Walk ~ Discover Saigon

Chao, Dong Khoi street! ^_^

For the last stretch in Ho Chi Minh City, let's explore the city center by foot! Yes, you read it right! Walk to discover Saigon! Para magawa ito, humingi ng mapa sa inyong hotel receptionist. They should be able to provide you one. Our very friendly Saigon Mini Hotel receptionist did give us one. Thank you! ^_^

Brace yourselves everytime you cross HCMC streets. XD

It is not really hard to explore HCMC landmarks. Just find Dong Khoi street, decide where to start and to end. Then before you know it, marami ka na palang nabisitang landmarks. :3

Just a piece of advice mga teh. When exploring HCMC, expect a buwis-buhay scenario while crossing the streets. Hindi hihinto ang pulutong ng mga motor para patawirin kayo. I tell you. Don't say I didn't warn you. Pero achieve na achieve ang feeling tuwing nakakatawid si Teh sa mga kalye ng HCMC. Wagas lang. :)))

So Teh and Ria decided to start the DIY walking tour from the Saigon Opera House. Judging its location on the map, magiging efficient kung dito kami magsisimula. Obviously, wala kaming plano pumasok sa mga bibisitahin naming landmarks. Mas bet naming magpicture lang sa labas ng mga ito, dahil building architectures ang talagang gusto naming pagmasdan at maalala. Ito kasi ang kakaiba sa Saigon ~ a city fused by Western and Eastern architecture. You can see British-inspired buildings, American-inspired buildings and of course, Vietnamese-inspired buildings. Pero mga teh, since Vietnam is a Buddhist country, specifically Mahayana, may mga Chinese-inspired structures din sila, tulad ng mga temples nila.

1st stop: Saigon Opera House

Anyway, moving on, we hopped from one intersecting street to another along Dong Khoi Street. Pakiramdam ni Teh, naglalakad ako sa isang kalye sa Europe. Renaissance ang peg ng mga buildings dito. :)

Some other Western-inspired buildings (clockwise, from top-left):
Hotel Continental Saigon, Vietnam House Restaurant,
some office buildings and Diamond Plaza.

Top: Rear of Ho Chi Minh City Hall 
(maling direction >_<)
Bottom: mga nagkakape by the garden

Medyo fail, kasi likod ng City Hall ang nakita namin. >_< Pero on the other side, we saw some Vietnamese making tambay by the flower gardens para chumika at magkape. Coffee break instead na yosi break. Hashtag: #HealthyPeople. ^_^

At isa pang fail. Likod lang din ng Ho Chi Minh City Museum ang nadaanan namin. T_T

Ho Chi Minh City Museum exterior

Finally, we reached the end of the street, at bumungad sa amin ang napakagandang cathedral na ito. The Notre Dame of Asia... ♥

The Notre Dame Cathedral of Asia... ^_^

The cathedral and the pigeons. :3

And beside the Notre Dame Cathedral is the Saigon Post Office. Also inspired by Western Architecture. ^_^

Saigon Post Office Exterior

Pagkagaling dito, medyo naligaw-ligaw pa kami ni Ria sa kakahanap ng Reunification Palace. Kaya ayun, napabuwis-buhay ulit kami sa pagtawid-tawid kung saan-saan. >_< 

Anyway, this is a special place where the civil war has ended. It is where the North and the South were reunified... :)

Reunification Palace...
Reminds me of The Mansion in Baguio City.

Few blocks away from the Reunification Palace, you will find the War Remnants Museum. 

Welcome, welcome!

Pumasok kami sa loob ni Ria dahil may time pa kami. And we wanted to see na rin these cool war machines. The machines are cool, but the war ain't cool. :( 

The real war thing. Buti pang-display na lang. :))
Hashtag: #GunLove

The photos and clippings from around the world 
about Vietnam War.

And of course, hindi namin pinalagpas ang chance na tumingin ng Vietnam War pictures and news clippings. I felt proud na rin when we saw a photo of a protest in Manila against the civil war in Vietnam. Truly, Filipinos, together with the rest of the world, are sympathetic regarding this matter... :)

Ho Chi Minh and Manila. One against the War.

And our last destination was the Chua Vinh Nghiem Pagoda. Hindi keri lakarin ito mula sa War Remnants Museum kaya nag-taxi na sina Teh at Ria papunta rito. Mura naman kasi ang taxi rito. Pero paano nga ba namin na-discover ang pinakamagandang pagoda sa HCMC? Well, we asked a local resident. Salamat ng marami ulit kay Ate Receptionist ng Saigon Mini Hotel. ^_^

The most beautiful Mahayana Buddhist Temple in HCMC... ♥

Lotus flower is ♥ ^_^

As much as Teh wanted to buy lotus flowers for offering, I do not know naman how to use them. Mag-wiwish ba ako? Magdadasal ba para sa namayapang kamag-anak? I really don't know. :| Anyway, lotus flowers are really beautiful... ♥ 

First time ni Teh na makapasok sa isang Mahayana Buddhist Pagoda at sobrang nagandahan ako sa temple na ito. Sana pala, namili ako ng insenso para sa pagdadasal. Pero puwede namang magdasal kahit walang itirik na insenso. :3

Wishing for a good life... :)

Very oriental man ang itsura ng temple, may mga similarities pa rin ito sa isang typical na Theravada Buddhist temples ng Thailand at Cambodia, most especially the Garuda design sa edges ng temple roof. Very beautiful. :)

Demons ba sila? Hmm...

Sa mga Christians, ang tingin natin sa demons ay masama. Pero, sa mga Buddhists, they consider some demons as gods, parang sa Greek and Roman mythology. More of being death god or god of nuisance. :S Wala lang, nabanggit lang ni Teh dahil sa labas ng temple, may mga bantay na mukhang demons. Kamukha nila kasi 'yung mga demon illustrations sa Ramayana epic. :3

And finally, to complete the temple visit, we went inside. I prayed here, even if I was born Catholic. I just believe that God is omnipresent kasi. So kahit saan ako sumamba, maririnig Niya ako. :) 

Medyo creepy lang, kasi sa loob nakakita kami ng mga pictures na naka-frame. Pictures kaya ng mga namayapa 'yun? @_@ Naawa ako noong nakakita ako ng picture ng baby... :(

But truly, masaya si Teh dahil na-checkan ko ang isang task sa aking bucketlist in life - to visit a Mahayana Buddhist temple. :3

And this concludes our adventures in HCMC. Sana nag-enjoy kayo kasama sina Teh at Ria! Till our next adventures, mga teh! Thank you very much for visiting my travel journal. Paalam! ^_^