And what goes up must come down -- you can see this bus going down over the other side of the bridge. The buildings to the right have had their fronts ripped off.
Those buildings are ghostly -- a totally deserted row of buildings in the heart of the city, all down to the corruption and incompetence of some contractors.
From the other side of the road you can see the effects of the 'bridge' even better.
Just next to the bridge are houses lining the canal below.
From the other side of the road you can see the effects of the 'bridge' even better.
Just next to the bridge are houses lining the canal below.
The other side, in Binh Thanh District, the old apartments on Ngo Tat To.
Does this look like the middle of a modern city?
It is reminiscent of Manila where I witnessed a staggering gap between rich and poor. I know a similar situation exists in many other 'developing' countries such as Brazil or India. I hope Vietnam does not follow suit.
Here, apartments in Binh Thah (just off Pham Viet Chanh) are finished. The water side ones will have an interesting view as to the left is the zoo and botanical gardens.
It is reminiscent of Manila where I witnessed a staggering gap between rich and poor. I know a similar situation exists in many other 'developing' countries such as Brazil or India. I hope Vietnam does not follow suit.
Here, apartments in Binh Thah (just off Pham Viet Chanh) are finished. The water side ones will have an interesting view as to the left is the zoo and botanical gardens.
This post may sound bitter, well it is. It is also frustrated, angry and fed-up. Don't worry, I'm not depressed. It's just a reality of living here, that there are huge contradictions staring you in the face. Just down the road from the bridge that has made x number of people's lives a misery is the site of Saigon Pearl....
8 comments:
Jon,
I just finished reading a news article about fake ingredients using in foods and medicines in China. People in Vietnam are trying to avoid Chinese made products and dubious foods with unknown quality. It is scary and crazy. They are using formaldehyde and borax to preserve foods because lacking of refrigeration and cost cutting? What do you know about this?
Yes, these stories come out of China regularly. There was another one not so long ago you may remember about glass in cans of powdered baby milk. Recently there was a scandal here in HCMC about one of the big Soy sauce producers. They were selling the stuff with known carcinogens still included (for free!).
China has an incredible tollway system. When i visited them last march, i was supprised that the condition of their highway system is on pair if not better than the US highway system.
Granted, their tollway system is expensive for a chinese and most of them are belong to private corporation. So who know how the highway's condition going to be when the company relinquish the control back to China government?
But their infastructure is there and it is light year ahead of Vietnam.
Yeah, but China is probably even more of a case in point....development for only some people....some of the stories that come out of China about child labor, fake medicines etc...corners are still being cut big time. I feel Vietnam will go the same way.
Yeah, those are still big problems in China. I just pointed out that VietNam is often compare as the next China but its infastructure is in really bad shape.
By the way, do Asian countries view child labor as a big problem though? And i think Vietnam is in the same boat when it comes to the development for only some people, isnt it?
(I am from the US so i dont know much about these things in Vietnam)
Jon, thanks for another insightful post. I don't blame you for being frustrated but I'm sure you've realized by now that it takes a certain mindset to live Saigon. Like the way the scooters whiz along on roads that do not have stoplights...sometimes you just have to go with the flow and not question the crazy things that happen. I think that's a good way to keep your sanity.
Maybe you're aware of it already or maybe not, but Vietnam is rife with corruption. There's money flowing around, and if it's not going to make the roads, then it's going somewhere.
All this serves to further the divide between those that have their hands in the cookie jar and the rest of the population that will never be able to live in the high rises that are sprouting up.
Of course I am WELL aware of all these issues, this is just the first time I have allowed it to spill over onto the blog.
I know this stretch of road well. Most, if not all of the cut houses were built without permits from the city authorities. So when the bridge was built, the cut was made without too much fuss.
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