Conversation starter: New Building Regulations
Ho Chi Minh City’s frenetic centre is known for its congested traffic. In an effort to change this, the government has stopped giving out permits to build high-rises downtown until 2020. This ban aims to redirect development to the suburbs and lessen the pressure of human and vehicle traffic in the city centre. Existing high-rises will also get some much-needed renovations.
The app: Coc Coc
Coc Coc has become the second-most-used web browser in Vietnam after Google’s Chrome. The app is also a search engine, which delivers results that are more localised to Vietnam, and there are fewer issues in handling the Vietnamese alphabet. The app also includes a built-in Vietnamese-to-English dictionary.
After hours: Pho Ha
Right across from the city’s tallest building, Bitexco Tower, is one of the best street-side pho soup noodle joints in the city. Pho Ha kicks off at 5pm daily and serves its signature pho with chicken along with sticky rice dishes until late. You’ll get the full pho experience, including cold beer and dining at plastic tables. 61 Ham Nghi, District 1
Fact file
Central business district: District 1
Airport to CBD: 25 min by taxi
Currency: HK$1 ≈ 3,000 dong
Cathay Pacific flies to Ho Chi Minh City from Hong Kong 19 times a week
