Saigon South : Developing City IV

Let me take you on a guided tour along the very edge of Phu My Hung. We start opposite the sites earmarked for development in my previous post 'Developing City III'. Enjoy a nice cup of coffee or a noodle soup outside at one of the coffee shops.

Doesn't really look like HCM does it....of course, this is all brand new development so lets not confuse it with old Saigon. This place has a very different feel about it. The majority of the residents here are Korean. Keep walking and you'll see this view:

So when I drive down here everyday on my way to work, which I do by the way, I make a point of taking a few deep breaths just because the air is so much cleaner out here. It's certinaly a nice change from the previous 20 minutes of my drive where I've been gassed by the District One traffic and then sanded with the all the dust spinning around on the highway out from District 4. You need to be dressed like your going for a spin in a spitfire if you want to avoid everything the city streets can throw at you. If I took a deep breath in the morning rush hour going through D1 I'd probably end up with a nose bleed. When I'm driving back from Anh Phu after training with the Raiders, there are literally bits of grit flying through the air. I digress, as the shot above shows, this road is devoid of grit, dust and maniacs.

After a minute or so, we come to a bridge that spans the river, and a gated community that typifies the new developments in this area, 'The Waterfront'.

The Waterfront doesn't seem to be too lived in at the moment, but I have identified residents. We continue, passing on the right the turn off to the Vietnamese school in D7, a college and also.......you'll never guess.......

Ok, so we go over the River and on both sides of the road are houses that are only just being finished. On the right you can plainly see the river winding into the distance and the fields beyond. You might see a lone boatman paddling upstream the same as he had 100 years ago.

Here's some of those new houses:

Here is a wider shot, just to prove this is the place where the city is expanding into the countryside, and after this I'll shut up about it, honest.