Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Yesterday was our second and final day in Vietnam, woefully short of an adequate amount of time even for a brief introduction for first time visitors.  Fortunately, Janis and I spent two full weeks in Vietnam in January 2017 that gave us a much better feel for the country.  A number of excursions were offered but most of our fellow passengers signed up for the included excursion that was a full day visit to different sites in Saigon.  Because we had covered all of those bases when we were here just a year ago, we opted for something different and, so, signed up for an excursion called "Saigon River Artists Village."

There were just 13 of us on this excursion, which itself was a nice change from the usual busload of people in each guided group.  We headed out in a much smaller bus and stopped along the way to our principal destination at a rest stop.  (For people in our age group, there is always a planned bathroom stop.)  Here's what it looked like.  Not the kind of highway rest stop we're used to when we travel at home.

    

As we got closer to the so-called artists village, we saw for the first time in any part of Vietnam that we've been to what looked like rather mansion-like single-family homes as well as some upscale multi-unit homes of just three or four levels.

    

Vietnamese are apparently used to living in apartments or houses with very small footprints.  As you can see from the following photos showing different angles of the same building, even an entire floor of a new, upscale building is quite small.

                                                                           

On a side street near the property we were headed to we even passed some gated homes.  At least one of them had a beautiful inground swimming pool.  Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough on the camera shutter button to catch the pool shot as we drove by.

  

Regardless of neighborhood, whether run down or new and upscale, the surrounding landscape and roadside always seem to be covered with litter.  Note the cows in the picture below taken in the neighborhood of the mcmansions.

    

And in all directions, as far as the eye can see, there are newly built hi-rises and countless others under construction.

  

After a shorter drive than was estimated, we arrived at the "artists village."  It turns out that it is a large property owned by one family that features beautiful grounds and generous gallery space and artists' workspaces.  At its far end it borders the Saigon River just opposite downtown Saigon.  (We learned for the first time that there is a difference between "Saigon" and "Ho Chi Minh City" in this respect:  While following the fall of South Vietnam to the North the government renamed "Saigon" "Ho Chi Minh City," as I mentioned in my last blog most locals still call old Saigon "Saigon."  But there is such rapid growth in the area that the city limits have been extended considerably, including to the other side of the Saigon River where this artists village is located, and even the locals refer to these new areas as Ho Chi Minh City because they were never part of original Saigon.  The current population of Ho Chi Minh City exceeds 10 million.  It is the largest city in Vietnam.)

                  

The person we dealt with at the village is the daughter of the owner, a man of Chinese ancestry who bought the property 20 years ago when it was just a rice field.  Here are views from the property's considerable frontage on the Saigon River.  Its market value today must be staggering given the construction of luxury hi-rises all along the river on either side of it.  When Janis asked the lady what the future held for this property, she said the family didn't know but was concerned that the government might take it at some point without any assurance of adequate compensation.

    

The amount of art on display is extensive, including paintings done in oil, lacquer, inlaid shells, ceramics, ink and water colors.  Here is only a representative sample.

                                                                       

As I mentioned, there is an area of the village that contains artists' workspaces.

    

One of the artists demonstrated his painting skills by quickly knocking out two brush drawings, one of a bird and the other of a horse.

        

While we were there we were treated to tea and native fruit.  There were two boys playing, one of them the son of the owner's daughter and the other the son of the artist who demonstrated for us.  I couldn't help but observe how much they were like children from home or anywhere for that matter.

                                     

When we left the village, we drove across the river for lunch in downtown Saigon at a restaurant named "Dining Room."  A very good lunch elegantly presented.

     

We then walked around the area a bit.  There is no end to the number of businesses, and the streets are crowded with people.  The temperature was 95 degrees with high humidity, but a strong breeze from the river made it feel quite comfortable.  Much of the architecture reflects the influence of the French.

          

We also walked by the Opera House where a year ago Janis and I attended an evening concert.  Another photo of the Opera House serves as the cover photo for this blog post.

There are brand name stores galore, including very hi-end ones, in this communist country with a capitalistic economy.

    

As elegant as this part of downtown is, I couldn't help notice the tangle of wires of the kind we saw everywhere in Vietnam when we were here a year ago.  Certainly none of our electric, cable or phone companies would approve.

Our final stop on our way out of town was at a lacquer factory and showroom.  Janis and I realized as soon as we got in the door that we had been taken there last year as well.  We first observed artisans at work in the production area and then entered an extensive showroom filled with beautiful things.

                                     

Our ride back to the ship was uneventful.  There was, of course, the usual fast moving traffic.

  

When we arrived back at the ship, we were greeted by a large contingent of staff and handed champagne glasses and wet towels.  Several tours must have been arriving back at or near the same time to explain this show of force.  The first and third guys in the photo on the right are our stateroom attendants, both from the Philippines and absolutely terrific.

  

Today we are at sea on our way to Cambodia.  We are scheduled to arrive in Sihanoukville early tomorrow morning for a 1-day visit.