HCMC Vietnam, Day 3 - Part 1

On Day 3, we spent our morning visiting the historical buildings around the city

Firstly, the famous Saigon Central Post Office

 it was beautifully painted in yellow and well maintained despite being built in the 19th century

 inside the building, the colonial architecture are still very well preserved

the below are wooden booth....for ATM (?!)

 the main hall with post counters

wooden benches for people to apply stamps, write notes or check their postal...very 'old school'!

 a map of Saigon on the wall

 the flooring tiles, very aesthetic!

 

the post office is situated just right across the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica

busy Sunday with lotsa tourists

 another popular landmark for bridal and graduation pictures

while they were busy taking bridal photos, I busy-body to snap the photographer and the bride

As it was a Sunday, there were worshippers inside the cathedral...Visitors are not allowed to cross the barriers to the worshipping area.

the full view of the cathedral

Nearby the entrance, there were plenty of marble stones with the words 'Merci'...I have no idea what are these (to commemorate the deads?)

after visiting the cathedral, we were guided to walk along some alleys to our next spot....

passing by some book cafes, Starbucks and shopping malls

I was deviated to enjoy the sights of...

 pastries and cakes in Starbucks!

20 to 30 minutes later....we reached the War Remnants Museum

There are real military helicopters showcased at the entrance compound

which was used during the Vietnam war

here's the description

fighter jet used by US air force during the war is also displayed here.

the museum is a 3 - 4 storeys building with galleries displaying the history, artifacts and pictures of the victims during the Vietnamese war. Felt sombre after looking at those pictures, especially the victims from the landmine and 'Agent Orange' (a herbicide and defoliant chemical that caused health problems for individuals who were exposed to it).

The former US defence secretary did expressed regrets in his memoir (over the damaged done to the Vietnamese and the country). Let's learned from the history and never repeat them again.