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Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City
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With her back turned on a broad plain that stretches west across Cambodia, and with the rich Mekong Delta at her feet, Ho Chi Minh City sits regally on a giant bend in the Sài Gòon River.
Bulging with a population of nearly seven million, Ho Chi Minh City, is Vietnam’s largest and most exciting city. While Hanoi is the center of government, Ho Chi Minh City is the nation’s economic heart, and money is on the minds of everyone here. Taxi drivers can recite the latest joint venture regulations, and even shirt makers stay in touch with their foreign customers by e-mail. Time is precious, and people are in a hurry, although conversation often takes a small town tone as bakers and bankers compare their ‘‘inside’’ information at sidewalk cafés.
Long before traffic choked the center of the city, Saigon had already been christened the ‘‘Paris of Asia’’ for its wide boulevards lined with stately trees and magnificent French villas. For a moment you may be fooled by the smells of coffee and baking bread, and by old Renaults sounding their horns at roundabouts.
The best way of all to see Ho Chi Minh City is on foot. Most major tourist venues are in District 1, which is fairly compact and easy to maneuver. Taxis are all metered and very inexpensive. You can get across town for about $2 or $3. Xe om (motorbike taxis, pronounced ‘‘see ohm’’) are even cheaper. Cyclos (pedicabs, pronounced ‘‘see-klos’’) carry only one passenger at a time. They are slow and somewhat uncomfortable, yet more charming and intimate way to experience the pace of modern Ho Chi Minh City. Unfortunately, they are being slowly squeezed out central Saigon by traffic.
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Tet - Vietnamese traditional holiday
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Tết Nguyên Đán pronunciation, more commonly known by its shortened name Tết, is the most important and popular holiday and festival in Vietnam. It is the Vietnamese New Year which is based on the Lunar calendar, a lunisolar calendar. The name Tết Nguyên Đán is Sino-Vietnamese for Feast of the First Morning, derived from the Hán nôm characters 節元旦.
Tết is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year though exceptions arise due to the one-hour time difference between Hanoi and Beijing. It takes place from the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. Tết shares many of the same customs of its Chinese counterpart. Many Vietnamese prepare for Tết by cooking special holiday foods and cleaning the house. There are a lot of customs practiced during Tết, like visiting a person's house on the first day of the new year (xông nhà), ancestral worshipping, wishing New Year's greetings, giving lucky money to children and old people and opening a shop.
Tết is also an occasion for pilgrims and family reunions. During Tết holiday, Vietnamese visit their relatives and temples, forgetting about the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. Tết traditionally marks the coming of spring, so "spring" (Xuân) is sometimes used interchangeably with Tết in Vietnamese.
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Christmas is fast approching
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Christmas is fast approching and a wonderfull time to visit Vietnam. The christmas trees are up , the lights are on and the festivities have started . Join us for an exciting time here in Ho Chi Minh City. |
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| Gavin Grace |
| (12/10/08) |
| Clean rooms, clean foyer, pretty much very clean. Great location, basic but satisfactory breakfast. Good staff, took care of booking our trips, taxi for airport and when we needed to leave for the Mekong trip before they started breakfast they had our fo...
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| Kah Man Ho - Hostelbookers |
| (12/03/08) |
| The first impression of this hotel is ..... very clean!! also the staff in there are very helpful. they recommended us to go to some famous tourist spots to us and helped us to book the tickets and the day tour.when i go to vietnam again, i definitely boo...
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| Gemma Laing - Hostelbooker |
| (12/02/08) |
| great staff, super clean and central location ...
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| Sandra |
| (12/01/08) |
| Great staff.Good value....
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