Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City, previously known as Saigon, is the economic capital of Vietnam. It’s a bustling, dynamic and industrious centre and by far the most populous city of the country.

The streets, where much of the city’s life takes place, are a myriad of shops, stalls, stands on‐wheels and vendors selling wares spread out on the sidewalks. The city churn, ferments, bubbles and fumes. Yet within the teeming metropolis are the timeless traditions and beauty of the ancient culture.

Ho Chi Minh City’s climate is classified as tropical wet and dry, meaning that it is warm all year round and divided into two distinct seasons, the wet season and the dry season, rather than spring, summer, fall and winter. The rainy season lasts from May through October, and the dry season runs from December to April.

The city is both large and growing, but in one respect, it is smaller than it seems — the official statistics include both registered residents and migrant workers. On the other hand, the city is actually larger than the official resident count in that its metropolitan area includes over 10 million people.

Seventy percent of those who visit Vietnam also visit Ho Chi Minh City, and the city indeed offers tourists a wide variety of activities. Ho Chi Minh City has over eight million inhabitants, making it the largest city in the country, and its metropolitan area is expected to reach 20 million by 2020. It is the top business hub of Vietnam and the center of much of the nation’s activities, which explains why it is also often the center of many tourists’ activities.

Vietnamese arts and crafts, or mass-produced resin knock-offs thereof, are sold by dozens of shops around the central tourist district. The best, most expensive items can be mostly found on Dong Khoi or the immediate side streets. The goods tend to get progressively simpler and cheaper as you move west toward Ben Than Market (though the best wood-carving shop is a stall on the back side of Ben Thanh). A few shops have authentic woven silk textiles from Sapa and the north. Lacquered paintings, plates, bowls, etc. are quite striking and unique to Vietnam. Vietnamese propaganda posters can be very impressive and offer a taste of history.