HCMC is now a bustling, modern, SE Asian city. The pace is much faster than the more laid-back north in Hanoi. The people are a little more Western in their self-preoccupation with their daily business and a bit more formal. They are still extremely nice, polite and interested, but not to the “personal” degree of the North.

The shops have more upscale items to sell to the tourists, and the availability of modern department, electronic, sports, clothing, and other stores is very obvious. The “tailors” present their own very chic designs which they will then make to your order.

There is the same bustling traffic as Hanoi, only the streets are wider so the volume is greater; notably with a higher percentage of automobiles and trucks. There are also more traffic lights and the rules appear to have at least a modicum of meaning here where in Hanoi it was purely polite random chaos.