Hồ Chí Minh City & Southern Vietnam

Wallpaper* • 10th May 2024

Hồ Chí Minh City: Rising Star

"I’ve observed this city transform over the past 15 years and, in this story, I wanted to couple my own musings with insightful and powerful local voices."

Smile (Cebu Pacific) • 4th June 2025

3 Days In Ho Chi Minh City for $300 (for foodies)

"Going to Vietnam the first time was life-changing for sure,” recounted the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain to Condé Nast Traveler in 2014. “It just seemed like another planet; a delicious one that sort of sucked me in and never let go.”

Wallpaper* • 15th October 2020

Urban Jungle

A few kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City's heaving centre, a building is being grown.

Cathay (Cathay Pacific) • 6th August 2025

A Business Traveller’s Guide to Ho Chi Minh City

The way to a Vietnamese person’s heart is through food – especially Vietnamese food. Ask local business partners for recommendations but have specific questions, like where to get the best pho bo. This is especially useful if you want to extend a meeting as there’s a good chance they’ll offer to accompany you. You might also want to ask where you can find the best coffee, beer or cocktails. Hospitality is paramount in Vietnam, and one way people like to welcome visitors is by sharing their favou...

SilverKris • 29th May 2025

A Day on The Tracks of Ho Chi Minh City’s New Metro Line

More than a decade in the works, Ho Chi Minh City’s first metro line opened at the end of 2024. It couldn’t have come soon enough. As the population swells and traffic intensifies in this emerging megacity, Line 1 takes the high road, inviting passengers to glide over the bustling streets below. It’s a boon for commuters and a game changer for visitors as some of the city’s most compelling neighbourhoods are more accessible than ever. Here’s how to spend one day on the right track (indeed, the o...

MICHELIN Guide • 29th January 2025

2 Days in Ho Chi Minh City for Party Goers

It’s clichéd to say that Saigon is Vietnam’s city that never sleeps, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Here’s a two-day itinerary featuring cocktail speakeasies and rooftop bars for after-dark fun, along with parks, cafés, galleries, and hearty meals for the daytime.

Insider • 9th October 2023

A Day in District 4: Ho Chi Minh City's Former Mafia Hot Spot

Two decades back, one of Vietnam's notorious mafia bosses was executed by a firing squad. Truong Van Cam, more commonly known as Nam Cam, or Vietnam's "Godfather," oversaw a vast criminal network that controlled much of Ho Chi Minh City's District 4. It was the ideal place for him to base his criminal activities: It's centrally located, buffered by waterways, and chock-full of clandestine networks of alleyways.

MICHELIN Guide • 9th August 2024

2 Days in Ho Chi Minh City for Street Food Lovers

“Street food, I believe, is the salvation of the human race,” said Anthony Bourdain.

Smile (Cebu Pacific) • 3rd May 2024

3 Days in Saigon for Under $150

3 days in Ho Chi Minh City for budget-sensitive travellers, covering districts 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6

Tripadvisor • 3rd May 2024

2 Days in Ho Chi Minh City

A two-day itinerary for first-time visitors to Ho Chi Minh City, with a focus on Districts 1, 3 and 5.

Going Places (Malaysia Airlines) • 1st February 2024

Saigon Steps Up to The Plate

"Most travellers' perception of [food in] Vietnam is stuck in the Bourdain era." So what's changed?

Going Places (Malaysia Airlines) • 6th December 2023

Fabric Reborn

With the help of a Ho Chi Minh City-based brand, an exquisite, all-but-extinct Vietnamese silk fabric enjoys a revival.

Insider • 14th October 2023

He's Trying to Charge $100 for Phở in Ho Chi Minh City. That's 50 Times The Usual Price. I Had to Try It.

"The implicit rule of phở is: Don't fuck with phở." Those were the words of Peter Cuong Franklin, the founder and head chef at Anan Saigon, when he gave me his take on phở's controversial history earlier this year.

Insider • 29th September 2023

If You Want a Local Taste of Ho Chi Minh City, Book a Night in an Old Apartment Block

As a travel writer who focuses on Vietnam, I visit Ho Chi Minh City regularly and have checked out most of the top hotels. In September, on my most recent visit, I decided to switch things up and stay at an apartment in one of the city's vertical villages instead.

MICHELIN Guide • 14th September 2023

Refugee Turned Banker Turned Chef

Few chefs have a backstory as colourful as Peter Cuong Franklin’s. Born in a war-ravaged Vietnam, Franklin fled the country as a child in 1975, resettled in the United States, and graduated from Yale. He then launched himself into investment banking, a career path that took him across the world.

Going Places (Malaysia Airlines) • 10th June 2023

Modernist Revival

Vietnam has no shortage of epochal architecture, but one major era is oft forgotten: the modernist period. The launch of a chocolatier and café in central Ho Chi Minh City, however, indicates refreshed interest in the style.

Going Places (Malaysia Airlines) • 1st May 2023

Pretty in Pink

Playful bird-shaped lights that illuminate pastel pink walls, chubby baby blue poufs with rounded corners and 1000 spongy turquoise loungers. This isn’t a gigantic soft play for inexhaustible children, but a new hangout spot for film enthusiasts. Ho Chi Minh City’s Beta Cinema, built in 2021 in Go Vap District, may feel like a jovial outburst, but local firm Module K carefully designed each corner to echo the city’s architectural heritage, says Jade Nguyen, the firm’s founder and director.

Sawasdee (Thai Airways) • 1st May 2023

Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City Pocket Guide

There’s a spirited sibling rivalry between Vietnam’s two major metropolises. Hanoi basks in its 1,000-year-old history, boasting grand architectural heritage and legendary food culture. By contrast, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Hanoi’s younger and

+852 (Hong Kong Airlines) • 1st October 2019

COVER STORY: Ho Chi Minh City's 24 Districts in 24 Hours

With a population of 13 million, Ho Chi Minh City is Southeast Asia’s emerging mega-city. Can I cover all 24 districts in just 24 hours on a 50-year-old motorbike?

Mabuhay (Philippine Airlines) • 1st November 2019

Raising the Bar: Saigon's Speakeasies

Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s city that never sleeps, bursting with raucous street pubs, sticky-floored night clubs and gaudy sky bars. But if you’re looking for more refined nightlife vibes, unwind in these fresh new bars in districts 1 and 2. It’s a good idea to book, especially during the weekend.