Vietnam has a fascinating 2,000 year history and there is plenty to learn about the country's past and how it affects life today. Sadly, however, while there are some excellent museums in Vietnam not all live up to the same standard - many are lengthy photo galleries with few English translations of the contexts or history behind the photos, leaving the visitor bewildered even if they have some prior knowledge of the subject.
That being said, if you choose the right museums on your trip you can learn a great deal and begin to appreciate more the rich history of this country.
The Museum of Vietnam's History
(Inside the gates of the HCMC Zoo/Botanical Gardens, Le Duan, District 1)
Possibly one of the best museums we've seen in Vietnam, the natural history museum of Ho Chi Minh City manages to chart the country's history from prehistoric times and 10,000 year old artifacts to the wars with China and the numerous dynasties that have shaped the development of the Vietnamese nation over time. There are some fantastic examples of sculpture and art from the Cham and Oc Eo civilizations, statues of Buddhas from across the region, collections of porcelain and art from various historical periods and a even a mummy found preserved in Saigon. The narratives on the walls throughout the museum also go some way to helping the visitor understand the many periods of Vietnamese history, with only a few gaps. Highly recommended.
The War Remnants Museum
(28 Vo Van Tan, District 3)
Practically required viewing for any visitor to Ho Chi Minh City, the War museum is an comprehensive collection of photographs, video and other evidence detailing the horrors of war and the aftermath of unexploded ordinance, agent orange and other legacies of the combat. Remarkably the museum manages to avoid being overly political, instead pointing the finger at the senseless nature of war itself rather than focusing too closely on assigning blame. It is a sombre and moving experience, but it is highly recommended both to help understand what Vietnam went through and as a reminder of the importance of campaigning for peaceful solutions to differences between nations.
Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum
(Duc Chinh Street, District 1 - Behind the bus station opposite Ben Thanh Market)
Housed in a beautiful old building from the colonial era, the Fine Arts Museum has an interesting collection of works from both contemporary and traditional artists, as well as a fascinating collection of statues and artifacts dating back as far as the first century AD on the 3rd floor. Well worth a visit.
The Ho Chi Minh Museum
(1 Nguyen Tat Thanh, District 4)
Just over a bridge from the downtown areas of Nguyen Hue and Dong Khoi (the traffic is vicious so we'd advise jumping in a taxi rather than walking over the bridge!) on the banks of the river is a museum devoted to Ho Chi Minh. It is set in an attractive building and garden with good views of the river, and contains a potentially fascinating collection of photographs detailing the life of Ho Chi Minh. Sadly this potential is lost as so many of the photos captions, even when translated, fail to explain the significance of events or meetings depicted in photographs, making the experience somewhat bewildering for those that have not already studied the life of Ho Chi Minh (which, of course, most Vietnamese people have)
While the photos themselves are interesting, the museum is not really recommended unless you have a lot of time on your hands or a strong interest (and prior knowlege) in the man that lead Vietnam's campaign for independence.
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That being said, if you choose the right museums on your trip you can learn a great deal and begin to appreciate more the rich history of this country.
The Museum of Vietnam's History
(Inside the gates of the HCMC Zoo/Botanical Gardens, Le Duan, District 1)
Possibly one of the best museums we've seen in Vietnam, the natural history museum of Ho Chi Minh City manages to chart the country's history from prehistoric times and 10,000 year old artifacts to the wars with China and the numerous dynasties that have shaped the development of the Vietnamese nation over time. There are some fantastic examples of sculpture and art from the Cham and Oc Eo civilizations, statues of Buddhas from across the region, collections of porcelain and art from various historical periods and a even a mummy found preserved in Saigon. The narratives on the walls throughout the museum also go some way to helping the visitor understand the many periods of Vietnamese history, with only a few gaps. Highly recommended.
The War Remnants Museum
(28 Vo Van Tan, District 3)
Practically required viewing for any visitor to Ho Chi Minh City, the War museum is an comprehensive collection of photographs, video and other evidence detailing the horrors of war and the aftermath of unexploded ordinance, agent orange and other legacies of the combat. Remarkably the museum manages to avoid being overly political, instead pointing the finger at the senseless nature of war itself rather than focusing too closely on assigning blame. It is a sombre and moving experience, but it is highly recommended both to help understand what Vietnam went through and as a reminder of the importance of campaigning for peaceful solutions to differences between nations.
Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum
(Duc Chinh Street, District 1 - Behind the bus station opposite Ben Thanh Market)
Housed in a beautiful old building from the colonial era, the Fine Arts Museum has an interesting collection of works from both contemporary and traditional artists, as well as a fascinating collection of statues and artifacts dating back as far as the first century AD on the 3rd floor. Well worth a visit.
The Ho Chi Minh Museum
(1 Nguyen Tat Thanh, District 4)
Just over a bridge from the downtown areas of Nguyen Hue and Dong Khoi (the traffic is vicious so we'd advise jumping in a taxi rather than walking over the bridge!) on the banks of the river is a museum devoted to Ho Chi Minh. It is set in an attractive building and garden with good views of the river, and contains a potentially fascinating collection of photographs detailing the life of Ho Chi Minh. Sadly this potential is lost as so many of the photos captions, even when translated, fail to explain the significance of events or meetings depicted in photographs, making the experience somewhat bewildering for those that have not already studied the life of Ho Chi Minh (which, of course, most Vietnamese people have)
While the photos themselves are interesting, the museum is not really recommended unless you have a lot of time on your hands or a strong interest (and prior knowlege) in the man that lead Vietnam's campaign for independence.
Address: 42 Nguyen Hong Street, Dong Da District, Ha Noi, Vietnam.
Opening on the right time of "Hanoi-bird nesting season" and owner of the restaurant named Venus - the goddess of love and beauty - which refers that it will become a place of love. A beautiful space for weddings, a unique destination for office parties, birthday parties, a private destination for meeting partners, high class office lunches, a romantic corner for couples.. all in Venus Restaurant...
Not only a beautiful front, located on Nguyen Hong Street, over 3000m2 care parking, but also a large banquet room capacity from 300 to 600 guests, ideally holding weddings. And the most important of all, Venus arranges abundant menus with over 150 Asian dishes made from well-trained chefs and famous cooks of 5 star hotels in Hanoi at a very reasonable price(from VND 800,000 - 1 million / 6 people/1 table).
Long before Phong Nha-Ke Bang (also spelled Phong Nga-Ke Bang) National Park came into existence, the Champa people were using its caves for various purposes. The Champa were people of ancient Cambodia and Vietnam who ruled most of southern and central Vietnam from the seventh century through the mid-nineteenth century. Carving out inscriptions on steles and altars inside the caves, the Champa left their mark in the magnificent caves many years before modern Vietnamese and British scientists would begin to explore the caves. Later explorations discovered Neolithic axe heads in the area, showing that use of the caves date back even before the time of the Champa people.
Son Doong cave isn't new, but it is newly discovered. In 1991, a local man stumbled upon the cave for the first time in modern memory, but unfortunately he couldn't remember how to get there until January 2008. The man assisted British scientists to find the cave mouth, and they have been exploring it ever since. Son Doong cave is currently the largest known cave in the world. Unfortunately, due to precarious conditions inside the cave, it is not yet open to tourists. In the future, hopefully visitors will be able to catch a glimpse of the enormous cave; the biggest chamber is over five kilometres long, 150 metres wide, and 200 metres high.
Mankind builds marvelous and imagination-defying cities and structures, then erases them again as the centuries, along with the fickle loyalty of scholars, priests, kings, and common people render them either obsolete or irrelevant. The ruins of My Son in Vietnam, not far from Da Nang and Hoi An, fall into this category.
The My Son site dates back to the fourth century AD, when the Champa king, Bhadravarman, erected the first temple there. He named it Bhadresvara, which was a combination of his own name and the Hindu god Ishvara, another name for Shiva. On the temple, the king added a request for subsequent generations to respect the temple and not destroy it. For many centuries, his request seemed to work; for generations after Bhadravarman's death, the My Son site was the hub of spiritual activity for the Champa people. Even when the original temple was destroyed in a fire two hundred years later, a later king made sure to rebuild it. The temple lasted in one form or another until it was obliterated during the Vietnam War.
Unfortunately for both visitors and world history, much of what remained of My Son in the twentieth century was bombed out of existence by American B-52 bombers during the American Vietnam War. The temples that had been so lovingly restored by French archeologists and local people were quickly devastated by the American bombs. In fact, local people are still wary of the area surrounding the My Son ruins because of the still unexploded bombs and land mines.