| Page Views: 205 Last Visit to Ho Chi Minh City: November, 2008 | Ho Chi Minh City by ValbyDK - last update: Jan 5, 2009 |
|  | HO CHI MINH CITY - FACTS Ho Chi Minh City began as a small fishing village called Prey Nokor which was inhabited by Khmer people and was a part of Cambodia. In 1623, Vietnamese refugees fled from the Trinh-Nguyen civil war in Vietnam and settled in Prey Nokor. More and more settlers from Vietnam arrived to the area – and Prey Nokor slowly became a part of Vietnam. In 1698, the name Saigon was used officially for the first time - and this year marks the foundation of the city of Saigon.
Vietnam was conquered by France in 1859, and the colonization had big influence on the city and it was called “Paris in the Orient” or “Pearl of the Far East”. Many of the old colonial buildings still stand today.
In 1954, Communist Viet Minh defeated the French in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, but Vietnam was partitioned into the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The Communists assumed control of the North and the US-supported Ngo Dinh Diem took the South, and he made Saigon the capital of South Vietnam.
When the Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, the city came under the control of the Vietnam People's Army. In 1976, unified communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam came into being, and the Saigon-Cholon-Gia Dinh districts were renamed to Ho Chi Minh City to commemorate the late communist leader Ho Chi Minh. However, the former name Saigon is still used by many Vietnamese.
Today, Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam with around 9 million people in the metropolitan area.
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| | MY VISIT I stayed 4 days/3 nights in Ho Chi Minh City in November 2008 - and a couple of incidents (read my warning tips) mean that it is not just happy memories!
Ho Chi Minh City has its share of interesting sights, Notre Dame Cathedral, Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum, elegant colonial buildings and the peaceful Tao Dan Park - just to mention a few… However, if you don't have the time to visit both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi I would choose Hanoi which has a much nicer and calmer atmosphere…
My best experience was an afternoon when I was just strolling around in the city centre and saw that a futsal tournament was going on. I ended up staying there for a couple of hours and watched the games and had a nice chat with some of the spectators and players. Another good experience was the Quan An Ngon restaurant (read my tips)…
The traffic in Ho Chi Minh City is like the traffic in most other south-east Asian cities: Amazing but also very scaring… Motorcycles and cars everywhere and it looks like there are no rules, but somehow it works and the traffic seems to flow. Scaring the first few times to need to cross a road, but just walk across in a slow and steady tempo - don't think to much :)
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 Comments for ValbyDK about Ho Chi Minh City | | | | |
Nemorino Sat Jun 20, 2009 15:40 UTC
Interesting to read about your recent visit to Saigon. I knew the city well in 1964-65 when I was in Vietnam as an American soldier, and also re-visited with my older son in 1995. | PierreZA Fri Feb 20, 2009 16:28 UTC
Hi there Klaus, it is not nice to have experiences like you had, what a rip off. It is very good to read honest opinions, great page! | dancinbudgie Mon Jan 19, 2009 09:25 UTC
This is a very interesting and informative new page. I have added some of your tips to my trip planner. Thank you very much. Budgie |
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