Hanoi tends to prefer more conventional dishes, so if you're looking for authentic Vietnamese food, this city is the place to go. However, if you're looking for a mix of traditional dishes and intriguing fusion cuisine, Ho Chi Minh City offers a greater variety of both.
saigon
feels more developed and has a greater quantity and variety of infrastructure. Especially in terms of food, here is a little bit of everything from makeshift restaurant terraces on the sidewalk to high-end restaurants.Both my cheapest and most expensive meals I've ever eaten in Vietnam were in Ho Chi Minh. The same price range can be found in hotels and shops. In short, Hanoi offers a more historical and cultural Vietnamese experience. It is also much less glitzy than Ho Chi Minh City.
It's a better place to soak up traditional Vietnamese culture and see the more artistic and creative side of the country. To get to the Halong Bay Cruise from Hanoi, it takes about 3 hours by car. The cruise company usually arranges a shuttle bus from the hotel to the pier free of charge or at a surcharge of 5 to 10 USD per person. You can take a day trip to Cai Be, Cai Lay, Vinh Long or Ben Tre, which takes between 1.5 and 2 hours by car.
Lush rice paddies, fruit farms, coconut candy workshops and boat trips will help you escape the hustle and bustle of the city and relax. Among the areas of the Mekong Delta, Cai Lay and Vinh Long are more pristine and intact, but the tourist facilities of Cai Be and Ben Tre are more developed. You can also visit Cai Be, Cai Lay, Vinh Long or Ben Tre the first day before heading to Can Tho (another 1.5 to 2 hours). After enjoying the floating market on the morning of the second day, you can return to Ho Chi Minh by car (3-4 hours).
From Can Tho, there are direct flights to Hanoi and Danang (the nearest airport to Hoi An). Traffic in both cities is continually hectic, with countless scooters moving in a seemingly far-fetched manner. On one of Ho Chi Minh City's torrid days, its high ceilings help provide a refreshing respite from the sweltering city. Smaller towns outside of major cities make for a great weekend getaway and are a much-needed way to escape the hustle and bustle of big cities.
After 2 years in Saigon, it never felt necessary to wear a surgical mask, but when moving to Hanoi, it is essential that you don't leave home without it. At this time, the lows in Hanoi are around 14℃ (57.2℉), while in Ho Chi Minh they are around 21℃ (69.8℉). As much as it sounds like an evasion, the only way to determine which of the cities in Vietnam is best is to visit them at both. Outside Ho Chi Minh City are the popular Cu Chi Tunnels, used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.
We doubt that neither city is at full capacity in terms of vacancies for teaching English; the numerous Facebook groups would be proof of this. Whether for visual reasons such as the Bitexco tower, the variety of international restaurants and dazzling shopping centers, or simply because of the number of foreigners you see everywhere, Ho Chi Minh City (which is the official name of Saigon) is the most global metropolis in Vietnam. You won't be hard pressed to find cheap local culinary delights in Hanoi or HCMC: street food is ubiquitous and generally delicious pop-up content in both cities. However, both metropolises have excellent museums and cultural sights, plenty of quiet places to relax, great food and day trips to some of the most interesting places in Vietnam.
Both cities offer good museums and other cultural sites, but I found Hanoi a much more interesting city. One thing you should consider when deciding where to spend your time in Vietnam is the proximity to other towns and cities. By chance, during what should have been a grim Taipei Pride following my breakup with which will not be named, I came across a more benevolent ex-lover, a Vietnamese man I had met in Bangkok a few weeks before I moved to Taipei. Established in 1070 in honor of Confucius, it is a quiet and serene escape from the hectic and noisy city center.
Because it is the commercial center of the country, Ho Chi Minh City is much more modern than Hanoi. . .
