SymphonicPoet in Saigon

[SymphonicPoet]

Here's Saigon to start with.
































(My brother in law when he was selling phones. Now he sells cars.)

[mrnyc]

moar?!!!

nice to see a bit of the modern building boom there -- thanks

[Dr Awesomesauce]

There has been a massive building boom, actually, much of it at the expense of the city's heritage.

[SymphonicPoet]

It's actually not a terribly old city anyway. A bit under three hundred years, as I recall, so only a little older than the typical US city. (And younger than some.) Everywhere in Vietnam seems to be in the middle of a giant building boom. I understand it's the most rapidly growing large economy in the world. (Not sure quite where you put the cutoff for "large" but . . . ) The country seems to be playing catchup with China. And I expect they'll get there fairly quickly. I've gone about once a year for the last four years now and every year there's been a large new building across the street from my wife's family home in the tiny little countryside "town" of Cai Lay. (About 300,000 people and growing fast.) I'd guess the family house is around seven or eight hundred square feet (a comfortable single family home by local standards) and it's sitting on a lot of a couple thousand, maybe. And that home is worth more than my 2000 square foot home in St. Louis sitting on three times the lot, probably. Saigon is loud, crowded, young . . . crazy town. Nothing like it in the US. (Of course that's hardly unique to Saigon.) Will post more Saigon as I am able, but other towns first.

[Shawn]

Nice set, this is one of my absolute favorite cities on earth.



That's my company's office, towering in the background! Great views from the helipad.

[SymphonicPoet]

I believe it. That helipad has to be one of the most recognizable spots in the city. (Along with Ben Thanh and the Independence Palace. I am officially jealous, by the way.)

[Dr Awesomesauce]

@SymphonicPoet
It's actually not a terribly old city anyway. A bit under three hundred years, as I recall, so only a little older than the typical US city.

True, as a city, Saigon is not particularly old. It should be said, though, that before the Vietnamese and the Chinese moved in (as they do), the area was the site of a Khmer fishing village and had been for hundreds of years. The Khmer still haven't got over losing the Mekong River Delta, incidentally, hundreds of years later.

In terms of heritage, it's fast disappearing. Experts have suggested that more than half the city's historic buildings have been razed in the last decade alone; it's an absolute feeding frenzy. Villas, old department stores, fabulous apartment buildings, theatres - all gone.

Most locals have bigger issues to deal with than history but many are heart broken over what's happened to their city. It's especially tragic when you see heritage replaced by 70-story, half-empty, ego-inflating monstrosities with helipads (for some unknown reason) or worse yet, a shopping mall. It's straight out of the I-don't-give-a-f*ck-where's-my-money handbook.

[Centropolis]

now these are some narrow buildings!

thanks!

[Dr Awesomesauce]

It's a very vertical city. Property is at a premium - cheaper to just go up.

[Nightsky]

Nice pics from Vietnam! And cool username!