Saigon is such an evocative name that can conjures up a thousand images in one&rsquo;s mind. As I approach on the bus from Chau Doc, weaving my way through the Mekong Delta, I can&rsquo;t help but imagine that great film Apocalypse Now. The early scenes in Saigon with Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) half drunk in his GI hotel room, single roof fan beating the humid air and waiting for his orders to eliminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) up the Nung River in Cambodia.

My imagination can run wild but from what I&rsquo;ve read of Saigon is that it&rsquo;s now one of the fastest growing economies in the world, this city alone is driving most of Vietnam&#039;s growth at a phenomenal rate. A power house of commerce and culture which is the envy of the region and even China to the north.

The official name of this city is now Ho Chi Minh City, renamed in victory after the communist North won the war (the last one that is). Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the NVA in the North and a revered figure in Vietnam. You see statues of him everywhere with his little goatee beard. He was educated in Paris but returned to Vietnam to set up the communist resistance party in the north, at the time against the French and then South Vietnam and the US. Although this is the official name just about everyone in the city calls it Saigon and to make things more confusing officially the city centre is still called Saigon?? It&rsquo;s best to just call the city Saigon, especially to locals. 