One of the new Asian boomtowns, Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam. It lies in a picturesque area dominated by the estuary of the mighty Mekong. Once called Saigon, it is the ‘rice bowl of Vietnam’ as the surrounding green paddy fields make only too apparent. It is and has always been the commercial and economic centre of the country, with traders from across Asia and Europe finding their way to its thriving, bustling markets. It is more of a melting pot than any other city in the region - and you can see signs of it everywhere, in the French berets worn by men, in the aromatic coffee available at cafés, in the distinctly Chinese flavour of Cholon, (Chinatown) and in the cosmopolitan character of the city’s architecture with its fine buildings reflecting Japanese, Chinese, French and Dutch styles.

It is perhaps Vietnam’s most important and most well known city – a vibrant city you should definitely visit if you want to get a taste of Vietnam - as it was, as it is and as it promises to be..