Ongoing work and nearing completion. That infamous trundle over the narrow, crowded Saigon Bridge will soon be a thing of the past.
Aug 1, 2013
Jul 6, 2013
Inside the Museum of HCMC
Recently I went to the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City for the first time. The building was called Gia Long Palace pre 1975 and was where NgoDinh Diem moved to after the independence palace was bombed. I couldn't find the underground tunnels.
The exhibits themselves were as expected...displays of old machinery and wooden boxes used by heroic comrades during the war. "This wooden box was used by xxxx to store revolutionary pamphlets". One exhibit showed an anchor, the placard read: "An anchor". Another actually had a large color picture of a Citimart supermarket. Like finding a picture of Sainsbury's in the British Museum.
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| A museum exhibit covered in biro |
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| A room of displays |
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| Stamps. Hooray for the stamps. |
Two rooms have murals depicting two of the most important historical events in the 20th century (for Vietnam)
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| The August Revolution 1945 - "Independence or Death" |
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| Fall of Saigon - 1975 |
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| Spoils of war |
May 20, 2013
What 4.6 million dollars will buy you
Some pics of 'chateaux' in Phu My Hung. I shot a pic of the villa I believe to be the $4.6m, the most expensive in the development. The gap between the houses is about two meters. Space is one thing associated with luxury ... but apparently not in Vietnam. This is a crowded little row of characterless villas.
May 14, 2013
The crystal ball works - or the prevailing of common sense
I've always thought Saigon has a unique and charming city center, specifically the central part of D1 - Le Loi from Ben Thanh to Hai Ba Trung, Dong Khoi from the Notre Dame to the river, Nguyen Hue and its surrounding side streets. Even Ton Duc Thang, with the hotels lining the river front.
Back in March 2007 I wrote the following in the post 'Will 2020 ever come to Saigon?:
What I envisage for the city is a pedestrian area encompassing Nguyen Hue, Dong Khoi and Lam Son Square. I am no urban planner and maybe it's too late to build the parking that would be necessary, but wouldn't it be nice.....
And then in 2010 in 'Nowhere to go'.
Do not despair however residents of Ho Chi Minh City. One last hope remains and I am talking about the frontage of the Saigon River in Districts One and Four. Nguyen Tat Thanh currently houses the Saigon Port which I hear will be moving to Nha Be District at some point in the future leaving a wonderful stretch of riverfront available from the Tan Thuan bridge all the way to the Museum of Ho Chi Minh. And why stop there - once heavy traffic is diverted from Ton Duc Thang with the completion of the tunnel and the East-West highway, the river front here could also be developed. Picture it - kilometers of walking, restaurants, cafes and family attractions. With the District 1 skyline in one direction and the Phu My bridge in the other, the esplanade would be the envy of South East Asia, thousands of new visitors would flood the city, and long suffering residents and their children would finally have somewhere to enjoy.
Now see the article 'Ho Chi Minh City downtown area to be expanded' (10/5/2013)
According to the plan, which has been approved by the city government, the existing downtown area, covering District 1 and District 3, will be expanded to include an area along the Saigon River in District 4 and Binh Thanh District and the ports along Nguyen Tat Thanh Street and the Tau Hu-Ben Nghe canals. Many streets in the area will become pedestrian streets and shopping areas, and the green area will be expanded by 70 hectares. Le Loi and Nguyen Hue Streets will become pedestrian shopping areas.Except for buses and other public transport services, motorbikes and personal cars will be banned from traveling into the area
The Saigon River’s western bank quarter: the river’s bank area that stretches to the Tan Thuan Bridge will become home to cultural centers, recreational facilities and public spaces.
I truly hope the city authorities press ahead with these plans and make this a reality. Combined with the proposed plans for a link to Thu Thiem via a pedestrian bridge and a large riverside park on the other side of the river, the city could make giant strides towards providing genuine recreational areas for citizens.
Plans are just plans however. As the press is reporting, the take off of the 'new urban center' in Thu Thiem is hitting roadblocks with land prices too high, despite 95% of the clearance already having been completed.
Thu Thiem new urban area unattractive to investors.
So, we'll see it (all) when we believe it.
Back in March 2007 I wrote the following in the post 'Will 2020 ever come to Saigon?:
What I envisage for the city is a pedestrian area encompassing Nguyen Hue, Dong Khoi and Lam Son Square. I am no urban planner and maybe it's too late to build the parking that would be necessary, but wouldn't it be nice.....
And then in 2010 in 'Nowhere to go'.
Do not despair however residents of Ho Chi Minh City. One last hope remains and I am talking about the frontage of the Saigon River in Districts One and Four. Nguyen Tat Thanh currently houses the Saigon Port which I hear will be moving to Nha Be District at some point in the future leaving a wonderful stretch of riverfront available from the Tan Thuan bridge all the way to the Museum of Ho Chi Minh. And why stop there - once heavy traffic is diverted from Ton Duc Thang with the completion of the tunnel and the East-West highway, the river front here could also be developed. Picture it - kilometers of walking, restaurants, cafes and family attractions. With the District 1 skyline in one direction and the Phu My bridge in the other, the esplanade would be the envy of South East Asia, thousands of new visitors would flood the city, and long suffering residents and their children would finally have somewhere to enjoy.
Now see the article 'Ho Chi Minh City downtown area to be expanded' (10/5/2013)
According to the plan, which has been approved by the city government, the existing downtown area, covering District 1 and District 3, will be expanded to include an area along the Saigon River in District 4 and Binh Thanh District and the ports along Nguyen Tat Thanh Street and the Tau Hu-Ben Nghe canals. Many streets in the area will become pedestrian streets and shopping areas, and the green area will be expanded by 70 hectares. Le Loi and Nguyen Hue Streets will become pedestrian shopping areas.Except for buses and other public transport services, motorbikes and personal cars will be banned from traveling into the area
The Saigon River’s western bank quarter: the river’s bank area that stretches to the Tan Thuan Bridge will become home to cultural centers, recreational facilities and public spaces.
I truly hope the city authorities press ahead with these plans and make this a reality. Combined with the proposed plans for a link to Thu Thiem via a pedestrian bridge and a large riverside park on the other side of the river, the city could make giant strides towards providing genuine recreational areas for citizens.
Plans are just plans however. As the press is reporting, the take off of the 'new urban center' in Thu Thiem is hitting roadblocks with land prices too high, despite 95% of the clearance already having been completed.
Thu Thiem new urban area unattractive to investors.
So, we'll see it (all) when we believe it.
Apr 10, 2013
Apr 1, 2013
TET 2013 in Photos
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| Louisa and friend Eva |
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| Lucky Money from Grandma |
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| New Years Day |
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| Pagoda |
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| Pagoda |
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| The Crescent |
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| The Crescent |
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| The Crescent |
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| The Crescent - Protection |
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| The Crescent - Water Police |
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| Pleasant Stroll |
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| Curiosity |
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| Deserted D1 |
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| Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, New Years Day |
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| 83 Years - The socialist party is spring sunshine for a new life |
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| Celebrating 224 years of historic victory in Dong Da |
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| TET sponsored by Dominio's Pizza |
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| The fighting spirit of the TET offensive 1968 will never die |
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| Familiar |
Mar 13, 2013
Building a house Viet Nam: Part 1
Around four years ago Chi and I sold her mother's small house in Binh Thanh and used the money to buy two plots of land, one in Cu Chi and one in Binh Chanh. Four years later, we've decided its time to start building a house for mum to live in before she turns our hair gray. And potentially a nice weekend retreat for us too.
I plan to chronicle the process here.
The land was purchased at 600,000 per sqm, 1000 sqm. So a total value of 600 million VND at time of purchase, around $29,000, in 2009.
Since then, all we have done is erect a huge fence and set of gates around the land (cost: $1000). The land is totally overgrown with tall grass, trees and bushes. Recently we had someone survey the land for clearance, and he discovered a whacking great bomb crater in the middle of it. That's gonna take a little extra earth to fill in. This same man is quoting us 1 million VND ($50) per truck of earth, and estimates that it will take 30 trucks to fill in our crater and raise the level of the whole plot above the road. Once he's done this, the earth needs to be left at least 4 months to compact naturally before any construction can take place.
During this time, Chi and I will be looking at the house and garden design. Here's what we are working with:
The area for allowed housing is 120m2. We have a friend working on some 2D designs in various shapes.
Once we have leveled the land and the rainy season arrives we'll buy some young trees of varying kinds to plant.
I will be mostly living this project vicariously through my wife and various other family members who live in Cu Chi. The only pictures I have right now are these, and it won't look like this for much longer:
I plan to chronicle the process here.
The land was purchased at 600,000 per sqm, 1000 sqm. So a total value of 600 million VND at time of purchase, around $29,000, in 2009.
Since then, all we have done is erect a huge fence and set of gates around the land (cost: $1000). The land is totally overgrown with tall grass, trees and bushes. Recently we had someone survey the land for clearance, and he discovered a whacking great bomb crater in the middle of it. That's gonna take a little extra earth to fill in. This same man is quoting us 1 million VND ($50) per truck of earth, and estimates that it will take 30 trucks to fill in our crater and raise the level of the whole plot above the road. Once he's done this, the earth needs to be left at least 4 months to compact naturally before any construction can take place.
During this time, Chi and I will be looking at the house and garden design. Here's what we are working with:
The area for allowed housing is 120m2. We have a friend working on some 2D designs in various shapes.
Once we have leveled the land and the rainy season arrives we'll buy some young trees of varying kinds to plant.
I will be mostly living this project vicariously through my wife and various other family members who live in Cu Chi. The only pictures I have right now are these, and it won't look like this for much longer:
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