|
|
 Following the Fall of Saigon in 1975, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. However the old Saigon moniker is still used by both Vietnamese and foreigners, especially when referring to the most central part of the city, to which most tourists flock. |
|
Introducing Ho Chi Minh
 Ho Chi Minh City, situated in the southern part of Vietnam, is still called Saigon by most of the natives. This modern city used to be considered as the Pearl of the Orient by the French.
The wide Saigon River, which takes a huge turn from the east of Saigon, links the city with the sea. Unlike Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City may lack charm and elegance, but the city with its essential French colonial character has enough to draw your attention. The city's colonial villas, wide avenues and a lively cafe society remind you the days of French dominance.
Over the last 10 years, Ho Chi Minh City has experienced a spectacular change in its cityscape. The once low-rise landscape of the city's central area, District 1, is now marked with shining skyscrapers including high-rise apartments, international hotels and companies. This bustling, vibrant, industrial hub of the nation is the biggest city of Vietnam as well. Saigon is also the cultural center and economic capital of the country.
 The city is well connected with rest of the world through air routes and sea and thereby draws huge foreign funds in the fields like oil, gas, agriculture, textiles, and marine products. However tourism contributes a major part of the government's revenue.
The city with its teeming metropolis mingled with the elegance of ancient culture, gives you a microcosmic view of the entire nation.
|
Geographical Of Ho Chi Minh
 Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon) is the economic capital of Vietnam. It is situated by the side of the Saigon River towards the northern part of the Mekong River delta. It is in the southeastern part of Vietnam, the city is 1725km away from the southern Hanoi and 50km west of the Eastern Sea. It is enclosed by Tay Ninh and Binh Duong provinces in the north, Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces in the east and Long An Province in the west. A stretch of 20km coastline of the South China Sea lies along its southern end.
The city occupies an area of 2,095 square km (809 square mile). Its north-south stretch from the Phu My Hung Commune in Cu Chi District (northernmost point) to the Long Hoa Commune in Can Gio District (southernmost point) covers 120km. The east-west stretch, extending from the Long Binh Ward in District Nine (easternmost point) to Binh Chanh Commune of Binh Chanh District, covers 46km.
The city is situated at a height of 19m (63 ft) above the sea surface. A bunch of hundreds of small rivers and channels watering the Cuu Long delta has been a prominent geographic feature of Saigon. Accessibility to 50,000 tone vessels constitutes one of the biggest advantages of this city.
|
Weather All Year Round
 Climate
Ho Chi Minh City has a tropical climate. Its location being very close to the sea, climate of the city steadily varies from warm to hot through out the year.
There are mainly two seasons in this city. The rainy season starts from May and lasts till late November. Downpour becomes heavy from June to August. However the showers are usually sudden and stay for a brief period. So even during the rainy season reappearance of Sun occurs fairly quickly. The average rainfall of the city is around 1,800 mm.
Temperature goes down a bit from December to April. This particular time period is considered as the dry season. The average temperature during the dry season stays around 28°C. The temperature may rise up to 39°C around noon during late April. However it may drop below 16°C during the morning hours in late December. July to November is the time for typhoons. The average humidity of the Ho Chi Minh City is around 80%. April is the hottest month of the city. On the other hand December is the coolest one. However in general the climate of the city is hot and humid.
|
Culture
 Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is home to hundreds of cinemas and theatres, with cinema and dramatic ticketing revenue accounts for 60-70% of Vietnam's total revenue in this industry. Unlike other dramatic teams in Vietnam's provinces and municipalities, those in Ho Chi Minh City live on their own income and keep their theaters active everyday, and are not subsidized by the Vietnamese government. The city is home to most of the private movie companies in Vietnam.
The city has over 1.7 million fixed telephones and about 6.6 million cellular phones. The Internet, especially through ADSL connections, is also rapidly expanding with over 1,200,000 subscribers and around 4.5 million frequent users.
 The city has hundreds of printing and publishing houses, many bookstores and a widespread network of public and school libraries. The HCMC General Library with over 1.5 mėllion books, is a beautiful architectural building. One can visit the Museum of History, the Museum of Revolution, the Museum of Southern Women, the Museum of Southeastern's Armed Forces, the Museum of Fine Art, the Gallery for War Remnants, the Nha Rong Memorial House, the Ben Duoc Relic of Underground Tunnels and many private art galleries. Besides the Municipal Theatre, there are other great places of entertainment such as: the Bến Thành and Hòa Bình Theaters and the Lan Anh Music Stage. The Đầm Sen Tourist and Cultural Park, Suoi Tien Cultural Park and the Can Gio Eco beach resort are three recreational sites inside the city which are popular with visitors.
There are many Pho chains in the city to enjoy and they are very cheap. The city has hundreds of ranked hotels with over 18,000 rooms, including ten luxury 5 star hotels. However, backpacking travelers frequent the "Western Quarter" on Pham Ngu Lao street in District 1.
|
|
|
|
