Suoi Tien Amusement Park

Address: 120 AH 1, Tân Phú, Quận 9, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: 08 3896 0260

Location and history

Suoi Tien Theme Park is located about 40 minutes from downtown Ho Chi Minh City, in Thu Duc district. Several years ago, this was an uninhabited land which had a natural stream flowing across endemic forest and natural scenery. The name “Suoi Tien” (Fairy Stream) derived from a story about 7 sacred girls died and became fairies in this land. Later the land was turned into a forestry farm before being developed into what we see today – the biggest cultural theme park of Ho Chi Minh City.

A theme park of Vietnamese culture

It’s no wonder that Vietnamese culture is the main theme of Suoi Tien entertainment. The park is famous for its Oriental architecture, with the concept based on oriental beliefs. This concept is shown by all the statues, buildings and games in the park. They symbolise the wish for peace, happiness and wealth. Some are constructed according to long-standing Vietnamese legends like Thanh Giong, Lac Long Quan - Au Co, and Chu Dong Tu – Tien Dung. It is the folks and tales twisted into a physical work and embedded all throughout the park that make it stand out.
Tourists visiting Suoi Tien can learn about legendary history of Vietnamese people. What’s more, cultural festivals are periodically held within the site, when interesting Vietnamese traditional activities and features are there for visitors to enjoy, such as in the occasions of Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival and Hung King Anniversary. It is no exaggeration that the park is a museum itself.

A true amusement park

As an amusement park, Suoi Tien offers numerous kinds of game, from scary, thrilling to adventurous ones such as: Mystery of the Forest, 4D Theatre, Roller Coaster and Air Bycicle. No one would be disappointed when come to this recreational area, especially children, as there’s a specific area called The Children Kingdom. This place has a lot of funny and attractive games from superman electric car, children train to ball house.

Opening hours and ticket price

The park opens daily from 8AM to 6PM. On weekends, it closes a little bit later, at 6:30 PM. On special occasions like national holidays, it closes at 11PM.
The entrance fee is VND 50,000 for adult and a half for kids. Extra cost varies from VND 5,000 to VND 60,000, depending on each game.

How to get there

From the city center, it takes about 40 minutesr to get to Suoi Tien Park by car, following Ha Noi Highway. In case tourists want to travel by bus, take number 19, 50, 52, 53 or 150 and ask the driver to drop at the park.

CENTRAL POST OFFICE HO CHI MINH CITY

Address: 2 Công xã Paris, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone:08 3822 1677

Location and history

Located right in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City - at number 2, Paris Commune Street, District 1, The Central Post Office is one of the oldest buildings in Ho Chi Minh City. It was built around 1886 – 1891, based on the design of Gustave Eiffel – a famous French architect and has become a significant symbol of the city, just like its opposite neighbor Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral. It has long been the busiest post office of the country.

A typical colonial French building

Being a mixture of Gothic, Renaissance and French influences, this building fascinates tourists by its typical colonial French features, from exterior to interior decorations. By the first time, visitors may feel that they’re brought back to 20th century railway station in Europe, rather than a post office in an Asian country. From its ornate furnishings, gorgeous-pattern-tiled floor to its massively high ceilings and numerous wickets, all speak of another place in time. The interior design is even more elegant with the phone booths, which are just the same since the colonial period.
Walking inside, the first things you notice are the two maps: Saigonet ses environs, 1892 describing Ho Chi Minh City in the past and Lignes télégraphiques du Sud Vietnamet du Cambodge which is the postal route from Vietnam to Cambodia. The building inside is big and airy with a lot of space. The ceiling was designed with arc shape which was carried by the two rows of steel pillars. This makes the building look grander and more stable. Also, the building looks just perfectly in harmony with the outside, considering its arched windows creatively designed with engaged piers, green window shutters or the main entrance with intricate ironwork.

Postal Services

The Post Office offers all kinds of traditional postal services like mailing, selling postcards or stamps (there is a big array of stamps to choose, which ranges in price from cheapest ones). Foreign money exchange is also available.
Don’t ignore Mr. Duong Van Ngo – an old man sitting at the end of a long wooden table underneath a mural of Ho Chi Minh, behind the sign “Information and Writing Assistance”. Mr. Ngo has been working here since he was 17, as a polyglot public letter writer. Being the last letter writer in old Saigon, he’s a source of stories of how could he connect people across the planet with his fountain pen.

How to get there

Saigon Central Post Office is always included in any city tour, as it’s quite easy to get there on foot, bike or motorbike from other attractions like Reunification Palace or War Remnants Museum are suggested. It works daily from 6AM to 10 PM.
The Central Post Office is located near Diamond Plaza, a big shopping venue in Ho Chi Minh City and Notre Dame Cathedral, an ancient building with beautiful architecture. The 3 buildings together make it a popular area in District 1 for foreigners to visit. If you stay in the District 1, it does not take you much time to walk to these places. You can walk along the road and enjoy many other beautiful attractions of Ho Chi Minh City.

Nha Rong Wharf

Fee: Adult: VND 10,000
Open: Daily: 7.30am - 11.30am, 1.30pm - 5pm
Address: 1 Nguyen Tat Thanh, District 4
Phone: +84 8 940 1053

Location and history

A figure of vast Importance to Vietnam's modern history, Ho Chi Minh has his memory spread everywhere throughout the country, including the place which bears his name – Ho Chi Minh City. The most highlighted moment of his life that is often tied with this city was in June 1911, when he set sail on a French ship named Admiral Latouche Treville at Dragon House Wharf and departed Vietnam for his 30-year journey around the world.
Dragon Wharf is at first a large trading harbor of Saigon (the old name of Ho Chi Minh City). In 1862, the French colonist built this harbor to meet the demand of transportation between the colonized Vietnam and the world. In September 1979, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City reformed it into a Ho Chi Minh Museum branch in a city of the same name.
Located on the junction of Saigon River, today tourists can find it at the beginning of Nguyen Tat Thanh Street (District 4).

Architecture and its collection

The harbor is well-known for its unique architecture which combines Vietnamese style and French style. This characteristic is well reflected through the design of a main French-style building, which has 2 Vietnamese-dragon-shaped statues on its roof top, a detail that can be easily found in the architecture of Vietnam traditional temples and pagodas. It’s said that the name of the wharf came from this decoration.
This historical site is home to a rich collection of 3,000 pictures and 700 artifacts relating to President Ho Chi Minh, including his personal belongings and journals as well as many scripts and publications documenting his wondrous life.
Today, even though this destination no longer functions as a dock, it has become a tourist-magnet attracting millions of people annually from both inside and outside the country, where tourists can expect to learn about the rich culture and history of Vietnam and a life that has inspired millions of people in the world.

How to get there

Ham Rong or Dragon House Wharf sits near the end of Ham Nghi or Nguyen Hue Street, close to Bach Dang Tourist Wharf. It is open daily except on Monday from 8am to 11.30am and 1.30pm to 5pm. Visitors are suggested to travel there by taxi or motorbike.

War Museum

Open Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; the ticketing window closes from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. The last admission to the museum is at 4:30 p.m.
Entrance Cost: 75 cents
Location: 28 Vo Tan Tan, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
Contact: +84 39302112 or warrmhcm@gmail.com

The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City

Some exhibits inside of the War Remnants Museum are temporarily closed as renovation continues.

Current exhibits include:

Historical Truths: A room containing photographs, propaganda, news clippings, and signboards geared toward showing the wrongdoings of the U.S. government in the 1960s and 1970s.
Requiem: A powerful collection of photographs taken by 134 international journalists who were killed during the Vietnam War. The exhibit was donated by the state of Kentucky.
Vestiges of War Crimes: Another room heavily dosed with propaganda showing the mistreatment of civilians during the war.
International Support for the Vietnamese People: A room containing posters and offerings from various world governments which were opposed to the U.S. entering the Vietnam War.
Children's Painting Collection: A collection of artwork by young children around the world showing their ideas about war and peace.
U.S. State-of-the-Art Weaponry: An exhibit of photographs, factoids, and signboards showing the technological advantage and firepower that the Americans utilized during the Vietnam War.

Outside the War Remnants Museum

Along with the inside displays, many restored pieces of American military hardware are parked around the grounds of the War Remnants Museum. Helicopters - including a mammoth Chinook - tanks, artillery, fighter planes, and an assortment of large bombs complete the interesting display.

Imprisonment Display

As you exit the museum, don't miss the mock POW prison on the museum grounds. Signboards and graphic photographs portray various ways that prisoners were mistreated - primarily before the U.S, became involved in Vietnam. Tiger cages - tiny enclosures used to torture prisoners - are on display as well as an actual guillotine used for executions until 1960.

Propaganda

The War Remnants Museum was known as the Museum of American War Crimes until 1993; the original name is perhaps more fitting. Many exhibits in the museum contain a heavy dose of anti-American propaganda. Even simple displays of U.S. weapons used during the Vietnam War are displayed against backdrops of displaced villagers and civilian victims. Quotes from leaders and historic photographs are commonly used out of their original context. Exhibits not openly portraying anti-American sentiment tend to showcase the overwhelming U.S. firepower used against the Vietnamese during their "Resistance War".

Although the exhibits are blatantly one-sided and need to be taken with a grain of salt, they do graphically portray the horrors of war. The War Remnants Museum is worth a visit no matter your opinion on U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Visiting the War Remnants Museum Museum with Children

Some of the graphic displays in the War Remnants Museum may be disturbing to young children. Three human fetuses deformed by Agent Orange are on display in jars on the ground floor of the museum. Many photographs show human remains, corpses, wounded and maimed villagers, and napalm victims.

Getting to the Museum

The War Remnants Museum is located in Ho Chi Minh City - formerly known as Saigon - in District 3 at the corner of Vo Van Tan and Le Quoy Don, just northwest of the Reunification Palace. A taxi from the tourist district near Pham Ngu Lao should cost under $2.