Ho Chi Minh City

The historic Saigon Central Post Office, which has long been one of the city's symbols, continues to offer postal services such as mailing and money exchange to-date. One interesting fact about the Post Office is that it was designed and constructed by the renowned French architect Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who is best known for the eponymous Eiffel Tower. Eiffel derived artistic inspiration from Western neoclassical architecture and Asian decor styles before harmoniously fusing them during the construction of the Central Post Office.

Many beautiful pagodas (temples) are located in Ho Chi Minh City while the Emperor Jade Pagoda is considered to be the finest and most lavishly decorated temple. To understand more about the meaning of the carvings and statues and the purpose of different rooms, it is recommended to visit with a local guide.

The War Remnants Museum contains exhibits reflecting the restless effort and deep devotion of people who endured the hardship of war, more specifically the Vietnam War and the First Indochina War. More than 20,000 valuable war documents, artefacts and films are exhibited here, but the biggest draw must be the outdoor exhibition of military equipment: the M48 Patton tank, aircraft, and original attack bombers.

The tunnels of Cu Chi hide an entire world including classrooms, kitchens and medical facilities underground. Today you can see the tunnels from above and even try to go down one, so as to better understand the hardships that Vietnamese soldiers had been through during wartime. One is left utterly amazed by the determination and endurance of those who dug through solid soil, gravel and sand to construct this 200-kilometer (125 miles) long underground network.

The Mekong River flows from the Tibetan Plateau and ends in the area close to Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. The delta, dubbed a 'biological treasure trove', is also home to over 17 million people who live their daily lives on the river. Several different tour operators offer day and overnight trips to the Mekong Delta. On these tours, you will get to see both the magical nature and the floating market.

There are multiple local companies offering scooter tours of the Vietnam capital. These tours range greatly in thematic focus (street food to historic landmarks) and duration, and depend on the individual provider, but details can often be agreed upon on an individual basis. On these tours, an individual driver is normally assigned to each visitor, who then hops on the back of the scooter as a passenger. Helmets should normally be provided. One motorbike tour of Ho Chi Minh personally tested out by the editor is Non-profit Student Tour, an incredible initiative that works surprisingly well. The coordinator links up tourists with available local student volunteers, allowing the students to practice their English and bringing overseas visitors into contact with locals. Each traveller is assigned an individual driver (this even works with larger groups). Drop them a WhatsApp message to arrange the date and time.

Housed in a restored building, the Museum of Fine Arts offers a beautiful selection of Vietnamese and international artwork and ancient artifacts alongside contemporary works. You will be amazed by the number of pottery, sculpture and weapons exhibitions and how detailed the information is.

The Museum of Vietnamese History first opened its doors in 1929. The Museum houses an unique collection of interesting artefacts of Vietnam's history, from ancient times to modern day. A statue of the Buddha with 1,000 eyes and 1,000 arms is also part of their collection.