VIETNAM--Part 1
VIETNAM--Part 1Ho Chi Minh City is one of the largest cities in Southeast Asia, with a population approaching seven million. It is an incredibly busy and pulsing kind of place, with teeming street markets and sidewalk cafes, streets crammed with crazy motorbike drivers, and a wild night scene. At the same time, traditional Vietnam lies just below that surface, often peeking its head out so you can see how if forms the core around which all that modernity is painted.
It's a good question what to call the city. "Ho Chi Minh City" replaced "Saigon" as the official name upon reunification of the south and the north after the American War, but most people around here still call it Saigon. Many people distinguish between the inner city, referred to as Saigon, and the province of Ho Chi Minh City, which stretches far to the south and also west almost to the Cambodian border. The "Saigon" part actually only includes ten percent of the land, but three-quarters of the population, while the rural areas of Ho Chi Minh City have fewer people but provide the rice and other produce to support the needs of the larger population. In fact, so much rice is produced in this area and the Maekhong Delta nearby that Vietnam is now the world's third-leading exporter of rice (behind the U.S. and Thailand). But, it's industry and commerce (trade) that most come to mind when people think of Saigon -- and as such, what you see in this city represents best how the economic changes sweeping through Vietnam are affecting people's lives, for the better AND the worse.
A Statue of Ho Chi Minh, the "Father of Modern Vietnam", Sits
in Front of the People's Committee Building (Formerly the Luxurious Hotel de
Ville)
Girls
and Boys Often Help Out Their Families By Selling Books or Doing Other Jobs
During the Half of the Day When They Are Not in School
The
Cathedral of Our Lady Is a Reminder of the Era of French Colonial Control
of Vietnam; Many Vietnamese People Remain Catholic
The
Old and the New: A Modern Skyscraper Looms Behind the Colonial-Era Post
Office
A
Sugar Stand at the Binh Tay Market in Cholon (Chinatown): Vietnamese LOVE
Sweets!
A
Betelnut Stand at Binh Tay: A Tradition Throughout Southeast Asia That Is
Beginning to Die Out
Binh
Tay's Meat Market: FRESH! (But Look Carefully...)
A
Chicken Seller at Binh Tay: Like I Said, FRESH!
Condiments
To Make That Meal Extra Special
And,
the Finished Product: Vietnamese Food -- A Lot Like Chinese, But With Substantial
Differences
After
the Meal: Candied Fruits Satisfy That Sweet Tooth
Street
Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City: Lots of Cyclos and Bicycles, Even More Motorbikes,
a Few Cars...and Prepare to Take Your Life Into Your Hands!
Eight
Hundred Cab Drivers for Her Company, But Only Six Women
A
Common Sight in Vietnamese and Chinese Temples: Prayer Strips -- Strike
the Bell Nearby, and Your Message is Heard in Heaven
Incense
is Burned at the Women's Pagoda in Memory of Deceased Loved Ones; The Big
Coils Can Burn for a Month!
The
"Bodhisattva" of Prosperity at Thien Hau Pagoda
This
Many-Armed Statue of Avalokiteshvara at Giac Lam Pagoda Shows Evidence of
Indian Influence Far to the East
Chuan
De, the Eighteen-Armed Goddess of Mercy, Can Be Seen in Many Vietnamese
and Chinese Temples
Beautiful
Shrines for Deceased Monks Sit Outside Giac Lam Pagoda
The
Beautiful Municipal Theater Has Been Restored, Showing the Government's
New and Changing Perspectives
A
Wild Scene of the Gods at the Jade Emperor Pagoda: Obvious Chinese Influence,
But Uniquely Vietnamese
A
Scene Showing the Buddhist View of "Hell", at the Jade Emperor Pagoda
A
Common Morning Scene on the Streets of the City
The
Caodai Great Temple in Tay Ninh: Seat of a Uniquely Vietnamese Religion
Daily
Prayers Take Place at Noon at the Caodai Great Temple
In
a Rural Area of Ho Chi Minh City, an Ox-Driven Plow Is Used Today As It
Has Been for Thousands of Years