|
Ho
Chi Minh City (Saigon) was not quite as bustling in 1988 as
it is today, and I feel fortunate to have seen it at a time
when noise and air pollution were relatively unknown. The
main reason I found myself in Vietnam was to get into Cambodia;
it was not possible to enter that country any other way (at
least, not safely). However, I spent long enough in
Saigon and its environs to appreciate the beauty of the country.
All images with turned-down
corners can be enlarged by clicking on the image. |
 |
 |
Sunrise over
the Saigon River.
|
Saigon street
scene. The building to the right is the Hotel
Continental, undergoing reconstruction at the time.
Near the horizon is the Notre Dame cathedral. I suspect
that such empty streets would be unheard of today.
|
| |
 |
 |
Kids at the Saigon
Zoo.
|
Cyclist,
on the road to Vung Tao.
|
| |
 |
 |
A vestage of French colonialism: baguettes
and pate for sale at a roadside street stall.
|
Keep those
beasties movin'... loaded down with the rice harvest
on the road to Vung Tao.
|
| |
|
An air-sickness bag
from Vietnam Airlines. The fact that I still have this
item nearly 20 years after obtaining it should be ample proof
that I did not have cause to make use of it!
|
| |
 |
 |
Rice fields
on the road to Cu Chi.
|
Cyclist in
Cholon, the Chinese quarter of Saigon.
|
| |
 |
The Vietnamese Department of Fisheries, Saigon.
This building is better known as the former US Embassy,
site of those famous scenes of people fleeing by helicopter
from its rooftop in 1975. I believe this building has
recently been demolished, and good riddance: this is
one ugly building.
|
| |
 |
 |
Saigon street.
The boulevardes of Saigon are (at least were) quite beautiful,
lined with trees as they are. At the time of my visit,
bicycles and trishaws were the most common mode of transport,
followed by mopeds. I believe that these days, Saigon
is clogged with noisy mopeds and mini buses.
|
Propaganda in the
village of Long Tanh, on the way to Vung Tao.
|
|
|
|
