Saigon Weather

Front view of Ben-Thanh market, a conglomerate of small shops that occupy a whole city block.

Located in Saigon's Botanical garden and Zoo, the museum opened its doors to the public in January 1, 1929. Originally, the museum was named Blanchard de la Brosse. In 1956, the museum was renamed Bao Tang Quoc Gia - National Museum. And finally, in 1979, the government renamed it Bao Tang Lich Su - Historical Museum.

Palace has seen some tumultuous years, it was even bombed once in the 60's. Not far from here is the old US Embassy, made famous world wide during the 1975 evacuation.

As a city in a tropical zone, Saigon markets have a large variety of fruits, most abundant during the rainy season from June to October. Among the more exotic fruits are mangosteen, rambutan, jack-fruit, sapodilla, longan, etc ... which grow only in South-East Asia.

Central post office in the first district, another immense relic from the past, surrounded by street vendors. Packaged to be on the run, they are often chased by police since by law, they are not allowed to operate.

A very typical street in Saigon, where the ground level is converted into a business front and families live on the other floors.