Vietnam: Around town HCMC (Saigon)

Ho Chi Minh City is much changed in the last 20 years. It is almost unrecognizable. There are now many tall buildings. The Saigon River has a tunnel.

Weather was hot. We connected as many segments of shady sides of the street to check out some colonial buildings, some are art deco. The surprise parts were a mosque, and a few Hindu temples that were established by Indian communities brought by the French by way of Pondicherry. 

Saigon hardcore street photography. First, the Ice Man ;-). Second Sightseeing bus. Third, Vintage Citroën DS. Fourth, Japan Town. And more.














Some well known buildings. First, the French Colonial, Art Nouveau-ish, Post Office, and Second, its letter/postcard writing desks.




Independence Palace (former Presidential Palace).


Clinique Saint-Paul


French Navy Building (Bâtiment de la Marine Nationale), designed in 1938 by Paul Veysseyre


Lesser known buildings. First, the mosque behind our hotel. Second, the Hilton (L) and the Vietcombank Tower (R), across the street from our hotel. Third, Marie Curie High School.(






A couple of our vegan meals.




Hindu Temple (1st below) with a short video (2nd below)




John in the hotel pool, and a view of the Saigon River from the pool deck.

Vietnam: Tet in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

We have noticed Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration, preparation all throughout Vietnam, and when we arrived in HCMC three days before Tet, everything was in full swing. The main alameda, September 23rd , has been turned into a flower market. The pedastrian street Nguyễn Huệ has been transformed into the Flower Street. I think they do this for Tet every year.

This year's theme is of course, Dragon. We arrived just hours before Flower Street opened. Since our hotel was only a block away, we walked on Flower Street quite a few times, and there were always many excited people enjoying the flower displays. There is not a more worthy public good! By all measures Vietnam is a poor country. Why can't we have such public goods in rich countries?! Vietnamese may not have a lot of money, but there is such abundance of beauty.

At midnight on New Year's Eve, there were 15 minutes of fireworks that drew a lot of people. Traffic was horrendous with all the motorbikes. Micromobility may seem like a good idea. There is still parking to solve. The first line of the metro has been constructed, due to open in the middle of this year.

On the first (New Year's Day), we happened to walk into a Lion Dance team in action first thing in the morning. We watched the non-stop action for an hour before continuing on our way to the super crowded Jade Emperor Temple. The idea is to show up at temples early in the year to burn incense or candles to bring good luck and fortune for the new year. John used to say "to see the old ways of China go to Taiwan". Now I'm thinking "go to Vietnam".

The one inconvenience of Tet is that quite a few of the restaurants are closed (1st below), or operating at reduced hours. understandable - it's a time to be with family. Those that are open, often charge a surcharge. We are glad people are enjoying the holiday. Vietnamese seem to be exceedingly hard working. 



Ourselfies - On the Daytime Sleeper Bus from Dalat to Saigon.


Our hotel, the Sevana City Annex, was about 1.5 kms from the bus station. On the walk we passed through the Tet flower market. Wow!








Last minute preparations for the so-called Flower Street




Every afternoon and evening the Flower Street was packed with people. Our hotel was just 3 minutes away; we walked on Flower Street more than several times.
















Many locals, especially women, put on their finest for Tet.




Flower Street ran from the Saigon River to the City Hall (Hotel de Ville). There were a few low-key performances at the City Hall end..








Waiting for the midnight Tet Fireworks along the Saigon River.




Lion Dance for Golden Lotus Spa and Massage Club.
















Jade Emperor Pagoda Taoist Temple was very busy. We noted that the images inside the main temple were kinda dark and foreboding, not colorful as in a Buddhist temple.