businesstraveller.com NOVEMBER 2018
SHUTTEERSTOCKSaigon’s suburban districts provide
a change of pace for visitors to the
chaotic southern Vietnamese cityWORDS PAVAN SHAMDASANI
aigon. Paris of the East. The Pearl of the Orient.
The setting of erotic French novels and thrilling
Graham Greene mysteries. There was once a
time when the city now known as Ho Chi Minh
held a fascinating allure for travellers – a place
of intrigue and exoticism, the perfect blend of
colonial culture and Oriental charm.
Post-war, Vietnam’s meteoric progress saw the
country’s most populated metropolis advance
at an incredible rate, with the city centre trading in
its innumerable ancient shophouses for towering
skyscrapers – for better or worse.
The area known as District 1 is where most modern-
day visitors now spend their time. It’s the city’s financial
hub, its beating heart, a heady mishmash of gorgeous
colonial structures, stark Soviet-era buildings and
striking high-rises, all soundtracked by the bee-like
swarm of the city’s omnipresent motorcyclists.
But beyond the business-centric borders, “Saigon”
(as most residents prefer to call it) still holds a sense
of allure. Take a short drive in either direction of
the centre, and you’ll find a city hemmed in by
charming enclaves.
Both District 2 up north and District 7 down
south are touted as “new cities” – former swamplands
reclaimed for the many expats who have f looded the
city. For international travellers who’ve spent a few long
days slogging around District 1, they make for ideal
weekend escapes.S
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