HCMC.... 14 years later

Reporting to you from Ho Chi Minh City....

Some people may think that it is no big deal... but for me, it is. Afterall, the first time I came to HCMC was 14 years ago, before Vietnam officially opened for tourism. That was as authentic an experience as one could get of old Vietnam...

And now 14 years later... so much has changed. The streets are cleaned up, more proper roads, tonnes more traffic... a lot more cars (as compared to last time when our tour minibus was among the few countable 4-wheeled vehicles on the road)... and as the plane flew over the city before it landed, I noticed with a sense of nostalgia that the paddy fields I used to see had changed into suburban city and industrial parks....

Large international brands are now visible everywhere and Espirit is in a prominent, new white building.... For those of you who have been here in recent years, you may have seen this change and felt it's nothing.... but for me, I think if I look back at the photos I've taken then, it's a world of difference....

For all I know, I could even sell those photos as heritage stuff or something....and even the locals are commenting that my last trip to HCMC 14 years ago was very very adventurous...

I feel a sense of achievement and a sense of satisfaction that I had seen it before modern globalisation colonised the place....