Bright Lights, Big City

Ho Chi Minh City ( old name - Sai Gon)  never sleeps. Everywhere you look there is color and movement. Vendors engulfed in bright bubbles of balloons or pushing carts heaped with wares; flocks of schoolgirls on bicycles, their traditional white ao dai tunics fluttering in the breeze; cranes spinning high overhead as workers put the finishing touches on newly-risen office towers...
It seems that everyone is busy, buying, selling, studying, and building... You'll find yourself swept up by the city's enthusiasm, charmed by its youthful exuberance at being back in the business of making money. Not surprisingly, Ho Chi Minh City is a shopper's paradise, with trendy new boutiques and modern shopping centres just steps away from traditional open-air markets.

The juxtaposition of past and present is more visible here than any- where else in Vietnam. Gleaming new skyscrapers tower above lavish French colonial villas. Imposing Soviet-style facades stand beside ancient pagodas. Women in traditional dress chat on mobile phones, while old cyclo pedicab jostle for space with bran new BMWs.

When they're not working, Ho Chi Minh City's residents are having fun. Food is a highlight here. The city is packed with eateries, ranging from simple sidewalk stalls to five-star hotel dining rooms. And following two decades of rest, nightlife is once again a priority. Ho Chi Minh City is full of places to see and be seen. Take your pick of pubs, pool halls, live-music shows, evening river-boat cruises, and trendy discos, where hip young people in the latest Hong Kong fashions dance to international tunes.

Ho Chi Minh City provides a rare opportunity to witness a society in transition. Spend a few days here you'll sense the city changing before your eyes. While Hanoi provides a glimpse into Vietnam's ancient traditions, Ho Chi Minh City reveals the nation's dynamic future.