Ho Chi Minh City Travel Guide
Travel guide to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with comprehensive information about events, shopping, and major Ho Chi Minh City sporting events to help you enjoy your visit more.
Ho Chi Minh City Overview
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is Vietnam's largest city with some 6 million residents. It became Ho Chi Minh City in 1975 after the fall of South Vietnam, following the American troops withdrawal from the area two years previously.
The city is not especially well off it has to be said, although the people of the city are working hard to bring money in. One of the easiest ways to do this is through simply asking for it, so visitors should be well aware of this and that it is acceptable to simply ignore it. There are also a number of people selling all manner of small items, from flowers through to home made jewellery and pretty much anything. They tend to congregate around a visitor, seeing if they can win the race to sell something. There are some wonderful markets selling local goods though and a number of modern shopping malls and department stores that stand as a dramatic contrast, yet do invite the visitor in, enticing them with their familiarity.
A word of caution for those walking around the city - be careful. The pedestrian is seen as something of an irritation here, with motorised transport, especially the thousands of motorbikes, being dominant. The traffic follows its own rules so don't expect a red traffic light to mean the traffic will stop - it won't.
Top Ho Chi Minh City Attractions
Culturally Ho Ch Minh City has lots to offer the visitor. The Jade Pagoda for example is a beautiful site with Buddhist and Taoist statues on display. There is also the Giac Lam Pagoda, a Buddhist temple with many portraits of past religious figures. There are a number of museums too, although there tends to be a political bias in most of them, leading to a distorted view.
Shopping in Ho Chi Minh City
The tourist board have worked hard to satisfy the needs of visitors and have set up an approved retailer programme. Those shops that have a good infrastructure, a broad range of products, reasonable prices and good service are allocated special status. There are currently 22 such shops/malls, which out of the many thousands of shops here doesn't sound like many.
Ho Chi Minh City Sporting Events
The city, and the country itself, are relatively poor in comparison to other parts of the world. Therefore the infrastructure to support an extensive sports programme simply isn't there. There are a number of indoor sports areas, for table tennis and badminton for example, as well as a number of golf courses that have sprung up to cater for visitors.