Saigon is now Ho Chi Minh City
Saigon is now Ho Chi Minh City and you’re thinking old news, ok, but not so fast. Saigon has changed so drastically over the past few decades it deserves a new name and Ho Chi Minh City is as good as any. After all uncle Hoe, as he is affectionately known, is the man behind the unification of North and South into one Vietnam.


The change in the city was slow and stumbling at first but in the last few years it has accelerated at a mind numbing pace. HCM now has a complete medley of designer shops – ranging from Gucci to Louis Vuitton, along with Tag Heuer, Bally and a Chloe boutique in the new Rex Hotel annex.
The Rex was the Hotel where higher up military were billeted during the war years and its roof top bar offering a great vantage point for the viewing of night skirmishes going on between Uncle Hoe’s guys and us.
Personally I hate change so it’s more than a little frustrating to head out to one of my favorite spots and find a vacant lot or instead of a Pho shop or a high end place specializing in Brazillion beef or some other exotic fare. Though to be fair all the changes aren’t just up scaling everything, there is the fairly new Pho 24 chain with its squeaky clean, hermetically sealed super efficient restaurants, while still offering Pho at a reasonable price -– kind of like the McDonald's of Pho.



They still haven’t completely forced out all the old Saigon, you can still find the odd street vendor and if you step off the tourist tract or away from the foreigner haunts you’ll find the basic street sellers of old. Complete with those little plastic kiddy chairs where good and cheap noodles are still available at a buck or less.

-coconut juice sellers Lam Son Square -

While pursing markets like Ben Thanh is fun but if you’re on a mission it can be frustrating, even for Vietnamese. So the new Uncle Hoe city has a multitude of 7/11 style, super cooled, buffed and polished mini marts opening all over the place. There prices seem to be in line with the market but without the haggling. Large department stores like Zen Plaza and retail areas like Saigon Center and the Tax Mart offer US style goods from hair care products to California wine and locale products all at fair prices. Today I noticed several newly opened Circle K mini marts to offer more help to meeting our shopping needs.


I’ve even seen some infrastructure improvements, like new sidewalks and traffic signals. I read about big plans the city has to provide potable water, low cost housing for the workers, even a subway but I’m thinking the government moves a bit slower than the private sector.

Even with all the changes, inside its still Saigon and you can still call it that if you want and no one will care. To celebrate the future we will call Saigon Ho Chi Minh City or whatever other name that is decided on.