Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum

With 2,700m2 of indoor exhibition space and over 15,000 genuine artifacts, the Ho Chi Minh Trail Museum provides a fascinating look at the effort and commitment that went into maintaining the famed supply line from the Communist north to the American-backed south of Vietnam.

If you are interested in the significance of the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War, it is well worth the effort to travel to this museum, despite its remote location from the city center. Visitors are escorted upstairs to view a brief documentary describing the construction of the route, which was actually a network of trails that frequently spanned into Laos and Cambodia. The exhibits on the three floors demonstrate the resourcefulness of the pioneers who toiled in the jungle with few resources. These include bamboo-wrapped oil drums that served as personal bomb shelters and a shrapnel-resistant cloak used by commanders that weighed approximately 130 pounds (130 pounds). Cigarette bombs and nail bombs are further examples of weapons designed to maim for life. In front of the museum is a fairly unimpressive recreation of an underground command center, and alongside the museum are a number of trucks that once traveled the trail.

Opening hours: 7:30–11.00 and 1:30–4:30
Entrance fee: 20,000vnđ/ticket.