Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is the economic heart of Vietnam and the main hub of the southern region. It was the capital of the French protectorate of Cochin-china (1862–1954) and of South Vietnam (1954–75). The city lies along the Saigon River

International flights from New Delhi India as well as Houston Texas USA were convenient to land into Ho Chi Minh City/ Saigon, so it became a choice of entry for both of us. For our sightseeing plans it proved fine to travel from south to North as well

Landing at Saigon international Airport

I arrived by VietJet from New Delhi one hour late at 7:30 AM; instead of 12 midnight the flight had taken off only at 1:00 AM and landed an hour late. There were huge lines at passport control and it took an hour to go through the formalities and collect my checked bag.

Son's flight eva air was scheduled to land at 10:30, we had discussed and agreed that I would wait at the visitors lounge. The issue here was that it was outside the building out in the open with no ac. I had not known that but I still just sat there looking at the flight arrival boards . I could not connect to the airport wifi, otherwise I might have sent son a message on change of plans, tried to re enter the airport building and sit somewhere in the ac after baggage claim.

Son arrived on time, he also faced long lines at 10:30 and he was out only after an hour. He was concerned I had been waiting for 3 hours outside and he said he had looked at the ac places also first before coming out of the exit, so messaging him would not have been necessary.

then we went in search of an atm and there were only those which charge a steep 8% percentage for withdrawal. we anyway drew some money,

Son Activated his esim airola [7usd for 2GB, 15 days] and used Grab to get a taxi to our apartment. As everywhere else only the official taxis allowed are right at the front lines, we had to crossover further where you can see the grab signs, it was all Easy

I had read grab is very cheap in Vietnam, it was an eye opener to really experience it. we paid just 59K dongs for the ride from airport, a little more than 2 usd!

After reaching our apartment we paid a little extra for early check in. They were charging 25K dongs per hour of early check in and we paid 50 K for checking into our apartment two hours earlier than the regular check in hours! No biggie, just 2 usd!

it was a comfortable studio apartment as you can see in these pics and video

Cactusland Hotel & Apartment

Superior Studio

I had brought some homemade tortillas and tomato relish. We had that and the dates and cashew nuts and raisins I had brought also. Then freshened up a bit and started off on our sightseeing.

Here are GRAB figures for what we paid on that first day

GRAB RECEIPTS

The grab app was very easy to use and summoned up air conditioned taxis with polite drivers and took us to our next destination in cool comfort. To top it all it was very low priced as well.

Here is a sample of our first day grab journeys, just look at the distance travelled and the price in Vietnamese dongs! isn't it astonishing?[25K Dongs=1USD]

the first one is our airport ride from airport to our apartment

the next ones are our sightseeing trips

3.44 km • 20 mins Total Paid 59.280

Terminal 2 (T2) - Arrival Terminal - Parking Lot Area - Tan Son Nhat International Airport 12:04PM

drop-off Cactusland Apartment 12.24

6.96 km • 25 mins Total Paid 95.680

pick-up Cactusland Apartment 2:20PM

drop-off Ba Thien Hau Pagoda 2:46PM

3.13 km • 17 mins Total Paid 88.400

pick-up 10 Lao Tu St 5:17PM

drop-off Giac Lam Pagoda 5:33 PM

4.71 km • 19 mins Total Paid 64.480

Giac Lam Pagoda - Pickup/Drop off Gate 6:39PM

drop-off Cactusland Apartment 6:58PM

OUR TRIP MAP FOR THE DAY

https://maps.app.goo.gl/n6JaYernhGXCKieC9

We decided to go to the Chinese quarter known as Chợ Lớn which is great for exploring on foot. It proved to be an amazing introduction to the cultural beauty of vintage Vietnam.

we took a Grab taxi to Thiên Hậu Pagoda, [Then walked to the two assembly halls Tue Thanh Assembly Hall, Minh Huong Assembly hall nearby and to Quan am Pagoda, after that took a grab taxi to Giac lam Pagoda]

Thiên Hậu Pagoda

Thiên Hậu Pagoda built in 1760, is a revered Chinese temple in Chinatown in Saigon and is dedicated to Thien Hau (Mazu, also spelled Matsu, Tin Hou in Cantonese, Thien Hau in Vietnamese means "Queen of Heaven"; is the indigenous goddess of the sea who protects fisherman and sailors, and East Asians who are associated with the ocean.).

Following the 国 character layout with three halls, the pagoda showcases exquisite wooden carvings, ceramic decorations, and wall paintings.

One of the temple’s unique features is the bass-reliefs made of ceramics and used to decorate the roof, walls, eaves and altars. The roof in particular is decorated with flower and leaf designs made of ceramics from Buu Nguyen and Dong Hoa kilns in 1908, which has various images of fairies, sacred animals and letters.

Stunning ceramics...

When the Chinese people arrived in Southern Vietnam hundreds of years ago, they also brought along their culture and religion with them, which helped diversify the culture of the region. In the 17th century, a group of Chinese immigrants built Thien Hau Pagoda to worship Thien Hau (Mazu), a Chinese deity.

Incense coils dedicated by devotees with their written prayers tied to them

wood carvings on walls

Tue Thanh Assembly Hall

Assembly Halls were a gathering place for Chinese people to discuss public affairs, help one another, worship gods, and meet their spiritual and cultural demands

They were beautiful with vintage furniture and decor

Blue porcelain tiles with stories on the wall here

Minh Huong Assembly hall

Red horse in Hell

White horse in Heaven

Mother of pearl/tortoise shell inlay on wood

There was an elderly gentleman sitting there probably the caretaker of the Assembly Hall. The Hall was quite dark but we were just going around and enjoying the beauty of the lovely furniture and the other fittings. The gentleman shuffled up and switched on a light for us... very kind of him and we thanked him with our meagre vietnamese words!!

funnily enough we had an opposite experience at the Quan am Pagoda we visited next.

there when we were taking a video of the beautiful altars, a young guy came over and switched off the light! I kind of audibly gasped and he pointed at the clock which said 7 minutes to 5! their closing time was 5:00 PM and he hustled us out at 5. Anyway we had gone round everywhere and enjoyed the very beautiful pagoda, so no big regrets

Chùa Quan Am

The Quan Am Pagoda was established in 1740 by the Chinese people who migrated to Vietnam. This pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City began as the On Lang Assembly Hall (On Lang is a town in Fujian Province, China). It got the name “Quan Am Pagoda” after they began to worship Quan Am here.

Chùa Quan Am as written in the entrance in pic below [Chùa means Pagoda]

To the left of the main entrance of to the pagoda complex is a panel depicting Amitabha Buddha as he presides over the Pure Land.

To the right of the main entrance is another panel depicting Amitabha presiding over the Pure Land.

We come to the main altar, A dragon coils down a pillar in front of the altar dedicated to Mazu

Beautiful koi fish pond

The main sanctuary lies in the next room, filled with countless gilded figures. On the dais in the centre of the back row sits the A Di Da Buddha, easily spotted by his colourful halo. The fat laughing fellow, seated with five children climbing all over him, is Ameda, the Buddha of Enlightenment, Compassion and Wisdom.

The young guy switched off the light here...

The main image in the outer courtyard is the statue of Guanyin/ Quan Am

To one side is a depiction of a female Manjusri seated on the back of a green lion and cradling a lotus stem and blossom. The lion represents the wild mind conquered by the wisdom of the bodhisattva

The relief panels out in the garden surrounding the artificial pond have Taoist motifs

In the center panel, a green dragon, his body partially obscured by clouds, hovers above the ocean waters, while golden fish play at the surface.

In the leftmost panel, the three divinities that represents the Three Stars (Phước Lộc Thọ) are standing together in Heaven. The Status Star (Lộc) is dressed as a Chinese mandarin, wearing a red robe. The Longevity Star (Thọ) is depicted as an old man with a white beard and a yellow robe. In his right hand, he is carrying a peach, the symbol of immortality, while in his left hand he carries a wooden staff with the head of a dragon. The Jade Emperor and Lao-tze are surrounded by children who are gathering the peaches of immortality and placing them in baskets and a wagon.

In the rightmost panel, a group of eight musicians are depicted making music in a natural setting. The instruments include flutes, percussion, and strings.

We took a Grab taxi to Giac Lam Pagoda next

Giac Lam Pagoda

the oldest temple in HCMC (1744), Giac Lam is a fantastically atmospheric place set in peaceful, garden-like grounds. The Chinese characters that constitute the temple's name (覚林寺) mean 'Feel the Woods Temple' and the looming Bodhi tree (a native fig tree, sacred to Buddhists) in the front garden was the gift of a Sri Lankan monk in 1953.

Next to the tree stands a gleaming white statue of compassionate Quan The Am Bo Tat (also known as the Goddess of Mercy) on a lotus blossom, a symbol of purity.

The main sanctuary lies in the next room, filled with countless gilded figures. On the dais in the centre of the back row sits the A Di Da Buddha, easily spotted by his colourful halo.