This southern Vietnamese metropolis is a city of intoxicating energy.
Ho Chi Minh City, still lovingly called Saigon by its residents, is a city that hits you with a full-blown sensory overload from the moment you arrive. It is a place of dizzying, chaotic energy, of incredible food, and of a resilient and forward-looking spirit that is absolutely infectious. It is a city that is constantly in motion, a place that blends its tragic past with a dynamic and optimistic future.
A visit here is a whirlwind of sights, sounds, and smells that will leave you completely captivated and wanting more.
1. The sheer, exhilarating energy of the motorbike traffic.
The first thing you will notice in Ho Chi Minh City is the traffic. It is a mesmerizing, seemingly chaotic, and yet somehow graceful river of millions of motorbikes that flows through the city’s streets. There are no real rules; there is just a constant, fluid negotiation for space. Learning how to cross the street by walking slowly and steadily into this river of traffic is a terrifying but ultimately exhilarating rite of passage, as mentioned in Jackfruit Adventure.
This constant, buzzing energy is the lifeblood of the city. It is a symbol of its industrious, entrepreneurial, and unstoppable spirit, a spectacle you will never forget.
2. The street food is a world-class culinary adventure.
Ho Chi Minh City is one of the greatest street food cities in the world, a place where some of the most delicious food is served on a tiny plastic stool on a busy sidewalk. The city is a paradise for food lovers, and a trip here is a constant and affordable culinary adventure, according to Geeky Explorer. You can start your day with a perfect “bánh mì” sandwich, a legacy of the French colonial era.
For lunch, you can have a bowl of world-famous “pho” noodle soup, and for dinner, you can graze on a huge variety of delicious and cheap dishes at a bustling night market. The food is simply phenomenal.
3. The city’s history is both tragic and fascinating.
To truly understand modern Vietnam, you must confront the history of the Vietnam War, and Ho Chi Minh City is the best place to do that. A visit to the War Remnants Museum is a harrowing but essential experience, offering a powerful and unflinching look at the brutal realities of the war from the Vietnamese perspective, as reported at Medium.com.
You can also take a day trip to the incredible Cu Chi Tunnels, the massive underground network from which the Viet Cong operated. It is a fascinating and sobering look at the ingenuity and the resilience of the Vietnamese people during one of the most difficult periods in their history.
4. The beautiful French colonial architecture is everywhere.
Ho Chi Minh City was once the capital of French Indochina, and the legacy of that era is visible in the city’s beautiful colonial architecture. A walk through the city’s central District 1 reveals a number of grand and elegant French buildings, from the stunning, canary-yellow Central Post Office, which was designed by Gustave Eiffel, to the beautiful, red-brick Notre Dame Cathedral.
These beautiful, historic buildings provide a stunning contrast to the modern skyscrapers and the bustling Vietnamese street life, giving the city a unique and charming architectural character.
5. It is an incredibly affordable city to explore.
One of the most appealing things about a trip to Ho Chi Minh City is the incredible value for money that it offers. It is a city where you can live like a king on a backpacker’s budget. A delicious and filling bowl of pho from a street stall can cost as little as two dollars, and a local beer is often less than a dollar.
You can get a comfortable, clean, and centrally located hotel room for a fraction of what you would pay in most other major cities. This affordability allows you to have a rich and full travel experience without constantly worrying about your budget.
6. The people are incredibly friendly and resilient.
The people of Ho Chi Minh City have a warmth and an energy that is truly infectious. Despite the city’s tragic and difficult past, the people are overwhelmingly forward-looking, optimistic, and incredibly welcoming to visitors. You will be met with smiles and genuine curiosity wherever you go. There is a powerful sense of entrepreneurial spirit and a hustle that is inspiring to witness.
The resilience of the people, who have rebuilt their city and their country with such a positive spirit, is one of the most memorable and moving parts of a visit.
7. The cafe culture is second to none.
The French left behind a love of coffee, and the Vietnamese have taken it and created their own unique and incredible cafe culture. Ho Chi Minh City is absolutely packed with thousands of cafes, from small, sidewalk pop-ups to stylish, multi-story coffee houses hidden down small alleyways. The coffee here is strong, dark, and delicious, often served with sweetened condensed milk, a drink known as “ca phe sua da.”
The cafes are the social heart of the city, a place where people come to relax, to socialize, and to escape the heat. It’s a wonderful part of the daily life of the city.
8. The vibrant nightlife has something for everyone.
When the sun goes down, Ho Chi Minh City comes alive with a huge variety of nightlife options. For a classic tourist experience, you can head to the backpacker-friendly bars of Bui Vien Street. For a more sophisticated evening, the city has a growing number of chic and stylish rooftop bars that offer incredible views of the glittering city skyline.
For a more local experience, you can pull up a plastic stool at a “bia hoi” street stall and enjoy some cheap, fresh local beer with a lively crowd. The city’s energy is electric at night, with something for every taste and budget.