It would have been nice to cruise the
Mekong closer to Saigon but the river delta gets shallow and unpredictable so
we debark the Ama Dara and take a 2 hour bus ride to the centre of Saigon.
On the way we learn something about the
major components of the Vietnamese economy:
1. Rice as 50% of their exports,
the Mekong delta being the powerhouse for that.
2. Tourism 3. Seafood exports and 4. Tropical fruit
There are 10M people in Saigon and the
first difference we notice from Hanoi is that the roads are wider. Not that that matters too much – the traffic
with cars and motorbikes is pretty awful.
There are 6M motorbikes but “only” 500,000
cars. Part of the reason for that is the
prohibitive 150% tax on cars that only the rich can afford.
Vietnam is essentially a capitalist economy
with a communist political system.
Policy and government direction comes from Hanoi but there’s no doubt
that Saigon is the economic engine of Vietnam.
There are many high rise buildings, construction cranes abound and when
we look out our hotel window it could be any city in the world.
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| The old French Post Office building - an architectural jewel |
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| Inside the Post Office - there's Uncle Ho |
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| Beautiful iron arches |
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| A map of old Saigon in the Post Office |
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| The French and their iron posts and arches |
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