On day 3, we walked pass the Saigon Opera house again to take photos before going to Ben Thanh Market. We went very early in the morning, about 7am local time. The Central Market serves not only fruits, vegetables and dry goods, but also souvenirs, T-Shirts and other garments as well as traditional handicrafts including lacquerware and embroidery. We just walked around the Market as we were not interested in buying anything from the market.
After that, because it was still early (most places open at local time 9am), we went to Wayne Coffee Place to have a cup of coffee. The coffee place is quite cosy. After the cup of coffee, We went to Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon to take photos which is under construction. Established by French colonists who initially named it the Church of Saigon, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. The name Notre-Dame Cathedral has been used since 1959. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).
Next to the Cathedral is Saigon Central Post office. Built around 1886 – 1891, the post office is both one of the oldest and yet most iconic buildings in the city. Saigon Central Post Office is a historic building that has witnessed many life-changing events in the past and played an important role in the connection between Vietnam and the remaining two countries in Indochina, Cambodia and Laos, under the French colonialism.
Besides it is Ho Chi Minh Book Street, a street that stretches 100 meters from Hai Ba Trung street to Notre Dame Cathedral. It is a street that sells lots of books but mainly in Vietnamese language.
We went back to hotel to have our lunch at Crystal Jade Restaurant. The food is quite nice and costs us about S$90 which is reasonable as we ordered half Peking Duck. We enjoyed the food.
After resting for a while at the hotel lobby (cause of housekeeping), we went to Parkson shopping mall to shop. It is located opposite of Vincom shopping Mall. There is a big Muji and Uniqlo in the mall. The prices are about the same in Singapore, so we just mainly window shop.
