Insight Guides: Vietnam Pocket Guide by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Vietnam
Publisher: Insight Guides
Published: 2016-06-22T16:00:00+00:00

Buddhist Xa Loi Pagoda

Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications

Downtown Saigon isn’t noted for its temples, but northwest of the colonial heart of the city, along the broad boulevard named Dien Bien Phu, there are two that are worth visiting. Chua Ngoc Huang H [map] (Pagoda of the Jade Emperor), is on Mai Thi Luu off the northern end of Dien Bien Phu near Rach Thi Cawal – and, incidentally, by the Dakao Bridge where Graham Greene’s fictional Quiet American, Alden Pyle, was found murdered. Built in 1909, this spectacularly colourful Chinese temple is dedicated to Ngoc Huang, the Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon. Near the southern end of Dien Bien Phu on Huyen Thanh Quan is Xa Loi Pagoda, a Vietnamese temple with murals depicting scenes from the life of the Buddha.

Right in the centre of Downtown Saigon, Ben Thanh Market I [map] epitomises the irrepressibly capitalist nature of Ho Chi Minh City. The largest covered market in town, it is packed to overflowing with stalls selling all manner of wares to hundreds of shoppers. Some locals still shop here, but now there are mostly souvenirs for sale – conical non la hats, silk ao dai costumes, silk-screened T-shirts, coffee from Dalat and a range of imitation antiquities.

The Bao Tang Lich Su J [map] (Museum of Vietnamese History; www.baotanglichsuvn.com; Tue–Sun 8–11.30am, 1.30–5pm) on Nguyen Binh Kiem houses a collection of artefacts from the Bronze-Age Dong Son culture through the intervening Oc Eo culture to the coming of the Chams, the Khmers and finally the Vietnamese. The exhibits here include a collection of Buddha images from various Asian countries. Art lovers should head for the Bao Tang My Thuat K [map] (Fine Arts Museum; Tue–Sun 9am–4.30pm) on Pho Duc Chinh. Housed in a dilapidated yellow-and-white colonial building, its exhibits include contemporary Vietnamese art, abstract art, Socialist Realism and historic artefacts from Oc Eo, Cambodia and Champa.

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