Our day started off in Pham Ngu Lao district where our hotel is located in the bustling backpacker area, where we had breakfast and set off to the Ben Thanh Market. By the time we arrived here, we realised we were in for a long, hot day, as the temperature outside continued to rise! Inside the market, the temperature followed the same pattern as outside, and was jammed-packed full of tourists trying to buy stuff from the locals trying to sell it. We walked away empty handed for 3 main reasons: we have to carry what we buy on our backs all day; our budget is very tight; and the markets at home in China sell similar products and are seemily cheaper than what was for sale here. Nevertheless we enjoyed wandering and having a look around.
Across the street (which is not an easy thing to achieve) we stopped for a few minutes at the Tran Nguyen Hai statue - one of many statues we would come across during the day. The statues here usually depict a war scene or heroes, and are important to the locals, but after a while they kind of start to look the same: like it is when you go to temple after temple and hit saturation point.
Our third stop of the day was at the Fine Arts Museum, housed in a stunning French Colonial era building that served to amplify the atmosphere of the gallery itself. Inside we wandered around the halls filled with ceramics, carvings, and most interesting to us the numerous paintings born out of the war.From here we wandered across to the street market where meat, veges, clothes, and souveniers were on sale, which led us on a zig-zagging route towards the restored Municipal Theatre - which we're sure would have been totally gorgeous were it not for the huge stage and banners that covered the front of the theatre in preparation for Tet celebrations (Lunar New Year).
On the way to the Musuem of Ho Chi Minh City we passed by the old Hotel de Ville (now the People's Committee Building and closed to the public), similar in style to the theatre. At the museum we had the opportunity to watch part of a music video clip be filmed in the beautiful surroundings of the museum - though they seemed to stay away from the army tanks and planes outside!
The interesting exhibits at the museum included photos showing old and new Saigon; a traditional wedding scene; and a entire floor devoted to the American War including pictures of worldwide protests including one in Auckland.
Our feet and bodies in desperate need for a break, we stopped in at a cafe for lunch. It was here that we had one of our best meals in Vietnam - what made it so great however were the delicious desserts: Liv had a Mango, icecream and baileys smoothie and Adam indulged in a coffee icecream sundae!After lunch we made our way to the extremely somber reminder of what brings at the War Remnants Museum. The museum that opened in 1975 has many different rooms all dedicated to different aspects of the war. One of the most interesting rooms was one that showcases photos from 134 war reporters killed during the war. The War Crimes rooms blasted our eyes open to the realities of war and included some extremely graphic photos that won't be forgotten any time soon. In the Tiger Cages we got a glance at the imprisonment systems during the war, before ending with the room that celebrates international support for ending the war - a nice ending to the tour to recognise that millions of people worldwide were against it.
Needless to say we left here in a not so cherry mood, and walked slowly to our next destination.
After struggling to find the entrance to the Reunification Palace we finally asked, only to be told that it was closed for the day - most likely in connection with the up and coming new year. Our last stops at the day were the Notre Dame Cathedral (we timed our visit here perfectly for a wander inside the church) and the Post Office - both beautiful French-style buildings with high ceilings and openly displayed structural beams. 
Exhausted we made our way home, rested, ate, drank, and slept.Adlibing around and around the streets of Saigon
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