Binh Tanh Market - Ho Chi Minh city

It's hot. It's steamy. It's crowded. It's smelly. It's fantastic.

It is a must see market. The prices are cheaper than at home, but more expensive than other markets. This is the largest market in HCMC, lots to choose from, easy to haggle and is an experience just to visit. Snake and Scorpion wine, carved wood and stone, resin products, fashionable linen and clothes, food, cheap beer, car parts, DVD's, suitcases, hand bags, leather goods, electronics, original art, perfumes, silverware, furniture, pots and pans.... it's all there.


War Remnants Museum - Ho Chi Minh City

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. That is certainly the case here with some displays not for the weak of stomach. They have a two headed baby in a bottle, a tragic result of Agent Orange used in the War. The Museum had a name change. It used to be called "The Museum of American War Atrocities". While the name has changed, the displays are the same. It focuses on the atrocities of war, particularly those done by US servicemen. Also on display is a guillotine. It's the real thing and was used by the French with blood stains visible.


Reunification Palace - Ho Chi Minh City

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Mekong Delta

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Halong Bay

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Cu Chi Tunnels

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Emperors Tomb - Hue

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Imperial Palace - Hue

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Perfume River Cruise - Hue

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Hoi An

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Water Puppet Theater - Hanoi

To go to Hanoi and not seeing the Water Puppet theater is like going to McDonalds and not having a burger. The show is AMAZING and worth every dong you spend for your entry ticket. You will never in your life again see anything like it !!

Word of advice.... BOOK EARLY !! ....and pay the extra for a seat near the front. If you are getting a seat any further back than about the fifth row, you won't fully appreciate the show.

Tickets sell out quickly. So on arrival in Hanoi, go straight there and buy your front or near front row tickets which will most likely not have a vacant near the front seat until 2 or 3 days later. At busy times in the year, all seats are booked out weeks in advance. However, many of the major hotels and travel agents have pre-booked tickets they hold to sell. So if you can not get a seat when you want, ask at a major hotel or travel agent and they may have a ticket for sale.
That being said, if it is not possible to get a seat near the front, don't let that make you decide not to go. It is an absolute must see !!



"The Hanoi Hilton"

If you are an American or from any of the other allied countries that fought in the Vietnam War, this is a museum you would not want to miss. While the museum focuses on it's use by the French against the Vietnamese people, it does have an area dedicated to the US Servicemen that were imprisoned  there, tortured and forced to participate in propaganda films. Senator John CAIN spent time there during the war. His flight suit when captured remains on display. The section is loaded with propaganda, with no mention about the Servicemen being tortured or any mention of those that died there as a result. Take a look at the photo on display of "US Pilots enjoying Christmas Church Service". They all stand with there fingers crossed in the photo. The outside display showing how there was a mass escape during the French Colonial period will leave you somewhat awe struck as to how they did it.


Sapa

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