Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam


Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh ) is the biggest city in Vietnam. Formerly known as Saigon, it was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in honor of the Vietnamese leader. The city has a metropolitan area with a popultion of over 9 million people. It was the capital of the state of South Vietnam between 1954 to 1975, and before that, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina.

Ho Chi Minh City began as a fishing village called Prey Nokor, inhabited mostly by the Khmr people since the time of antiquity until the early 17th century, when ethnic Vietnamese migrated and settled there, elbowing out the Khmers. Under the Khmers, it was an important trading port. Under the Vietnamese, Prey Nokor became known as Sài Gòn.

The modern Ho Chi Minh City is located on the banks of the Saigon River. It is 60 km from the coast of the South China Sea, and 1760 km (1094 mi) from Hanoi.

What to eat at Ho Chi Minh City

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Hôtel de Ville - the former town hall of Ho Chi Minh City

Climate of Ho Chi Minh City

The city experiences a tropical climate with an average humidity of 75%. Average daily temperature ranges from 23.7 °C to 32.3 °C, and is fairly uniform throughout the year, with late December being the coldest month. The wettest months are JUne and September, with over 300 mm of rainfall. The driest months are from January to March.

Visiting Ho Chi Minh City

The international gateway to Ho Chi Minh City is Tan Son Nhat International Airport, the biggest airport in Vietnam. It has two terminals. The new terminal handles the international flights while the old one manages the domestic traffic.

Bus No. 152 is an air-conditioned airport bus that go between the airport and downtown Ho Chi Minh City. It only costs 3,000 dong one way. The bus station is located at the domestic terminal.

You can of course also take the taxi downtown. This will set you back 90,000 dongs, for a journey that is just 15 minutes if the traffic is smooth, or over an hour, if you are caught in a jam. The crawling-in-jam ride will be more costly by an additional 30,000 to 60,000 dongs.

Ho Chi Minh City Museum

Getting around in Ho Chi Minh City

You have the option of regular taxis or motorcycle taxis. If you opt for the latter, by all means agree on a price before you climb on board. However, do not expect the motorcycle taxis to be any cheaper than the regular taxis.

The major taxi companies in Ho Chi Minh City are Vinasun and Mai Linh. You should avoid any other companies as they are quite unscrupulous - meaning some of them have meter that can be made to go faster than actual, something prevalent throughout Vietnam and is painting a rather unfortunate picture for its tourism reputation.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City

Places of Interest in Ho Chi Minh City

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