As numerous times before, after arriving at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport, I walked out to a chaotic scene of joyous family reunions and taxi drivers touting for business.
I was greeted with a blast of 32-Celsius-degree heat, prompting me to quickly shed layers meant for airplane temperatures and a cacophony of beeping horns from automobiles jockeying for position at pick-up points.
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Sunrise view across the Saigon River. Photo by Samantha Coomber |
My airport transfer turned up late, apparently delayed thanks to the notorious traffic, which I reacquainted myself with as we slowly inched our way to my Dong Khoi Street hotel. Invariably, my taxi got gridlocked by a sea of motorbikes, with riders glancing down at me with the most disarming of smiles.
My first hour back in Vietnam and this is just what I expected – and missed. After reluctantly leaving during the Covid 'Delta variant' outbreak in mid-2021, after more than three years away, finally, I'm happy to be back in intoxicating, one-of-a-kind, Ho Chi Minh City, my former home.
In the ensuing weeks ahead, I discovered, however, there are a considerable number of developments and changes I didn't expect, but in a pleasantly surprising way. Not only has Ho Chi Minh City bounced back to normal life post- pandemic but is, for the most part, positively thriving, with a feel-good factor and vibrant energy so strong, you could almost plug it in.
A pulsating city on the move
Shortly after checking in, I quickly find myself needing to become tech-savvy. This involves downloading crucial applications for booking rides and excursions, ordering food deliveries, and translating between Vietnamese and English—functions that appear integral to daily living here (a true blessing). At the same time, massive electronic billboards dominate the city center, constantly displaying ads featuring attractive young people endorsing products ranging from beer to smartphones.
Although international visitors have come back, even during high season, I can't remember seeing so many before; nowadays, it’s become a ‘must-visit’. - head to 's destination. It’s challenging to find a seat before the long lines at trendy Western eateries, particularly those that have become social media sensations and places known for their banh mi. In downtown HCMC, I often feel like I might be knocked down by the throngs of tourists occupying the sidewalks. Each evening, these same crowds pack into the newly introduced open-top double-decker buses as they cruise through the city’s illuminated streets on guided tours (they look incredibly enjoyable; I’m almost enticed to join them myself).
In downtown shopping centers, visitors can be seen carrying bags from various global brands, weighed down by their purchases. Their animated conversations echo through the bustling food courts upwards into the multilevel lobbies. The city currently has three such establishments. Michelin-starred restaurants , I still love visiting my favorite neighborhood restaurants, tucked away in the more traditional districts, which are now bustling with customers once more. This includes the family-owned pho place and bun cha Places I often visited, like countless others, were compelled to close their doors during the later phases of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
It was during those extraordinary ‘Delta variant’ months of 2021 when numerous downtown businesses stopped operating permanently, a sight that was disheartening. Recently, however, I've found that upscale new eateries, chic rooftop lounges, and trendy boutiques have emerged or revisited familiar spots at lower rents. Moreover, several longstanding significant initiatives have finally come to fruition: the cable-stayed Ba Son Bridge Notable for its uniquely backward-sloping, curved pylon, the highly anticipated Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line opened in 2022. It began operating just days prior to my return in January.
Generated with considerable enthusiasm (which I shared, traveling via metro to Thao Dien), TIME magazine quickly placed this among the "World's Greatest Places for 2025."
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A metro train runs on the track to the left of the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City, with the country's tallest building Landmark 81 in the background, January 2025. Photo by VnExpress |
Even Bach Dang Wharf has undergone a remarkable transformation, from a shabby, underutilized stretch in the center, to a bustling, shiny waterfront zone. Tourists, expats and locals now flock to the pier, not only for the riverside open-air cafés – hugely popular in the balmy evenings – but also, for the excellent new tourist-friendly boats that ply the Saigon River: a Bangkok-style, river taxi (Saigon Waterbus) and sightseeing cruise boats (Saigon Water Go), serenaded with live music.
Ho Chi Minh City’s infamous traffic isn't the same – actually, I'd swear it's got worse. There appears to be far more cars clogging up the streets, plus crossing the road seems even more hazardous – if that's possible. Souvenir tee-shirts sold in tourist haunts like Ben Thanh Market and Saigon Square increasingly feature designs that poke fun at the Saigonese lack of respect for traffic lights.
Reaching new heights
From the city center to the outer suburbs, the number of high-rise buildings has ramped up. True, some remain half-built, but along with pretty much elsewhere in the city, even those skeletal towers come to life come nighttime, attractively illuminated with bright fluorescent hues; so too, the cluster of drab residential tower blocks along the riverbanks. The Indochina-era, Notre Dame Cathedral, undergoing long-term renovations and engulfed in scaffolding, is itself magically transformed post-dusk into a giant grotto of fairy lights.
From the upper deck of a nighttime cruise along the Saigon River and my heavenly suite on the 38th floor of a downtown hotel (perched above an equally luxurious shopping center), I'm totally in awe of a glittering nighttime skyline that is starting to rival Hong Kong or Bangkok. The stars of this dazzling show are undoubtedly those well-established architectural masterpieces: the 68-storey Bitexco Financial Tower and Landmark 81, Southeast Asia's second tallest building.
Arriving here for the first time in 1998 (when I used to hail a taxi on the street, message home from Internet cafés and did the "airport run" in 15 minutes), over the years, I've witnessed first-hand Vietnam's largest and most cosmopolitan metropolis develop and reinvent itself on the global stage and flourish in stature. But it's especially pronounced on this visit.
Despite everything evolving over time, some constants remain. Ho Chi Minh City retains its timeless allure—remaining irresistibly captivating, vibrantly energetic, and charmingly eccentric. As I slowly make my way back to the airport, parting ways becomes unexpectedly difficult.