Museum of Ho Chi Minh City
Address 65 Ð Ly Tu Trong, Ho Chi Minh City Phone tel: 829 9741 (info) Hours Tue-Sun 08:00 – 11:30 & 14:00 – 16:00 Keyword museum Housed in a beautiful grey neoclassical structure, the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City was built in 1886 and has displays of artefacts from the various periods of the Communist struggle for power in Vietnam.

My Son
Transport bus: from Hoi An Hours 06:30 – 16:30 Keyword monument, Unesco World Heritage, ruin My Son is the most important centre of the ancient kingdom of Champa and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The monuments are set in a verdant valley surrounded by hills and overlooked by the massive Cat’s Tooth Mountain. It’s considered Champa’s smaller counterpart to the grand cities of southeast Asia’s other Indian-influenced civilisations like Angkor.

Phuoc An Hoi Quan Pagoda
Address 184 Ð Hung Vuong, Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City Phone tel: (info) Hours 07:00 – 17:30 Keyword building Built in 1902 by the Fujian Chinese congregation, Phuoc An Hoi Quan Pagoda stands as one of the most beautifully ornamented in the city. Of special interest are the many small porcelain figures, the elaborate brass ritual objects and the fine woodcarvings on the altars, walls and hanging lanterns.

From outside the building you can see the ceramic scenes, each made up of innumerable small figurines, decorating the roof.

Thien Hau Pagoda
Address 710 Ð Nguyen Trai, Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City Phone tel: (info) Hours 06:00 – 17:30 Keyword religious/spiritual One of the most active in Cholon, Thien Hau Pagoda is dedicated to Thien Hau, the Chinese goddess of the sea. As she protects fisherfolk, sailors, merchants and any other maritime travellers, you might stop by to ask for a blessing for your next boat journey.

Vietnam: Money & Costs
Until recently, many upmarket hotels insisted that you pay in US dollars, but now all businesses (except Vietnam Airlines) must accept payment in dong. In practice, many still display their prices in US dollars. It’s advisable to bring travellers cheques in US dollars as well as a little US currency.

Currency
Name Vietnamese dong
Symbol ₫ The banknotes come in denominations of 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000, 200,000 and 500,000 dong. In small towns, it can be difficult to get change for the larger notes, so keep a stack of smaller bills handy. Now that Ho Chi Minh has been canonised (against his wishes), you’ll find his picture on every banknote.

Coins are being reintroduced for use in Vietnam, partially to help stave off the number of counterfeit banknotes. There are coins to the value of 1000, 2000 and 5000 dong.

Changing Your Money
There is now a reasonably extensive network of ATMs in major cities and this can be a convenient way to get your hands on money. It is also handy to have a combination of US dollars and travellers cheques for more remote or rural parts of the country.