Cholon the Chinatown

Cholon's main traffic circle roundabout was so large and to cross over from one end to another needs a good marathon sprint.

Statue of Phan Dinh Phung,the great Vietnamese revolutionary rebel leader who wanted to oust the French colonial forces stands elegantly near the central entry point.

Born in 1847 and died at a tender age of 48 due to dysentry,he was a prominent Confucian court scholar. Unfortunately Phan's remains were disturbed after his death.

Ngo Dinh Kha, a Catholic mandarin and father of Ngo Dinh Diem—the first President of South Vietnam—was a member of the French colonial administration.
Kha had Phan's tomb exhumed and used the remains in gunpowder used for executing revolutionaries.
 In order to honour Phan,the Marxist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh named their self-produced style of grenades after him.





Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) is a modern skyscrapper overlooking some of the older colonial buildings.
The biggest commercial bank in Vietnam with an operating network of 2,300 branches and transaction offices nationwide.

Agribank signed agreements with Phongsavanh Bank - Laos, Acleda Bank - Cambodia, Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) on cross border payment from which customers and all parties benefit.

At the end of 2009, total assets of Agribank reached VND 479,000 billion, an increase of 22% compared with 2008; total funding resources reached VND 434,331 billion, and total outstanding loans to the economy reached VND 354,112 billion, of which outstanding loans to agricultural and rural areas was VND 242,062 billion.

Dai The Gioi Water Parks is just beside a new expressway and nearby is the meandering river.

Busloads of school children have just arrived and the facilities inside looked gorgeous.

The afternoon was very hot and going for a dip in the pool should be wonderful.

The water theme park is a short distance before the Cholon traffic circle and beside the Tau Hu Channel river area in Ben Ham Tu Ward 6,District 5 Ho Chi Minh City.

Entry fees between 25,000 VND - 50,000 VND.

Facilities here includes indoor swimming pool, hydro massage bath has many resources, a wet sauna (separate male and female separately) within the pool area and the slides.

 Along Ben Ham Tu Road,there's nothing much to see and less traffic.

Businesses along this stretch deals with toiletries, bathroom wares and fixtures,renovation and flooring shops,carpentry woodwork and iron grills.

Jollibee-a Philippines fast food restaurant chain giant is at the corner junction along Tran Hung Dao with Nguyen Bieu.

The food at Jollibee is definitely an interesting combination of both American and Filipino food fused together for a unique experience for your taste buds.

Jollibee started in Cubao,Quezon City Philippines by Tony Tan Caktiong,a Filipino Chinese entrepreneur whose ancestors were from the Fujian Province,China.

Chua Long An Buddhist temple is inside this alley.
This entrance is two blocks from the American International School (AIS)[Trường Quốc tế Mỹ AIS],a private, coeducational school that offers an educational program from kindergarten through grad 12.
The address is Nguyen Van Cu Street, Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, District 1,off Tran Hung Dao Road.

A statue of a standing Buddha greeting dwellers in this community as one passes the alley.

Buddhist flags were seen hung all around the temple gearing up for the Wesak Day celebration which falls on the 17th May.
Wesak day is "Buddha's Birthday".

A pagoda shrine inside the temple's compound.

In Buddhism, the swastika signifies auspiciousness and good fortune as well as the Buddha's footprints and the Buddha's heart.

The swastika is said to contain the whole mind of the Buddha and can often be found imprinted on the chest, feet or palms of Buddha images.
 It is also the first of the 65 auspicious symbols on the footprint of the Buddha.

 Altar of the past Abbot memorial.

The minority races in Vietnam also have their fair share of religious practise.
The Hindu Temple along Phan Van Tri near to An Binh Hospital.

Hai Nam Temple,a place for the Hainanese chinese along Tran Hung Dao Road.

Benh Vien-An Binh Hospital is a very large medical care centre.