The first thing you notice in this city, besides the heat, is all the scooters. In a city of 9 million people, there are 5 million scooters on the road, dodging cars, people and each other.

We checked into the Caravelle Hotel, a 1950s-era property in the center of the city that was popular with war correspondents.

Though jet lagged, we braved the sticky day to see Reunification Palace (formerly known as Independence Palace), the site of the official handover of power after the North Vietnamese crashed through gates of the palace in 1975.

Next stop was the war museum, where American helicopters, tanks, bombs and war planes are on display. The museum also has walls and walls of photographs from the war. American napalm attacks, massacres and torture scenes are depicted. There are even deformed fetuses preserved in jars to show the long-term impact of Agent Orange.

It's a sobering exhibit but one you can't help but be drawn into.

That night, sitting in the Caravelle's famous Saigon Saigon rooftop bar overlooking the city center, we could see the Opera House and the historic Saigon Continental Hotel. It was like stepping back in time. But the country is changing, and fast, as the government in the past few years has made it easier for foreigners to visit and invest.

As one resident put it, you can do or build anything in Vietnam if you have money. Ho Chi Minh City is the heart and soul of Vietnam. It's a bustling, dynamic and industrious centre, the largest city in the country, the economic capital and the cultural trend setter. Yet within the teeming metropolis are the timeless traditions and beauty of an ancient culture.