Saigon at the Turn of the Millennium (Great Cities)

Saigon is the city known for the unexplainable languidness that possessed the “French and American” Europeans that lived in Vietnam. At night, in front of a drink, the memories of flowery young girls in their traditional costumes surrounded by the thick smells of the ngoc man, the feverish sounds of the city's motion piercing through the humid heat of the Asian nights hauntingly reappear. A city of contrasts, Saigon has lived through dramatic changes: the turbulence of the South for which it was renowned was replaced by the terrible coldness of the North and the joyfulness of the city was imposed a rigid doctrine. Saigon became Ho Chi Minh and a new city was created. But although appearances may change, people remain the same. So what came of these changes? A few red flags… and a number of Japanese motorbikes. Read more