Vietnam tourism is on a high these days. Let’s study some fact about the biggest city of this country this round!
Ho Chin Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam named after the late leader Ho Chin Minh, who led the nation against both France and the U.S.A. For the casual visitor, Saigon – as its still called by all but the city officials who live here.
The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 kilometers from the South China Sea and 1,760 kilometers south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. The city has been historically a political and administrative center of Vietnam. Today Ho Chin Minh City, Vietnam is a rapidly developing, dynamic, and the economic capital of Vietnam. It is perhaps the heart and soul of Vietnam. Investment has led to new crop of lavish hotels and restaurants, with trendy nightclubs and high-end boutiques dotting tree-lined neighborhoods.
The bustling industrious center of Ho Chin Minh City, Vietnam also harbors the ancient traditions and culture of Vietnam and bears the influences of French colonial rule. Life in Ho Chin Minh City, Vietnam resides in the city streets, markets, shops, pavement cafes and vendors selling their goods on the sidewalks.
Besides soaking in the rich culture and ethos of Vietnam on the streets, the visitors are also offers a number of tourist attractions in Ho Chin Minh City. Some of these are
- Cu Chin Tunnel
This is the underground tunnel built and used by the Viet Cong during both French-IndoChina War and the Vietnam War. It took 25 years to construct this tunnel and it stands today as a symbol of struggle of the Vietnamese people in one of the most famous battle grounds of Vietnam War. It consists of more than 200km of underground tunnels.
- Emperor Jade Pagoda (Phuoc Hai Tu or Chua Ngoc Hoang)
This is a place of worship and an excellent example of a Chinese temple. The temple is an ancient architectural extravaganza with elaborate woodcarvings and sculptures depicting local deities.
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Posted in: Vietnam.
Tagged: museum · temple
Mumbai — formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the second most populous city in the world. A very hot and crowded city. It lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. Mumbai’s port handles over half of India’s maritime cargo.
Mumbai is the commercial and entertainment center of India. It is India’s largest city, and is called the financial capital of the country and home to important financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India and the corporate headquarters of many Indian companies and numerous multinational corporations. The city also houses India’s Hindi film and television industry, known as Bollywood. The name Bollywood is a portmanteau of Bombay and Hollywood. Mumbai’s business opportunities, as well as its potential to offer a better standard of living, attract migrants from all over India and, in turn, make the city a potpourri of many communities and cultures.
Anyway, the traffic congestion in Mumbai is quite terrible as long as what I saw during my visit to this city recently. With the hot whether in Mumbai, it is extremely frustrated while taking a no aircon taxi on Mumbai’s roads. Car is moving very slowly. It takes us more than 1 hour to travel for a distance of about 7-8 km.
There are quite a number of beautiful places in this city. The Gateway of India is Mumbai’s most famous monument, this is the starting point for most tourists who want to explore the city. It was built to commemorate the arrival in India, on 2 December 1911, of King George V and Queen Mary and was completed on 4 December 1924. Continue reading →
Posted in: India.
Tagged: beautiful · India · traffic
MacRitchie Reservoir is more than a reservoir. The reservoir, or the forest is a surprise to many of my friends coming to Singapore. Many of them are thinking that Singapore is only a city without knowing that rain forests is also available here!
Surrounded by broad swamps, jungles and greenery, these reservoirs run through the central northern parts of Singapore, providing a serene backdrop to the cityscape.
MacRitchie Reservoir is a rare and beautiful land that has a wide collection of flora and fauna. Over 100 hectare of primary forest still flourishes around MacRitchie Reservoir. Old rubber trees, remnants of the plantations there in the 19th century, can still be seen along the fringes around MacRitchie.
The best way to see the forest is to go on the walking trails that wind through it. There are boardwalks skirting the edge of the scenic MacRitchie Reservoir and walking trails through the forest. Ranging from distances of 3km to 11km, each of the five routes offers different hiking experiences and unique views of the tranquil forest.
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Posted in: Singapore.
Tagged: nature · rainforest · Singapore · South-East Asia
Kedah is famous as the largest rice producer in Malaysia.
During the Lunar New Year (2009), we visited the Kedah Paddy Museum (Muzium Padi Kedah) which was not really far away from my home town in Sungai Petani. It is located just near by Gunung Keriang, Alor Star and surrounded by all paddy field country. This place is known locally as Crystal Mountain because there is natural crystal excavated from the mountain.
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Posted in: Malaysia.
Tagged: Kedah · Malaysia · museum · paddy · padi
Nagoya is famous as a Prefecture in Japan. However, you can also find a “Nagoya” in Batam, Indonesia.
Nagoya, Batam is the main town of this Indonesia Island. Nagoya is also known as Lubuk Baja here. It is the heart of Batam and its largest town. You can find many things in this town - shops, restaurants, hotels, cinemas, shopping plaza, food stalls, night markets and many more. It is also at the present Batam’s center of business, trade and finance.
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Posted in: Indonesia.
Tagged: Batam · Hypermart · Indonesia · Matahari · Nagoya
We visited the biggest temple in South East Asia “Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya” (天恩弥勒佛院) at Batam Centre recently.
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Posted in: Indonesia.
Tagged: Batam · Indonesia · temple
Here is a police car I found walking around the hotel I stayed in Jakarta city.
You may buy your favorite magazine here?
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Posted in: Indonesia.
Tagged: Indonesia · Jakarta · roadside
There are many road side food stalls I found near the hotel I stayed in Jakarta city area last week. Some of these food stalls start their business since early in the morning. However, majority of these food stalls appear in the late afternoon and evening on roadsides, sidewalks and in any open space to provide meals to passers-by. It is not surprise that you may find some of the best food but in cheapest price over here. Anyway, it may lack of good hygiene in the road-side food preparation. So be careful, do watch how the food is prepare 
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Posted in: Indonesia.
Tagged: Indonesia · Jakarta · road side food
There is an Zen-like garden of pebbles and fragrant frangipani just beside the restaurant I take my breakfast in Alila Hotel. It is a really nice view when taking breakfast in the morning.
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Posted in: Indonesia.
Tagged: breakfast · hotel · Indonesia · Jakarta · morning
I wake up quite early in the morning last Saturday. The time in Jakarta is one hour late compare with Singapore. Still not used to Indonesia time.
These are few early morning foggy view of Jakarta city taken at about 5:00am. Still very early in the morning, however, the sky is quite bright already. Pretty quiet … Only few cars on the road.
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Posted in: Indonesia.
Tagged: Indonesia · Jakarta · morning
