Showing posts with label Saigon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saigon. Show all posts

Monday, 16 December 2013

Ho Chi Min City

Inside the central post office - French Colonial architecture, designed by Gustav Eiffel
 
 

 
Street scene in Ho Chi Minh City
 


Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City
 
Inside the Post office in Ho Chi Minh City

The Legacy of the French Colonial rule
Our guide told us that the main legacy was architecture, coffee and baguettes.

Economic capital
He said that the economic capital, Ho Chi Minh City, had a range of industries including seafood processing, garments, wooden furniture, rice, leather, animal feed, coffee.  We saw that there were plenty of places to drink coffee in the city.  Apparently it's the second largest coffee bean producer in the world after Brazil. 

On the road into the city we saw fresh water prawn and also fish farms -  catfish I think.   A large number of egrets had also discovered this and were busy fishing.

In a market in Vietnam I saw some beautifully made, padded down jackets in a wide variety of colours for less than $20.  I have seen very similar, if not identical jackets, branded O'Neil, for £100 in Britain.  the label inside said, 'Made in Vietnam'.
 

Presidential Palace in Saigon - later re-named Reunification Palace, Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam

Inside the palace
 


Basement corridors where the President and team were based to command the war.
Communications centre - telex machines
 

 President's bed in the intelligence, Command Centre
 

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - Vietnam


Centre of Ho Chi Minh City

Wide, tree lined boulvards decorated with flower sculptures. I got the impression of a busy, but clean, spacious city centre.
 



1960s architecture - Presidential Palace