Travel to Ho Chi Minh city

Boasting an electric, near palpable energy. Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is Vietnam’s largest metropolis and its undisputed capital of commerce. For the casual visitor, Saigon – as its still called by all but the city officials who live here – can seem a chaotic mess of traffic-clogged roads and urban bustle, with nary a green space in sight. Yet thousands of expats and Vietnamese immigrants couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. They’ve long since fallen prey to the hidden charms of one of Southeast Asia’s liveliest cities. If every town had a symbol, Saigon’s would surely be the motorbike. More than three million of them fly along streets once swarming with bicycles. Cruising along boulevards and back alleys astride a xe om (motorbike taxi) is the quickest way to sensory overload – daily fare in this tropical town. Teeming markets, sidewalk café’s, massage and acupuncture clinics, centuries-old pagodas, sleek skyscrapers and ramshackle wooden shops selling silk, spices, baskets and handmade furniture all jockey for attention amid the surreal urban collage. Saigon is a forward-looking city driving Vietnam’s economic boom. Investment has led to new crop of lavish hotels and restaurants, with trendy nightclubs and nigh-end boutiques dotting tree-lined neighbourhoods. Yet the city hasn’t forgotten its past. The ghosts live on in the churches, temples, former Gl hotels and government buildings that one generation ago witnessed a city in turmoil. The Saigon experience is about so many things – magical conversations, memorable meals and inevitable frustration – yet it’s unlikely to evoke apathy. Stick around this complicated city long enough and you may find yourself smitten by it.