Ho Chi Minh City Travel Guide, Vietnam

O Chi Minh City (Saigon)

O Chi Minh City (Saigon) is the largest city and headquarters of Vietnam that has grown to establish itself in the ‘Asian Tiger’ economic slugfest. It is located on the Saigon River and is Vietnam’s major port with a population of over 8 million people. Most of the people in O Chi Minh City travel throughout the clogged arteries of the city on about 3 million motorbikes.

Though the city is noisy, crowded and dirty, its business district poses competition to other cities on the globe. There are two seasons in O Chi Minh City; the hot and rainy season from May to November and the dry season from December to April.

O Chi Min City is a hip party place

O Chi Minh City tourist attractions include the War Remnants Museum, Vietnam History Museum and Cholon, the district famous for its pagodas and exotic stores. Dong Khoi Street boasts of some grand hotels where some date from the colonial era, chic boutiques and shops and numerous restaurants and cafes to taste Vietnam’s famous food.

With its inception in the world scene in the mid 1990s, O Chi Minh city is considered to be one of the hip party places. A visit to District 1 shows some underground club happenings where bars are open till the last customers. Don’t expect any cultural shows in O Chi Minh City as there are only a few dinner and dance shows for you to see.

Nightlife of O Chi Minh City

The city’s bia hoi stands offer the best nightlife while the many street-side beer stalls are great for a beer. All you have to do is to grab a stool and table and wait for pitchers of beer which are available at a few pennies a glass. Food here is also good, and practically free.

If you go shopping in O Chi Minh City, you will find that the prices here are more than anywhere else; but the selection of silk, embroidery, lacquer and houseware here is great.

Moreover, the cosmopolitan atmosphere here makes it easy to shop as the shop owners here don’t force you to buy things. The shops are open all days of a week where credit cards are accepted with a charge, in most places.

Bargain to save money

The famous shopping area of O Chi Minh City is Dong Khoi, which is loaded with shopping opportunities. There are many Japanese Zakka stores offering cute, and expensive jewelry, shoes and jewelry and many watch stores, repair stores and old camera vendors.

Don’t leave O Chi Minh City without a visit to its Binh Tay Market which seems to run for miles with all types of fruit, cigarette, beer, fish, nut and so on. You will love buying clothes in O Chi Minh City, and will have to spend at least half a day to shop without getting tired.

It is okay to bargain and save about 30% of your money, but don’t take things too seriously as people in O Chi Minh City don’t get angry often, and feel embarrassed if you do.

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• Saigon Tourist Travel Service
  travel tip by Photoguy posted more then 30 days ago
  Saigon tourist travel service is a very important place for all tourists who are new to Ho Chi Minh City. This place is full of information about Ho Chi Minh and the various places that one can visit in the city. They also provide a very...
• Drink stalls on the road side
  travel tip by alvingb posted more then 30 days ago
  While travelling around Ho Chi Minh city you are bound to meet many drink stall owners who will be carrying coconuts and other drinks on a pole with two baskets on each end.  Many of these vendors will persuade you to buy the drinks...
• War Remnants Museum
  travel tip by alvingb posted more then 30 days ago
  This War Remnants museum is a must to visit if you want to know more about the history of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It has various pictures that show real people during the time of the Vietnam War and how they were affected by the...

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