Mesmorized by an Awesome Vietnamese Cultural Show at the Opera House, HCMC, Vietnam

Ho Chi Ming City is full of arts and culture! While visiting the city, we took the opportunity to watch a show at the Opera house. Since there were so many things to see in the city, we forgot to purchase our tickets ahead of time. The ticket booth was open until 6p.m. but by the time we got there the night before it was closed therefore we bought our tickets after breakfast on the day of the show. We were lucky to get the tickets but we couldn't sit together. We must remember buying the tickets the day before for better seats for shows we would like to attend while on vacation as these tickets are not cheap.

The Saigon Opera House is an elegant building! We arrived there before the show at around 6:00P.M. and people were starting to file into the hall. Once inside the main lobby, we were treated to a free preshow drink. How about that? We have gone to many live shows before, but never been given a free drink! Being a little early, we had time to enjoy the view from the Opera House's balcony of downtown HCMC, a very nice view.

We also had time to look at the handicrafts booth where some creative crafts items were displayed. We bought a couple of bamboo items for souvenirs. The show was called A O Show and It was an excellent show!

Initially , we were worried that we might not be able to understand any part of the show due to the language barrier. It turned out there were few dialogues and with the actors' body language, we were able to understand most of the meanings of the show. I loved how the performers were able to use simple objects such as bamboo poles, bamboo baskets and traditional hats as props for their dances and sketches.

The most awesome scene for me was watching how the dancers transformed themselves into turtles, geese and crabs without using any eleborate or fancy costumes but with only different sizes of round bamboo baskets. These cute bamboo cladded creatures were interacting with each other in an energetic and human like manner. It was creative and mesmerizing! I have never seen bamboo poles and baskets used in such a creative way in any shows at all! Unfortunately, no photogrpahy was allowed during this live performance, therefore, I have no picture of this awesome show. I could only take pictures of the building and the performing stage before and after the show.

It was a great performance not to be missed. We were glad that we were able to enjoy it while visiting Vietnam. RT, Saigon Opera House, HCMC, Vietnam, 2026

Why Are Many Houses in Vietnam Built Narrow and Tall?

Avoiding the main tourist places, we took a Grab taxi ride to district 10 to experience the local life. Because Vietnam has been experiencing a building boom and a steady rapid economic development in the decade, we kind of expected to seeing many new modern highrises in the area.

But instead we saw many traditional Vietnamese residential buildings which are usually 2 to 4 story high, many with balconies beautified with flowers, plants and greenery.

 I was curious to find out why so many buildings and houses in Vietnam are built tall and slender. I asked this question and learned a few things about Vietnamese history and culture. These distinctive "tubes houses" or "nha ong" are the results of a mix of historical laws and modern economics.

  1. Historical 'Facade Tax' During the French colonial era, property taxes were based on the width of a building's street frontage. To minimize tax, people built narrow homes and compensated by building deep and tall.

2. Today with high land cost in the city being extremely expensive, buying a narrow plot of land much more affordable and building veritcally is a practical way of maximizing space.

 3.Traditionally, these homes accommodate extended families living together, with different generations occupying separate floors.( My mom would have love that for our family!) To combat the lack of natural light, many incorporate internal 'AIR WELLS" - small courtyards for ventilation. What a great idea!

  I found these tube houses very interesting and practical. I hope in the future, North Americans may be able to accept these kind of designs which will help to ease the housing shortage problems we have currently.

 

Strolling away from the main streets, we explored some alley ways. Instead of seeing many Starbucks, McDonald's and KFC fried chicken restaurants, we discovered mom and pop eateries and neighbourhood coffee shops and Vietnam's own version of Starbucks coffee shop. We stopped and enjoyed coffee and desserts in a local non franchised coffee house. It was very nice, and definitely could compete with Starbucks!

  We rested a little n hurried back to the downtown area for an evening performance at the Saigon Opera House.

  RT, HCMC, Vietnam

  02032026

The Most Annoying Thing in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

After a couple of nights at our first hotel and did much walking around and calling for taxi rides, we moved to a downtown hotel which was much more expensive but we thought this location would get us to the attractions much faster.

Our buffet breakfast in the downtown hotel was spectacular! We couldn't even count how many choices were there! We enjoyed it so much!

 

  After a fabulous breakfast, we headed towards our first attraction of the day. But how wrong were we thinking that staying in a downtown hotel would get us closer and faster to the attractions! Unfortunately, my husband was feeling a little tired therefore we didn't walk to all the places we wanted to see.

Instead we ordered a taxi from Grab, an online taxi service. Though the cost of the taxi ride was not a lot, in fact rather cheap compared to western standard, however, the time it took us to get to our destination was long. Traffic was aweful!

The streets were always full of cars, motorcycles and trucks regardless of the time of day. We found the traffic congestion as the most frustrating experience in Vietnam. Even for going a distance of two or three kms, by taxi it took at least 20 minutes to half an hour for us to reach our destination. This time, it was no exception for our visit to the Chinese Buddist temple. The traffic was just as bad!

 

Vietnam badly needs a subway system to ease the traffic congestion problems in the big cities! RT, HCMC, Vietnam, 02032026

Visiting Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam

We checked out from our first hotel located in District 3 after breakfast. Wherever we visit a town / city, we usually check out one of the local markets; there are a number of them here. We visited the Ben Thanh Market, the biggest market and an iconic landmark in Ho Chi Ming City. Right in the heart of the city, Ben Thanh Market is easily recognizable by its large clock tower entrance, which has become a symbol of the city.

While some markets are for wholesales only, Ben Thanh Market is a retail market where everyone can go, both locals and tourists. Selling everything anyone could be looking for such as Vietnamese coffee, dried fruits and spices to lacquerware, traditional dresses, conical hats and brand name knock-offs etc, the Market was like a feast to my eyes. I felt like a kid in a candy store!

I could have spent a whole day there tasting all the different dishes, snacks, coffee, ice drinks and desserts. It was only due to sheer determination and great discipline and restraint, I only had one drink at the food section part and bought 4 handcrafted bags as gifts for my friends.

This was what I enjoyed doing the most - strolling n browsing at the many different stalls at my own pace.

That was exactly what I did at Ben Thanh Market. I got to sample some of the local food there. While my husband and J. were having their coffee and doing some reading in a restaurant nearby, I went to one of the food booths and tried one of their local fruit drink and their famous Banh Mi sandwich, sooooo good!

This market was like a huge mall where you could buy anything you were looking for. If you needed a suit or any clothes made, they could tailor make for you in 24 hours with a reasonable price. If I ever need a fancy dress for a wedding or something, I will definitely come here.

In fact my friend in Canada told me that when her son was planning his wedding, his fiance flew to Vietnam and had all the bridesmaid dresses as well as the groomsmen's suits made there. This is something we would keep in mind!

Having visited the Market satisfied my shopping desire; I went to join the rest of my family at the Pho restaurant where J. was doing some work and my hubby was taking a rest. We all got to do what we wanted. Everyone was happy! RT, Ben Thanh Market, Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam 02022026

Attending a Catholic Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church ( Cha Tam Church), HCMC, Vietnam

We went to St. Francis Xavier Church, better known locally as Cha Tam Church (Nhà thờ Cha Tam). It’s the most historically significant Catholic church in Chợ Lớn (Saigon’s Chinatown) and carries a remarkable blend of Chinese–Vietnamese–Catholic heritage.

What makes this church special is its rare East–West architectural fusion. Cha Tam Church is famous for its Gothic Catholic structure infused with Chinese decorative elements which is a visual expression of the Chinese Catholic community it was built to serve.

Although its official name is St. Francis Xavier Church, the locals call it Cha Tam after Father Pierre d’Assou (Đàm Á Tố), a French missionary who devoted his life to the Chinese Catholic community. Father Pierre was beloved as he learned multiple Chinese dialects to minister the community effectively. He led the fundraising and construction of the church (completed in 1902) and his tomb is located right at the church entrance.

What I found interesting about St. Francis Xavier church was its dramatic moment in Vietnamese History. In the 1963 Coup, President Ngô Đình Diệm and his brother Ngô Đình Nhu sought refuge in this church during the military coup. They prayed inside the church before surrendering. Although they were guaranteed safe passage by the military, they were captured upon leaving the premises and assassinated en route to military headquarters. This event forever tied the church to the political history of South Vietnam.

Cha Tam Church was built specifically for the Chinese Catholic community of Chợ Lớn. It was built on land donated by nine Chinese owners and funded by both Catholic and non-Catholic Chinese merchants. It served as a center for Chinese-language Masses (still held today). We missed the time for the English Mass, therefore attended an evening Mandarin Mass there.

We found that St. Francis Xavier Church was quieter than other major tourist churches like Notre-Dame Basilica. The courtyard was peaceful, shaded, and decorated with Chinese calligraphy. Since it is near Chợ Lớn, Chinartown, we went there after the Mass.

Chinatown was busy with many herbal shops, dim sum eateries and street vendors selling street food. Being there at night time, we could not see things too clearly. But at least we could check it off our Vietnamese to see list. RT, St. Francis Xavier Church, Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam, O22026 🏛️

War Renmant Museum - Learning About the Devastating Effects of Agent Orange, Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam

I am never interested in wars or visiting museums about any wars. However, since the Vietnam war was such an influencial period in my life when I heard so much daily reporting about it from the media, I made an exception and was willing to go with my family to visit the War Renmant Museum while we were in Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam.

Inside the building on the main level, we entered into a large hall with a gigantic screen showing video clippings of the brief history of the war and the attacks experienced by Vietnam and its people.

There were exhibits about the brief history of Vietnam, the French's attempt to hold onto its colonial power, how the Vietnam war came about, the American bombings and the heroic sacrifices and resistance of the Vietnamese people.

In the open space right in front of the museum, there were displays of the renmants of the American war planes and the bombs used in the bombing of the Vietnam War

. THE interesting part of the display for me was the pictures of the Vietnamese women participating in the resistance and their courageous and dangerous efforts in transporting the essential supplies to their soldiers.

I liked the fact that the museum recognized and honoured the contributions of the Vietnamese women in their fight for freedom for their country.

There was a nice resting area at the entrance to the museum building where visitors could rest, and ordered cold and hot beverages. While I was going through the exhibits in detail, I was glad that there was a nice place where my family could rest in a shady spot so that I could take my time to learn about the history of this horrific war.

The moment that affected me deeply was reading about the use of Agent Orange by the American military and its lifelong lasting harmful effects on Vietnamese and their children years after its use.

It was heartbreaking to see the pictures of deformed children and read about their plights during the war and the post war period. About 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange and over 3 million of them were its victims. Agent Orange could cause complex and diverse effects on all parts of the human body such as skin cancer, disorder of liver, thyroid, diabetes, respiration and circualtion systems etc.

Common diseases in children and grandchildren of the Agent Orange victims include complete or partial paralysis, blindness, dumbness, deafness, mental illness and retardation, deformities, birth defects and cancer. Especially in Vietnam, Agent Orange many be transmiited across generations and its sequelae have transmitted to the 4th generations.

So sad to learn about all the destructions and damages done to this country and its people. Unfortunately, it seems that man has yet to learn from the lessons of the past history and the tremendous harm and cost of war!

  RT, War Renmant Museum

  Day 2

  HCMC, Vietnam, 2026

Our First Night in Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam

The flight from Quy Nhon was comfotable and smooth, it only took about an hour. We booked a hotel near downtown as we wanted to be close to some of the attractions. What a difference between a small city in Vietnam from Ho Chi Ming City!

After we checked into our hotel, we took a walk around the hotel area to familiarize ourselves with the neighborhood. There were numerous restaurants serving many different kinds of food and we stopped at one looking at the menu. A gentleman outside the restaurant greeted us warmly and explained to us the menu's specialities. It was a vegetarian restaurant and it looked quite nice. We decided to give it a try and had our dinner there.

The food was not bad at all! The restaurant was busy and the wait was a little longer than we had expected. But the gentleman had a good conversation going keeping my husband entertained.

We have heard of HO CHI MING CITY - HCMC for a long time. I couldn't believe that we are actually here visiting this famous city. We look forward to exploring and learning more about this city in the next few days!

 

 RT, HCMC, Vietnam, 2026