Hotels in Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City
Saigon Tours
Information
Saigon Tours Information
HO CHI
MINH CITY TOUR
HALF
DAY CU CHI TUNNELS TOUR
CAO DAI
TEMPLE AND CU CHI TUNNELS TOUR
HO CHI
MINH CITY - MEKONG DELTA 1 DAY
HO CHI
MINH CITY - CAT TIEN NATIONAL PARK TOUR
HO CHI
MINH CITY - MEKONG DELTA 2-DAY TOUR
HO CHI
MINH CITY - MEKONG DELTA 3 DAYS
HO CHI
MINH CITY - DA LAT TOUR
HO CHI
MINH CITY - VUNG TAU BEACH - CU CHI TUNNELS TOUR
HO CHI
MINH CITY STOP-OVER TOUR 3 DAYS
HO CHI
MINH CITY STOP-OVER TOUR 4 DAYS
HO CHI
MINH CITY – CU CHI – MEKONG DELTA TOUR
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Ho Chi
Minh City (Vietnamese: Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh) is the
largest city in Vietnam and is located near the Mekong
Delta. Under the name, Prey Nokor, it was the main port
of Cambodia, before being annexed by the Vietnamese in
the 17th century. Under the name Saigon (Vietnamese: Sai
Gon; pronunciation), it was the capital of the French
colony of Cochinchina, and later of the independent
state of South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. In 1975,
Saigon was merged with the surrounding province of Gia
Dinh and renamed Ho Chi Minh City (although the name
Saigon is still frequently used, particularly by its
citizens)
The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon
River, 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the South China Sea
and 1,760 kilometers (1,094 mi) south of Hanoi, the
capital of Vietnam.
The metropolitan area, which consists of Ho Chi Minh
City metro area, Thu Dau Mot, Di An, Bien Hoa and
surrounding towns, has more than 9 million people,
making it the largest metropolitan area in Vietnam and
Indochina
Geography and climate
Saigon is located at 10°45'N, 106°40'E in the
southeastern region of Vietnam, 1,760 km (1,094 miles)
south of Hanoi. The average elevation is 19 meters (63
ft) above sea level. It borders Tay Ninh and Binh Duong
provinces to the north, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau
provinces to the east, Long An Province to the west and
the South China Sea to the south with a coast of 15 km
in length. The city covers an area of 2,095 km² (809 sq
mi) (0.63% of the surface of Vietnam), extending up to
Cu Chi (12mi/20 km from the Cambodian border), and down
to Can Gio on the East Sea coast. The distance from the
northernmost point (Phu My Hung Commune, Cu Chi
District) to the southernmost one (Long Hoa Commune, Can
Gio District) is 102 kilometers (63 mi), and from the
easternmost point (Long Binh Ward, District Nine) to the
westernmost one (Binh Chanh Commune, Binh Chanh
District) is 47 kilometers (29 mi).
The city has a tropical climate, with an average
humidity of 75%. A year is divided into 2 distinct
seasons: The rainy season with an average rainfall of
about 1,800 millimetres (71 in) annually (about 150
rainy days per year), which usually begins in May and
ends in late November. The dry season lasts from
December to April. The average temperature is 28 °C (82
°F), the highest temperature sometimes reaches 39 °C
(102 °F) around noon in late April, while the lowest may
fall below 16 °C (61 °F) in the early mornings of late
December.
Transportation
Tan Son Nhat International Airport, a joint civilian and
military airport, is located 4 mi (6 km) north of the
center (District 1) of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). 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 25 mi (40 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 alleyways, which are sometimes little
more than dirt paths. Traveling by bus is the only
public transport available although the city is seeking
financing sources for implementing 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. If Beijing is "the City
of Bicycles", then Ho Chi Minh City is "the Capital of
Motorbikes". 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 a one way street or
ignoring red lights.
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/1,950 km to the north.
There are many harbors along the Saigon and Dong Nai
Rivers, such as: Saigon Port, Newport, Ben nghe Port and
VICT Port. They account for the annual 40% 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 Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho, the
capital of the Mekong river delta, and to Dau Giay
Township, Dong Nai province, 70 km to the northeast.
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article Saigon. |