Last weekend was my second time to travel and visit the beautiful city of Saigon / Ho Chi Minh.  Progress has been so evident as compared to the last time I visited this southern city of Vietnam.  The whole city obviously is in high spirits!

those high rise buildings were not there when i first visited. notice how clean the streets are? i’m envious…

Buildings are higher.  The streets are cleaner.  International branded stores and enterprises are now selling and operating.  It’s now easier for pedestrians to cross the streets of Saigon because the lighted green and red men are now present (they already have “walk” and “don’t walk” light signals).

notre dame cathedral… still lovely…

still operational, still iconic, still tourist-filled —
saigon post office

saigon city hall… i love this shot!!!

One very evident  observation about Saigon which still persists is that there seem to be no stout, chubby and flabby inhabitants in the city. Everybody looks so slim and slender which according to our Vietnamese tour guide when we went to Mekong Delta is attributed to the type of diet Vietnamese has. This makes me a little bothered when I was in Saigon.  I am tubby, chubby and fleshy in this country!

posing for some “italian fashion magazine” (hahaha!) at the top of reunification palace

photo taken inside a mall. shopping malls are starting to proliferate. move over ben thanh market!

Anyway, though growth, progress and improvements are so apparent at the present Saigon, it’s good to know that its charm remains intact.  The streets and boulevards are still lined with tall lush trees and the majority of the Saigonese remains pleasant, gentle and well-mannered.

Oo na! Mataba ako sa Byetnam!