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Lam Kha Han (Gabrielle)

Mr. McCandless

Grammar & Writing IV

Date: 22nd of November 2021

Two Biggest Cities in Vietnam: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

In Vietnam, there are two biggest cities, the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi, and the

most developing city, Ho Chi Minh City, which is also called Saigon. Although these two

cities are in the same country, using the same language, they are not the same.

Specifically, the weather, cost of living, and the cuisine of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

are quite different.

First of all, the most obvious difference between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh is the

weather. Meanwhile, the capital of Vietnam has four seasons, Ho Chi Minh City only

has two which are a dry season and wet season. To explain this phenomenon, Vietnam

is a country that has a narrow and long terrain, so the climate of the north and the south

is really different. Plus, Hanoi is located in the north of Vietnam and Saigon is a

southern city. Particularly, winter in Hanoi will start at the beginning of December and

end the next February. At the same time, it is the dry season in Ho Chi Minh City. Apart

from that, the temperature of Ho Chi Minh City is always above 25 degrees and higher

than Hanoi almost all the time. The weather of Hanoi is always cooler and more

comfortable than Saigon all the time, especially in winter.

Secondly, the living cost of these two cities is also not the same. Both Hanoi and

Ho Chi Minh City are the most developing cities in Vietnam, so they all have high living
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costs. However, life in Ho Chi Minh City would be more expensive and competitive

compared to Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh City is the most populous city in Vietnam, but the land

area is just ranked second, behind Hanoi. Finding a job or a living place in Ho Chi Minh

City is not as easy as in Hanoi. Specifically, renting price in Ho Chi Minh City will higher

than Hanoi about 2 to 4 million vnd each month. Everything is extremely competitive

and this city is developed so the living cost here is also higher than in the other cities,

and Saigon is the city with the highest standard of living. In contrast, in Hanoi the living

price is a little bit cheaper as this city is the capital. There are a lot of political institutions

located here, so the economy of Hanoi is not developed like Ho Chi Minh City. For this

reason, people are not likely to migrate to Hanoi to live and develop their businesses.

Last but not least, the cuisine is also a feature that shows the dissimilarity of

these two regions. In general, the Hanoi people tend to eat saltier and in Ho Chi Minh

City, the foods taste a little bit sweeter. Therefore, serving the same dish, but the feeling

of enjoying it in two cities is so deserved. Also, the cuisine of Hanoi is more traditional

than Saigon as in the past, because of the war so the cuisine of Ho Chi Minh City was

affected by western culture quite a lot. In Ho Chi Minh City, people have some Western-

style dishes such as Vietnamese beef dishes and stir-fried beef and pasta. These

dishes tend to be served for breakfast in Saigon. However, in Hanoi, people love eating

sticky rice, or pork rib porridge in the morning. The cuisine of Hanoi would be more

traditional than Saigon

Overall, although these two regions are in the same country, there are three

biggest differences which are the weather, the cost of living and the cuisine. Both of

them have their benefits and disadvantages, but Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are worth
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living in Vietnam. As they have the special points which are really unique and

interesting.