Ho Chi Minh is Vietnam’s largest city, a place that has emerged from its tumultuous time as Saigon, to become one of Southeast Asia’s most immersive and exhilarating experiences without question.
Around the city centre, endless streams of purring mopeds weave their way through lanes and tight-knit streets, past the vast green parks and curious architectural relics of French-colonial rule, like the life-size replica of Notre Dame Cathedral on busy Han Thuyen Street.
For the historically interested visitor, this city is an absolute must on the Vietnam trail, many of its structures standing testimony to the country’s late 20th century strife. The War Remnants Museum puts up an enthralling and harrowing exhibition while a visit to the Củ Chi tunnels is best experienced with a tour guide’s vivid ‘live’ chronicle into the lives of the soldiers at that time.
This living, breathing, enormous metropolis, sprawled over the vast flatlands of the south seamlessly blends the old with the new, where skyscrapers and malls rub shoulders with old world temples and boisterous markets. To get into the complete local vibe, however make your way to the Ben Thanh Market and its surrounding streets, a splendid place for souvenirs, quirky street food and an authentic bowl of Pho noodles.