Foreign tourists complain that Ho Chi Minh City is so hot that they 'want to melt'

Foreign tourists visiting Ho Chi Minh City during the April 30 holiday said the city was "too hot", "made me melt", some only went out before 10am and after 5pm.

According to information from the Southern Hydrometeorological Station, Ho Chi Minh City will be experiencing hot weather for 5 consecutive days during the holiday. Temperatures will fluctuate between 37-39 degrees Celsius during the day. The intense heat will affect the travel experience of foreign visitors to Ho Chi Minh City.

Yania, a Spaniard living in Australia, said she arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on April 28 and her first feeling when she stepped off the plane at Tan Son Nhat Airport was "so hot I could melt." At that time, the temperature on her phone was around 37-38 degrees Celsius, but the actual temperature felt like it was over 40 degrees Celsius. "Saigon is too hot," Yania said.

Yania in comfortable clothes, wearing sunglasses, always carrying water when traveling to Ho Chi Minh City during the holidays. Photo by Bich Phuong

Yania said she mostly walks to visit Ho Chi Minh City because the central tourist attractions are close together, a few hundred meters to 1 km away. The heat makes her lose strength quickly, and her legs get tired. Yania copes with the heat in Saigon by wearing short, thin clothes, applying sunscreen, always carrying water, sunglasses and a hat. She drinks water continuously, sometimes filtered water, sometimes lemonade to increase her energy and quench her thirst. Yania does not go out during the hottest hours of the day at noon.

She said she had experienced similar hot weather in Ho Chi Minh City, Spain, Mexico and some South American countries. The temperature of 40 degrees Celsius in Saigon made her body uncomfortable but did not affect her travel experience too much. She said the most tiring moment was when she waited to exchange cash at a store opposite Ben Thanh market. It was almost noon, the sun was scorching, the surroundings were crowded and noisy, plus the long wait made Yania feel like she was about to faint.

The Spanish tourist wishes that Ho Chi Minh City would have more public water fountains so that tourists would not have to constantly go to convenience stores to buy more bottled water. Yania said that in Australia, people can see public drinking fountains everywhere, on every street corner. In Spain, tourists can get drinking water from public fountains. This also limits the release of plastic bottles into the environment.

The indispensable items of many foreign tourists when going out in Ho Chi Minh City in recent days are mini handheld fans and filtered water. In front of the War Remnants Museum, a popular gathering place for international tourists in Ho Chi Minh City, cold water and mini battery-powered fans attract foreign tourists to stop and ask to buy.

Indian tourists continuously use mini battery-powered fans while visiting the War Remnants Museum, April 29. Photo: Bich Phuong

Some foreign tourists visiting Ho Chi Minh City this time also escape the heat by only going out before 10am and after 5pm. Grant Wilson, 61, an Australian tourist, said he lived in Ho Chi Minh City before 2022 and when he returned to visit the city on the occasion of the April 30 holiday, "the weather was hotter than ever," he said. During his 5-day vacation in Ho Chi Minh City, Grant maintained a schedule of waking up at 6am for breakfast, drinking coffee at a sidewalk cafe in District 1, then walking to Tao Dan Park to exercise and relax until 7am. The male tourist also looked for coffee shops and smoothie shops hidden in alleys in District 3, near the hotel where he was staying, to cool off.

"Sitting in a shady alley drinking coffee, coconut water, or fruit juice is an effective way to cool off in Ho Chi Minh City right now," Grant said. He said he limits going out after 10am and before 5pm, because Ho Chi Minh City is often windy and cool at night. In the evening, Grant spends time enjoying the city by drinking draft beer.

Grant has been following the heatwave news from North to South and thinks the weather is "abnormal and crazy". He planned to visit Phu Luong, Thai Nguyen and Ninh Binh at the end of April to enjoy the cool air but canceled his plans and flew straight to Ho Chi Minh City. Grant was also invited by a Vietnamese friend to go to Ca Mau on the occasion of April 30 but had to politely decline due to the weather.

"Imagining getting there on a packed bus in 40-degree heat, with traffic jams and bumpy roads, makes me feel discouraged," said Grant.

The Australian tourist said that despite the extreme weather, Ho Chi Minh City is still a place worth visiting when coming to Vietnam because the pace of life here creates a pleasant feeling. He expressed his wish that the city would have more public swimming pools to cool off during the peak hot season. Grant suggested that the way to stay comfortable when traveling to Ho Chi Minh City in the hot season is to drink lots of water. Clean water in Vietnam is sold everywhere and is much cheaper than some other Asian destinations such as Singapore or Hong Kong. In addition, there are many street vendors selling all kinds of soft drinks such as fresh coconut water and kumquat tea, priced at only 15,000-20,000 VND.

Travel companies are also looking for ways to help tourists stay comfortable during the hot season. Viet Travel Company said that during the holidays, tours to the West will limit outdoor activities. The company increased the amount of bottled water for groups of tourists from two bottles per person per day to four bottles.

Bich Phuong

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