 60,000/35,000 VND. Day off - Tuesday. The park is located north of the city center. From the bus station, located opposite the Bentan market, a minibus runs every half an hour to the water park (VND 5,000).

Sharks Waterland

Ham Tu St.
Tel: 08-8537867

8.00 - 21.00 weekdays, Saturday and Sunday - 10.00 - 21.00, admission for adults / children 20,000/15,000 VND). Located on the eastern outskirts of Tölon, at the intersection of st. Ham You are from the street. Chan Hung Dao. This is the smallest water park in the city, but it is convenient because it is located closer to the center than Dam Sen and Saigon Water Park.

Phu To Hippodrome

Fu To Hippodrome is located in the southeastern part of Le Zai Han Road. (Le Dai Hanh St.), at a distance of 3 km from the centre, immediately north of Tholon (entry 5000 VND, tel. 08-9628205). The hippodrome was built in the 1920s. in art deco style. During the war, American soldiers liked to relax here. After the fall of Saigon, the races were closed, resuming only in 1989. Now the races are held on Saturdays and Sundays, from 12.30 to 19.00. Rate slips and information are printed in Vietnamese and English. There are several cafes on the hippodrome.

Massage and SPA

A wide range of professional spa services in good conditions can be found at Lanh Anh Hair Beauty Salon & Spa (8, Ho Huan Nghiep St., tel. 08-8237747). The small street of Ho Hoan Ngyep lies between Me Linh Square and Dong Khoi Street, in the very center of the city. The establishment offers foot massage (75 min) for 7 USD and Thai body massage (75 min) for 10 USD. The Institute of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine is located in the extreme west of the tourist area Pham Ngu Lao, on Kong Cuyen Street. (185, Cong Quynh St., tel. 08-8396697). They also offer massages performed by blind masters for about VND 50,000 per hour.

Accommodation

The largest number of hotels per unit area in the city can be found at the intersection of Pham Ngu Lao and De Tham streets (De Thara St.) in district I. An entire street in this area is called the Alley of Mini-Hotels (Minihotel Alley). The main class of local hotels - small guesthouses for 7 - 8 USD per day. For this money, guests are provided with quite comfortable conditions: hot water, a fan, air conditioning, a refrigerator and a color TV are always present in clean rooms. The dimensions of the rooms are quite satisfactory, although the steep stairs are often cramped for two. When looking for a hotel of this kind, it is better to opt for establishments located in the side alleys - street noise is not so felt there.

Nutrition

If you are a guest of a budget guesthouse and need to take care of your own breakfast, you can contact the street vendors of sandwiches (banh mi), whose kitchen-trolleys appear on the streets as early as 6 in the morning. The French taught the Vietnamese to bake delicious white bread with a crispy crust, which is especially good in Ho Chi Minh City. A small oblong bun is cut lengthwise and stuffed with herbs, fried bacon or shrimp paste. Such a structure costs only 5,000 dong. Unfortunately, the sandwich seller will not be able to pour you a cup of coffee - for this pleasure you should contact the cafes, which also open very early. The townspeople themselves prefer to have breakfast with traditional soup with pho noodles. (from 15,000 VND). A casual lunch at a street cafe (pho, rice with fried pork and freshly squeezed orange juice) will cost no more than 40,000 dong.

Pho24. There are several establishments of this network. Noodle soup from VND 28,000, Taiger beer for VND 17,000. Air-conditioned chill. On Pham Ngu Lao Street, this establishment is located next to Hotel 211. Another restaurant is located in historical city, on Nguyen Hue street. Company (www.pho24.com.vn), owned by the son of a former Saigon government minister, started in 2003 and now owns more than 25 restaurants in Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia.

Doner Kebab. Missing Shawarma (or shawarma?) can look into Bui Vien street (198 Bui Vien St.) in the vicinity of Fa Ngu Lao, where this dish is available from VND 15,000.

Ho Chi Minh City is a paradise for people with a good appetite, because you will not find such a number of restaurants as here in Vietnam anywhere else. Price level for good place difficult to determine, since in a city experiencing an economic boom, the numbers on the restaurant menu can increase by a third during the year. I will note several popular places, a visit to which will not make you regret.

Night life

In Ho Chi Minh City, it fades no later than 2 am, but there are exceptions. Nightclubs usually charge an entrance fee. (approximately VND 100,000), however, in some popular establishments, a foreigner can be admitted for free (it is recommended to have a photocopy of your passport with you). Occasionally, a free drink is included in the price of the entrance ticket. The clubs are not allowed in sandals, shorts and "Brazilian" sleeveless T-shirts. The average cost of drinks - from 3 (beer) up to 5 (cocktails) USD. Be sure to check your account carefully before you pay.

Purchases

Supermarket chain So-oP Mart owns 11 shopping centers in Ho Chi Minh City. The closest to Pham Ngu Lao is Co-oP Mart on Kong Kuyen St. (189C, Cong Quyen St.). This street intersects with Pham Ngu Lao in its most distant part from the center. Another So-oP Mart is located on the street. Nguyen Dinh Thieu (168 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St.), at the intersection with Le Quy Don street, next to the Museum of War Memory.

Famous shopping center Tax Department Store (also known as "Russian Market") located at the crossroads of St. Le Loi and Nguyen Hue, in front of the Rex Hotel.

Dong Khoi Street, from the Opera House to the Saigon Riverfront, is full of souvenir shops, antique shops and artists' workshops. Here you can find really original, highly artistic things at prices that can inspire silent respect. Inexpensive and pleasant souvenirs, as well as clothes in the national style can be found in the Bentan market.

Anyone who comes to Vietnam on his own will most likely face the problem of moving around the country, because. the stay of most tourists is not limited to the two capitals of Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi).

In this review, I want to talk about such a wonderful transport as the Sleeping Bus (Sleeping Bass, literal translation is "sleeping bus"), common in Southeast Asia. Specifically, about the buses of the transport company FUTABusLines

We were lucky to use the services of this transport company in March 2014, when we needed to get from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang.

We had two options to go to Nha Trang (Nha Trang is a more understandable name for the Vietnamese):

• by plane, travel time approximately 1 hour, cost $50 + taxi to airports (i.e. another $10 each)
• by bus, slipping buses in this direction leave every hour or half an hour, travel time 6-8 hours, ticket price $ 10

We smiled at a more exotic and most importantly cheaper option. Moreover, long-distance buses leave mostly in the evening and we did not lose the daytime part of our precious vacation.

So, if you also want to leave Ho Chi Minh City for Nha Trang, Dalat, Mui Ne or other resort on a sleeper bus, follow these recommendations:

1. How to find the bus station

The area of ​​Pham Ngu Lao Street known as the “backpacker area” or the “budget traveler area”, Pham Ngu Lao is a very convenient place in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), where you can find cheap accommodation, inexpensive food, nightclubs and buy tickets to other places in Vietnam. I would even say that Pham Ngu Lao Street is reminiscent of the world-famous one, many budget travelers spend the bulk of their time in the Pham Ngu Lao Street area. Pham Ngu Lao is the ideal location to explore the heart of Saigon. With your permission, I will call Ho Chi Minh City by its old name of Saigon. Pham Ngu Lao Street is located in District N1. Many districts do not have a name, but are simply numbered.

The area has everything a traveler needs and the central location close to markets and attractions makes this area a very convenient stopover. From to Pham Ngu Lao street there is a bus N 152, it takes about 20 minutes to go.

The Pham Ngu Lao area consists of two parallel streets - Bui Vien and Pham Ngu Lao - and several small connecting lanes. Located in the center of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), this area is ideal for hiking to the parks, markets and main sights of Ho Chi Minh City. Most of the sights in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), I would even say that most of them are located within walking distance northeast of Pham Ngu Lao. The Reunification Palace and Notre Dame Cathedral can be reached on foot in 15 minutes. Ben Thanh Market is a 10-minute walk from the area.

The Pham Ngu Lao area has a huge number of budget accommodation options. Travelers can easily bargain, room prices are usually easily negotiated. But personally, I had to go around about 8 guesthouses before I found a suitable option for myself. Always check if the air conditioner, TV, refrigerator, etc. are working. I rented a room supposedly with air conditioning, but the air conditioner did not work, but I paid for a room with air conditioning. Often in some guesthouses there are no windows, or the windows end up facing the wall of the next building. In principle, this is a problem for all of Vietnam, regardless of the city.

While hotels and guesthouses can be found along Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien streets, best offers by location, there is on the main road. An unnamed budget hotel avenue connects the western end of Pham Ngu Lao to DQ Dau, and great deals can be found at a variety of hotels along the narrow aisle. Another, wider mini-street connects Pham Ngu Lao with Bui Vien, restaurants and hotels are everywhere on both sides of the street.

There are carts selling baguettes, street food and even kebabs dotted around Bui Vien and Pham Ngu Lao. There are also establishments called “Pho24” that are constantly offline, open around the clock for anyone who wants to taste a cup of the famous Vietnamese Pho noodle soup (in fact, it is a regular Thai noodle soup). There are several expat-owned establishments that offer different types of pizza, Italian food, etc. Also in the street area, beer in cafes and bars is not much more expensive than in stores. By the way, I recommend Saigon beer - excellent beer, I really liked it.

Bars around the Pham Ngu Lao area are just as easy to find and are on almost every corner. Pham Ngu Lao's most famous bars offer a wide variety of local beers and a great atmosphere. Both Pham Ngu lao and Bui Vien streets are literally lined with travel agencies offering trips to the Mekong Delta and bus tickets in the direction of Hanoi, Nyachang and even Cambodia and Laos.

The high concentration of tourists on Pham Ngu Lao Street attracts a higher concentration of scammers and thieves who want to make money on travelers. Although in general the area is quite safe, although you should be careful in the roadside park after dark.

Travelers passing through the Pham Ngu Lao area are constantly surrounded by scoundrels trying to rent motorbikes, sell drugs and even solicit prostitutes. Most of the people who approach you all the time tend to be looking for a way to lighten your pockets, so stay on the lookout.

Pham Ngu Lao street on Google map.

Ho Chi Minh City southern capital Vietnam, the city that is usually the first to meet tourists coming to Vietnam. Big City does not sleep day or night. Here you can find a variety of hotels, cafes and restaurants, a large number of parks and attractions.

About the city

Ho Chi Minh City has a large number of nightclubs, SPA salons, as well as a whole tourist area called Pham Ngu Lao(Pham Ngu Lao), where night life haunts the Vietnamese, accustomed to going to bed early.

If you come to Vietnam for a budget holiday, then come to Pham Ngu Lao Street, almost any taxi driver, motorcyclist and young students will understand its name. Look at the map, the link to which is given below, how to get to this famous street.

How to get there

By the way, the 152 bus that travels from the airport to the center of Ho Chi Minh City is usually full of tourists who prefer to find a hotel on this street or close to it.

There are also quieter areas in Ho Chi Minh City, where there are few entertainment venues, but many expensive restaurants and shops. It is not so noisy here in the evening, but more often you can hear calm music coming from cafes and restaurants.

For example, next to the opera house in Ho Chi Minh City, there are many 5 * hotels. Ho Chi Minh is a city where everyone will find entertainment to their liking and pocket.

Prices in Ho Chi Minh

Pho soup, beloved by the Vietnamese, can be bought for 20,000 VND, a baguette for 15,000 VND, rice with chicken for 20,000 VND, fruit also from 20,000 VND and more. When buying a SIM card, part of the money will be on its balance, calls are very inexpensive.

In general, in Ho Chi Minh City you can find both cheap and expensive goods from large manufacturers. When buying goods and souvenirs, be sure to bargain. If you are not interested in bargaining, then it's okay, souvenirs are already inexpensive, but if you have a desire to save money, then ask for a discount and they will definitely give it to you.

Be careful when buying tea or coffee, because. they can deceive you on weight, that is, they will tell you a price that is tempting for you for 100 grams, and in the end they will sell 50 grams. Checking the real weight, unfortunately, is quite difficult, but if it is possible to weigh the goods on the counter nearby, try to check.

Also, be careful when agreeing to a motorcycle taxi service, be sure to name the price, for example, show a bill of 20,000 VND for the trip and indicate the street on a pre-printed sheet that has the name in both English and Vietnamese. The Vietnamese simply think that since you are a tourist you have a lot of extra money, but this is not always the case, and it is difficult for them to understand.

If you are planning independent visit attractions in Ho Chi Minh City by taxi, be sure to print out the photo and name of the attraction in English and Vietnamese at your hotel.

Prices for hotels are very different, you can find a hotel from $10 and up. Perhaps even cheaper housing can be found on Pham Ngu Lao Street.

Prices for excursions are also inexpensive, a trip to neighboring cities on tourist buses will be especially cheap.

Ho Chi Minh City Photos

Many tourists arriving in Ho Chi Minh City stay here for only one day, believing that there is nothing more to do here. But Ho Chi Minh City is interesting not only as a city where you can buy cheap tours, but also a city that has many attractions and beautiful parks.