It seem to be more people here than in Hanoi, although the streets here are bigger but more than 7millions inhabitants try to squeeze in those streets of Ho Chi Minh. It’s this city is like Bangkok 10years ago, traffic jam are common, air and water pollution is still a problem.The temperature is quite hot on a sunny day and gets cooler. A year is divided into 2 distinct seasons, rainy season and dry season. The rainy season starts around May to November and the rest is dry season.

What to do
I have been here many times and still haven’t figure it out, what is worth to see! The city its self has a few things to offer.

- Notre Dame Cathedral: The most famous one must be the one stands in front of Post Office. It built 1880 with French architecture. It’s free to visit but make sure enter before lunch time, as you might know vietnamese people do have siesta.
Address: Nhà thờ Đức Bà, Công xã Paris, Đồng Khởi, quận 1.
Another one is Cathedral Tan Dinh(Nhà thờ Tân Định), 289 Hai Bà Trưng, quận 3. If you can walk, then it’s no problem at all to walk from Ben Thanh to here. I would say you can walk to most places in HCM, especially around the city.

-Saigon River side: is nice to walk at night, a place where you can hang out and perhaps eat on one of them big floating boat. Watch out for beggars, as they might touch your souls and you would say: poor little kid. I know the poverty in Vietnam hasn’t changed much.

- Reunification Hall: 106 Nguyen Du Street. Formerly South Vietnam’s Presidential Palace, this is a restored five-floor time warp to the Sixties left largely untouched from the day before Saigon fell to the North. On April 30, 1975, the war ended when tank 843, now parked outside, crashed through the gate. Be sure to check out the impressively kitschy recreation room, featuring a circular sofa. You can also visit the war rooms in the basement and view a propaganda film recounting how the South Vietnamese lackeys and American imperialists succumbed to Ho Chi Minh’s indomitable revolutionary forces. Entry 15000 dong; open daily 07:30-11:30, 13:00-16:00.

War Remnants Museum: 28 Vo Van Tan Street. Formerly known as the Exhibition House of American War Crimes, and currently housed in a rather confused assemblage of warehouses, with new purpose-built premises under construction next door. This disturbing display of man’s cruelty during the Vietnam (American) War includes halls full of gruesome photographs, a real guillotine, a simulated “tiger cage” prison and jars of deformed fetuses blamed on Agent Orange. The comic relief provided by a display on the evils of American rock music has sadly disappeared. Entry 10000 dong; open daily 07:30-11:45, 13:30-17:30.

- City Hall: end of Nguyen Hue Street. Originally called the Hôtel de Ville and now formally re-branded the People’s Committee Hall, it’s a striking cream and yellow French colonial building beautifully floodlit at night. No entry, but the statue of Uncle Ho in front is a very popular place for photos.

- Museum of Vietnamese History: at the top of Le Duan Street (just inside the zoo gates). The museum has a fine collection of Vietnamese antiquities, but unfortunately they are accompanied by signage which is both in poor English and full of risible Marxist distortions. Read up on Vietnamese history first or you’ll have no idea what you’re looking at. Outside, the Botanical Gardens are very nice and a good place for a cheap lunch away from the crowds. If you care about animal welfare, avoid the zoo.

- Shopping: Well, so you want to buy something? What do you want to buy? Cheap or expensive things? Or just want to walk around? If you want to buy expensive things like shoes, shirts, watches then i would say go to:
1) Dong Khoi st. is where you find most stuff, from Gucci to galleria. Everything on this street is NOT cheap. 2) Diamond plaza. Located just behind the Notre Dame Cathedral, cross over the big street and you will see big green skyscraper.
Cheap things can only purchase in local market, NOT Ben Thanh market (by the way, there is a night market outside Ben Thanh at night where you can eat as well as buy stuff). As Ben Thanh market becomes famous for tourists, vendors know only tourist goes here to buy stuff since it’s near to everything. Try Saigon Square, corner of Hai Ba Trung and Nguyen Du. Some of the former Russian Market stores have moved here. Very popular for hip, young people; you can find cheap watches, DVDs, T-shirts, jeans, shorts, slippers, etc, and there’s a nice supper market in the middle of the square. Open 09:00-19:00.

Food and drink: If you want to sit and watch the streets from above like this picture vietzon.com/galleria… then you can go to “Thuong Xa Tax”, near Rex hotel and the roundabout Nguyen Hue and Le Loi st. You just take a lift and enter 4th floor, turn left and walk until you see a stair. Go up and enjoy the view. It’s quite cheap to drink, 25.000vnd for a strawberry-shake.
Near Bui Vien and De Tham as well as the Pham Ngu Lao st. has many restaurants and bars. I would say most of them are mid-range. Could be cheaper if you can read vietnamese. Super-market can be tricky to find. You can find one near De Tham and that’s Zen Plaza, only cross the park from De Tham and straight 150m, take a lift to 7th floor.

Get there
Arrive by air: If you arrive to the airport, international section, you have 3 choices to get to city:
1. By local bus nr 152 with air-con, which is just outside of the airport. Pham Ngu Lao st. is the area most of backpackers will get off. The price is 3000vnd which is very cheap, be ready with small money.
As you arrive to Tan Son Nhat airport, there are plenty of taxi from airline’s company, waiting for you outside. You properly have no choice, other taxi companies are more or less force to leave. Talk about “monopole” here! Usually it costs less than 80.000vnd (5$) to reach the center. But you might pay for fixed price. Make sure he/she turn the meter on.
Xe om is another option to get to the city. Very unusual case, since most people have more luggages and xe om certainly can drive you to your place but it’s uncomfortable.

By Bus: In this case, i mean big buses, opentour buses. Most of them will arrive at De Tham/ Pham ngu Lao’s area. From here you can go around and find hotels. This is a best area, backpacker’s area, where you can find very cheap hotel. If you have patient, go to deeper in tiny alleys, as you will find what you want.

By Train: Either you can take a taxi or public bus to your hotel. If you choose a bus, make sure you see the “Ben Thanh” sign, Or there is a bus nr 07, which you can say stop at Le Van Sy, and from Le Van Sy take another bus nr 28 (Tan Son Nhat - Ben Thanh).

If you have more than 3 people than take a taxi, around the city cost normally 30.000vnd with a taxi. Read this article about telefone nr to reliable company. If you are alone then xe om is the cheapest way to get around. Let say you can pay less than 15.000 from Ben Thanh market to train station and that is quite far as you can see on the map. Always bargain even if you don’t know the price, go down 1/3 of the price and start to walk away. If it’s right price then they will call you back, if not then you should reconsider a higher price.

Local bus is OK as long as you know where to go and read the sign/text. From Ben Thanh bus station, there are plenty buses go to Cho Lon (another famous market in chinese area), even bus to Cu Chi and Cambodia border(!?). Price from 3.000vnd for 1way.

Place to sleep
Just say De Tham, Bui Vien and Pham Ngu Lao st! All these streets are next/near each other, so you don’t have to take a taxi, walk around and you will find hotels, loads of hotels! Unless you want to sleep at five stars hotel like Sheraton, Caravelle, head to Nguyen Hue, Le Loi, Dong Khoi, Saigon riverside . It says HCM city has 641 hotels with 17.646 rooms! Check you credit cards for sure.

Money
ATM are available almost everywhere, around the corner, super-market.

How safe?
Pickpocket is still around, especially when the city has events, like Flower-market at new year. Otherwise, it’s same as Hanoi. Maybe i feel safe but you don’t. If you take a ride on xe om, do not use mobile, it’s a well-known issue that thieves take your mobile while they are on motorbike.