Snipets of Saigon

Saigon, Vietnam. The heavy and stressful traffic can distract from the sometimes charming streets and buildings (not always though!). If only we could reduce the traffic on the roads, the whole town would take on a different perspective. Trouble is, when your avoiding potholes and monster trucks, it's hard to take in the pastel colours and tree lined avenues.

Here's my old street. For those local in Saigon the house is in the shadow of Pham Viet Chanh apartments, in Binh Thanh district. Most residential areas are behind the shop fronted streets in 'hems', losely translated as 'alley'. The house in the background represents a typical Vietnamese abode....they are narrow and often 4 or more stories high. Most have a roof terrace. There is never a garden. Even the new residential developments of District 7, built completely in open spaces, omit any kind of garden attached to the house.

This is a shot of one of those 'shop fronted' streets. Quite a boring shot actually, but it's still pretty typical of Saigon. Along here you'll find the ususal; internet cafes, lots of eateries including street vendors, small shops, tailors, motorbike repairs and mobile phone shops.

Here is one of my favourite shots of Vietnam. It's taken from my balcony, and it's definitely the best sunset I've ever seen in Ho Chi Minh City. This DOESN'T happen every night....

You can see the sprawl of corrugated iron roofing, and the tall ariels that stretch into the sky desperately fighting for a signal. They are all attached to long pieces of bamboo,the indestructible wood, assured to survive the strongest of thunderstorms during the rainy season.