You can say its a high velocity city. Ho Chi Minh is truly the heart and soul of Vietnam. Formerly known as Saigon. It is a dynamic city, bustling and industrious. It is Vietnam’s largest city. It has always been the central business district, economic capital. Amidst all the modern amenities the metropolis has to offer, deep in the heart of the city runs its undying traditions and unique culture. The city is teeming with street markets, stalls, cafes that adds excitement. Ho Chi Minh City underwent “moi doi”, the perio of drastic economic and political change in the 1980s. It basically embraced every opportunity it got to privatize enterprise. Today it stands ready to include itself in Asia’s greatest metropolises.
Hanoi is a city of stunning visual and audio contrast. The rickety sounds of cyclos (pedicabs) fight for airwaves amidst the blasting horns of motorbikes, and the Nike swoosh wallpapers the French-styled building facades in the Old Quarter.Hoan KiemThe Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi’s commercial nucleus, ripples out from the lake of the same name. The lake’s name means Lake of the Restored Sword, according to a legend dating back to the mid-15th century. A magical sword, having been found in the lake by the then emperor, and used to fend off the invading Chinese, was snatched by a giant golden tortoise and returned to its home in the depths. The tranquil, 18th-century
Tourists who are in search of an extraordinary trip can visit one of Hanoi’s top tourist attractions, the Le Mat Snake Village. Le Mat is an ancient village belonging to the Viet Hung commune which has become famous for its snake-catching and breeding vocation (hence the name “Snake Village”). Located 15 minutes east of Hanoi, the snake-catching profession of the villagers has been said to be a tradition passed down from father to son. Snakes normally thrive in stagnant pools of water like marshes around Le Mat villages and in the neighborhood. This tradition of snake-catching in Le Mat was almost lost gradually since the second half of the 20th century and one major factor was that snakes have no longer played an important role in the daily eating and drinking activities of the modern people. Still, tourists are always welcome to try out snake specialties served by many restaurants along the village path.