Eating in Ho Chi Minh City – Lonely Planet Travel Video
[media id=39 width=500 height=400]
Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam. It was known as Prey Nokor before being annexed by the Vietnamese in the 17th century. Under the name Saigon , it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. In 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding province of Gia Äịnh and was officially renamed Hồ Chà Minh City (although the name Sà i Gòn – formally known as District 1 – is still commonly used.)
The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60Â kilometers (37Â mi) from the South China Sea and 1,760Â kilometers (1,094Â mi) south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
The metropolitan area, which consists of Hồ Chà Minh City metro area, Thủ Dầu Một, Di An, Bien Hoa and surrounding towns, is populated by more than 9 million people, making it the most populous metropolitan area in Vietnam and Indochina.
The Greater Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area, a metropolitan area covering most part of Dong Nam Bo plus Tien Giang and Long An provinces under planning will have an area of 30,000 square kilometers with a population of 20 million inhabitants by 2020.
Post-Vietnam War and today
At the conclusion of the Vietnam War, on April 30, 1975, the city came under the control of the Vietnamese People’s Army. In the U.S. this event is commonly called the “Fall of Saigon,” while the communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam call it the “Liberation of Saigon.”
In 1976, upon the establishment of the unified communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the city of Saigon (including Cholon), the province of Gia Ãịnh and 2 suburban districts of two other nearby provinces were combined to create Hồ Chà Minh City in honour of the late communist leader Hồ Chà Minh. The former name Saigon is still widely used by many Vietnamese, especially in informal contexts. Generally, the term Saigon refers only to the urban districts of Hồ Chà Minh City. The word “Saigon” can also be found on shop signs all over the country, even in Hanoi.
Transportation
Tan Son Nhat International Airport, a joint civilian and military airport, is located 4Â mi (6Â km) north of the city center (District 1). The Tan Son Nhat International Airport located in Tan Binh District. The government expanded the Tan Son Nhat Airport in 2007, with improvements to the international airport. Taxi and bus services are available for travel to and from the airport and within the city . Because of the rapid growing number of air-passengers and Tan Son Nhat Airport’s proximity to the center of the city, the Vietnamese Government has prepared to build a new international airport near Long Thanh Township, Dong Nai Province about 25Â mi (40Â km) to the northeast.
Ho Chi Minh city’s road system is in improvable condition. Many of its streets are riddled with potholes. This is especially true of the city’s numerous back streets and alleys, which are sometimes little more than dirt paths. City buses are the only public transport available, although the city is seeking financing sources for building metro (subway) and elevated train projects, including the Ho Chi Minh City Metro planned for completion in 2020.
Recently, the number of motorcycles has increased to about 4 million. There are also over 500,000 automobiles, packing the city’s arterial roads and making traffic congestion and air pollution common problems. While Beijing used to be called “the City of Bicycles”, Ho Chi Minh City is “the Capital of Motorbikes”. Motorcycle-taxi (xe ôm) is a popular means of transport; foreigners are often greeted with the cry, “Motorbike!” Visitors should consider the city’s streets as dangerous due to the motorists’ lack of behavior and the city’s lack of traffic law enforcement.
Drivers can be seen driving the wrong way up one-way streets, ignoring red lights, not stopping for pedestrians on marked crossings and driving on the footpaths. From 2008, this has improved somewhat, with more traffic lights, greater adherence to traffic light signals, and motorcycle helmets being worn.
The city is the terminal hub of the North South Railroad of Vietnam. Passengers can travel to Hanoi and the Chinese border, about 1,212 mi/1,950Â km to the north. There are many harbours along the Saigon and Dong Nai Rivers, such as: Saigon Port, Newport, Ben nghe Port and VICT Port. They account for the annual 40 percent export-import cargo output of Vietnam.
From Ho Chi Minh City, one can travel to many places in Southern Vietnam and to Cambodia by road or waterway. The city is linked to the Central Highlands by National Highways 14 and 20, to the Central Coast and the north by National Highway 1 and to the Mekong River Delta by National Highways 1 and 50. Two expressways are being built to connect the city to Can Tho, the capital of the Mekong River Delta, and to Dau Giay Township, Dong Nai Province, 70Â km to the northeast.
Landmarks
Today, the city’s core is still adorned with wide elegant boulevards and historic French colonial buildings.
The most prominent structures in the city center are Reunification Palace (Dinh Thống Nhất), City Hall (Ủy ban hân dân Thà nh phốn’), Municipal Theatre, Ho Chi Minh City (Nhà hát thà nh phố), City Post Office (Bưu Ä‘iện thà nh phố), State Bank Office (Ngân hà ng nhà nước), City People’s Court (Tòa án nhân dân thà nh phố) and Notre-Dame Cathedral (Nhà thá» Äức Bà ).
Some of the historic hotels are the Hotel Majestic, dating from the French colonial era, and the Rex Hotel, Caravelle hotel some former hangouts for American officers and war correspondents in the 1960s and 1970s.
The city has various museums, such as the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Museum of Vietnamese History and concerning modern history the Revolutionary Museum (Bảo tà ng cách mạng) and the War Remnants Museum (Ho Chi Minh City). The Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens dates from 1865.
Sister cities
There are sister cities of Ho Chi Minh City:
Taipei, Republic of China
Busan, South Korea
Osaka, Japan
Moscow, Russia
Saint Petersburg, Russia[33]
Toronto, Canada
San Francisco, USA
Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Tabriz, Iran
Istanbul, Turkey
Manila, Philippines
Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City photo, Ho Chi Minh City video, Ho Chi Minh City culture, Ho Chi Minh City galleries, Ho Chi Minh City information, Ho Chi Minh City facilities, Ho Chi Minh City conceirge services, Ho Chi Minh City cafe, Ho Chi Minh City hotel, Ho Chi Minh City hostel, Ho Chi Minh City room categories, Ho Chi Minh City shopping complex, Ho Chi Minh City market, Ho Chi Minh City night market, Ho Chi Minh City beach, Ho Chi Minh City island, Ho Chi Minh City history, Ho Chi Minh City airport, travel, travelling, travel video, travel video clip, hotel, hostel, backpackers, beach, island, resort, tourism, holiday, destination, destination guide, guide, undersea world, diving, casino, crafts, cultural, culture, market, night market, history museum, nomad, districts, festival, archery, flying fox, scuba, diving, surf, winter, snow, ruins, hiking, rafting, reef, adventure, adventure nature, Lonely Planet Travel Video, Bungee, nightlife, landscapes, sea, food market, festival, Lonely PLanet Travel Video, Anton Seim, ho chi minh city, Vietnam, food