Ho Chi Minh City

Hotel MC 184 is one of three hotels owned by Madame Cu. All three hotels (Hotel 64 and Hotel 127 being the other two) operate by the same philosophy, with a similar pricing structure, but are scattered around the Pham Ngu Lao area (the backpackers' hangout for Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

We actually went to Hotel 64 for a room, as it was closer to where we were dropped off by the bus from the Cambodian border. We were immediately welcomed by the staff and offered free lemon juice and bananas, even though we hadn’t agreed to stay or even asked if they had any rooms. Hotel 64 was, however, full, but they said that MC 184 had some rooms, so they got us a taxi and paid for our ride.

In MC 184, we were again offered more lemon juice and bananas and then shown a spotless two-bedroom with air-conditioning, cable TV (Star Movies, Star World, ESPN, CNN, and BBC), and en-suite bath with shower attachment (no shower curtain, though!). We were provided with sheets, covers, and towels, and there were several power points for you to charge your batteries, mobile, laptop, etc. The room was US$17 a night, which was slightly above what we had wanted to pay, but all in all, it was excellent value (they have rooms from US$10).

Part of the wonderful service provided by the staff includes free breakfast (bread, butter, and jam, plus lemon juice, coffee, and tea). They also offer you free lemon juice, tea, or coffee whenever you venture into the reception area, and there is always a supply of free bananas on-hand. In addition to this, they also offer vegetarian (mushroom) spring rolls and vegetable noodle soup as an evening feed. Whilst there is no variety in the offerings, free lemon juice after a hard day’s sightseeing or shopping is a godsend, and the noodle soup is very good.

They also arranged tours to the surrounding area, although we did not try any of these out. They did buy our train ticket to Nha Trang for us, though they added a US$2 charge to the cost.

Emails:

Guesthouse127@bdvn.vnd.net
Madamcu@hcm.vnn.vn

The restaurant is in the heart of the backpacker district, on the same road as Kim’s Café and Sinh Café. Surprisingly, given its name, this is part of a chain of Italian restaurants, with the other Good Morning Vietnams being around the east coast of Vietnam.

I was expecting either a Western-style diner or somewhere that served the breakfast to beat all breakfasts, but alas, no. That’s not to say that this isn’t a good Italian, because it is, but the name just doesn’t fit in any way, shape, or form.

The variety of dishes on offer is excellent, with most varieties of pasta on the menu together with pizzas, lasagne, and even gnocchi. There’s a wealth of vegetarian options, and the seafood selection was also good. The quality of the food is very good, as were the portions, although you would expect this, as the price is twice what you would expect to pay at the competing cafés down the road. We paid 150 Dong for two basic pasta dishes and two Sprites.

Unfortunately, the service was on the slow side, even though we were the only people in the restaurant when we sat down. Maybe at busier times of the day, they are more attentive to the customer rather than the neighbours' children next door.

I would recommend this as a place to eat, if only to break away from the usual rice/noodles/burger menu at the other cafes.

The reunification palace was first called the Norodom Palace and was built for the French Governor General in 1868. When the French departed and the South Vietnamese government took power, the palace was renamed the independence palace and became home to Ngo Dinh Diem, the president. In 1962, after a bombing raid by Diem’s own air force in a failed assassination attempt, the palace had to be rebuilt.

The new building has a fantastic late '60s feel to the architecture and an early '70s feel to the décor. The palace has pretty much been left as it stood on the famous day when the first Communist tanks arrived in Saigon on the morning of 30 April 1975 and crashed through the gates of the Independence Palace. An NVA soldier ran up the steps and unfurled a VC flag of the 4th-floor balcony, and the palace was renamed the reunification palace.

The palace is a must-see when in Ho Chi Minh City, not only for its historical importance, but also because it is just a fantastic building stuck in time. It’s also good value at 15,000D (a guide/brochure is 5,000D extra), which includes an English-speaking guide inside that gives you a potted history of the building. There is also a film shown (in several different languages) at the end of the tour. The film, however, is rather unintelligible and will confuse rather than educate.

This was previously known as the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes but had a name change so as not to agitate American tourists. This is the most popular museum in Ho Chi Minh City, and for good reason. There are several American helicopters, armaments, and vehicles in the courtyard, and the museum is divided into several different sections.

Upon entry, you can pick up a useful little map of the museum, letting you know what is in each area. You are supposed to visit the sections in number order and there are set routes throughout each section, although these can be confusing at times. The need to view the museum in the correct order will vary, depending on your background knowledge of the conflict. Those with little knowledge should make more of an effort to view the exhibits in order to aid comprehension.

There are some excellent photographs depicting the Vietnam War throughout the museum as a whole, but the majority can be found in the first section, which deals with the history of the war. There are some excellent sections devoted to the war correspondents who perished in the conflict, together with covers and articles they had written from magazines such as ’Time’.

The other sections include weapons used in the Vietnam War, including experimental missiles developed by the U.S., and the infamous Agent Orange and Napalm rocket casings. With these, they also showed photos of those people deformed by these weapons and an unnecessary preserved, deformed foetus in a medical jar.

The other sections contained photos from demonstrations around the world, the liberation, and other propaganda from the era. In addition to all of this, they show a film in the first section which is mainly about how Agent Orange effected the country then and how it still does today. Some people will find this very interesting, as it deals with individuals and how they have been affected. It is, however, thin on facts and information about the conflict itself.

There is a small gift shop on-site which also sells film, batteries, and refreshments. The gifts range from general arts and crafts to Zippos, dog tags, and empty shells, all distressed to look as if they were from the actual conflict.

If you have to visit one place while in Ho Chi Minh City, this should be the place.

Admission 10,000D

Opening Times
7:30-11:45am
1:30-5:15pm