Unfortunately travelling to Vietnam in July means you're going right in the middle of the rainy season.
Fortunately for us it only ever seemed to rain when we were in our hotel room, and so we figured it was time to embark on an adventure.
Fortunately for us it only ever seemed to rain when we were in our hotel room, and so we figured it was time to embark on an adventure.
1. View of Ho Chi Minh from the tallest building in Ho Chi Minh City. A trip up to the sky deck will cost you around $10USD each and this includes refreshments and your own personal guide.
2. Another view of Ho Chi Minh from sky deck, the area of land on the right has been purchased for development by the US government. Our guide told us that area of the city used to be lined with mansions owned by the rich and famous, who were forced out of their homes. The US government plans to develop the area into another CBD by 2030.
3. Cocktail break back at the hotel.
4. Gardens at the presidential palace.
5. Standing outside the presidential palace.
6. A view from inside the presidential palace. Tours are run twice daily through the palace, and you are taken through many rooms where the history of Vietnam has been written and re-written.
7. Radio transmitters in the basement war room at the presidential palace. It's eerie being taken through the war room area of the palace, knowing that crucial life and death situations were made in those rooms just 30 years ago, the plot maps still hang on the walls virtually untouched since the war.
8. Black Hawk helicopter at the Vietnam war museum. The museum features a heartbreaking photo exhibition which leads you through the heartache of the Vietnam war. It's some very heavy stuff, but I'm glad we hung around to explore and go through these.
9. Prayers at a Buddhist temple. Vietnam is largely Buddhist, I believe 80% followed by Hinduism, and in some areas Buddhism and Hinduism were combined into one religion over 1,000 years ago. Christianity and Muslim religion make up only 5% of the population.
10. Outside the Buddhist temple. The attention to detail in the architecture of these temples is breathtaking and the smell of incense fills the air. It's such a great experience to visit these temples.
11. Cocktails to round off an amazing day.
Hayley Jane
xx
No comments:
Post a Comment