Ho Chi Minh City Day 2: Notre Dame Cathedral & Saigon Central Post Office

Date of Visit: 2nd April 2012

Right after we done with the tour in Reunification Palace, we went and visited the two French colonial structures which can be seen not far away from Reunification Palace.

The first building that we came across was Notre Dame Cathedral, located right in the heart of this "Land of Motorcycles". Basically besides Reunification Palace, this well-known red bricks cathedral is also known to be another famous landmark and symbolic of Ho Chi Minh City and it attracts many tourist for its neo-Romanesque style architecture and a sacred atmosphere. To be frank, I fall in love instantly with this cathedral right from the beginning I saw it from far.

#1: Detail of a side of the basilica

#2: Another side view of the basilica with motorcycles

#3: Up close view of the facade

#4: Interior of Notre Dame Cathedral

Visitors are allowed to enter into this cathedral as long as there is no any private functions by the time of visit and it's free of charge for the entrance. Just bear in mind when going in for visiting, please be silent and turn off the flash of your camera to respect this religious building.

#5: A statue of Virgin Mary right in front of the cathedral

With the two standing tall and strong bell towers tipped with iron spires, it is hard for the visitors to miss out this beautiful religious site and has instantly became the most favourite point of interest for those who is seeking for old beauties and calmness. It's also another ideal place for those couple interested to shoot for their wedding photos as it gives the feeling like somewhere in European countries.

Across the street from Notre Dame Cathedral lies Saigon Central Post Office. Looks like I don't have to waste any of my sweat and energy to look for post office just to send out the postcards I wrote. Writing and sending postcards has become my everytime travel routine since I studied in United Kingdom. Therefore, it's hard for me for not writing any postcards whenever I travel.

#6: Saigo Central Post Office, famed for its beautiful neoclassical architectural style

You don't have to visit any post office in elsewhere but for this one, it's definitely one spot that you should visit and not-to-be-miss by any visitors. One of the main reason why this oldest post office in Vietnam has become the most popular attractions was because it was designed and constructed by renowned architect Gustave Eiffel. Yes, by just referring his name you will know that he is the one who designed the world-famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. 

#7: Inner decor of the Central Post Office simply took my breath away

#8: Clean, wide and well-organised post office

#9: The potrait of Ho Chi Minh

#10: You can buy postcards inside the post office and the price of the stamps to particular country.

#11: Part of this telephone booth are still functioning and working but most of it has converted into ATM machines of different banks in Vietnam. Another interesting concept!

#12: Not just stamps and postcards, there are even selling different kind of souvenirs

Travel Tips:

If you plan to change Vietnemese dong, I will recommend to change in Saigon Central Post Office cause the rate they offered were much better than back in Malaysia.

Just on a day itself, we managed to do our own self-city tour and visited 4 most popular attractions around Ho Chi Minh City - Ben Thanh Market, Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and Saigon Central Post Office. Hence, we felt a lil bit exhausted and decided to have early dinner before heading back to our hotel. Bumped into a shopping mall which I didn't take note of its name, we decided to settle down in the food court where it offered plenty of choices to choose from.

#13: Famous Vietnamese spring roll which known by the local as goi cuon

#14: Lotteria set meal - Being spoil by this global fast-food chain restaurants from Japan

And with this, it concludes our second day adventures wandered around the largest city of Vietnam, where the motorcycle is the king of the road. Stay tune for our next day exciting and fun adventures.

[Credit To: Vietnam-beauty.com,City Pass Guide,