Planning and design in Ho Chi Minh City : A perspective

A photo taken infront of the Reunification Palace

A view from Reunification Palace shows French style of layout






Salam again to all.


The day of 26th August 2008(27 Syaaban1429H), is a very significant day in Malaysian politics. The battle of all politicians is set in Permatang Pauh (P44) by-election on this very day. It is a day of much talked about in Malaysian politics. As I write this , some voters may have relished their righths or still queuing up accordingly to different lines. Line 1 for the 50's and above age group, Line 2 for the 40's, Line 3 for 30's and Line 4 for 20's..So let the voters cast their rights. I think the best thing in a volatile political situation is 'not to let emotions overcome our conscience'..After all the responsibility or amanah as entrusted by Allah to all muslims as khalifatulardh (leaders of the earth) I think should be the guiding path. Everybody is accountable to his or her responsibilities, be it as a parent, a son or daughter, a manager, an 'imam', a politician, and even as an ordinary worker. Be mindful with what we are doing because we are servants of Allah..and in the Al-Mighty court we have no escapism to nullify our duty..



Maneuvering District 1 with a trishaw
A woman survived form the war ordeal









PLANNING AND DESIGN

Well talking about planning and design in Ho Chi Minh City should be the theme of this post. Vietnam has a population of 77 millions who reside mainly on the low-lying land. Overall it has some resemblance of French influence in its layout as well as in designing of old main buildings. The Reunification Palace and churches like 'Notre Dame' have these colonial elements. In the main part of the city, the emphasis of major roads as grand boulevard and pockets of rectangular shape of garden, and as well as 'classical grand roman pillar' dominates the old building facade are clearly remnants of French heritage. Asian influence came later as seen in new buildings. However, the Asian characteristics of its residents do influence the typical Asian look of the city, just like major cities of Bangkok and Jakarta.


CITY LAYOUT

Overall from my observation, just like other developing countries, the city can be divided into three categories; i) high class area ii) medium class and iii) 'not yet properly planned area'. The high class district is in district 1. By the way, the city is divided into various districts, from district 1--13(if not mistaken). The area places all five- star hotels and shopping complexes which sell branded stuff. It looks spacious and calm in the area. The medium class area is the area for the 'market style' shopping area, shop lots and may be selling some cheap stuff either locally made or 'made in China". One of the famous tourist spot is 'the Benh Tanh market'. Everything is under one roof..wet market, dried market, fruits, and stalls that sell everything..clothes, bedsheet, watches, bags, embroidery handbags and shoes..and so on. "Madame, mari murah-murah" is the typical welcoming note from the salesperson. Well it seems Malaysians are regular and familiar faces in the market. The fruits sold there are just marvelous. very fresh and yummy. A tip for shopping in this market is to 'bargain' to at least 30%, as I was told by a local.


The 'not yet properly planned area is the busiest place of all. This is the centre for the wholesales for the locals and ordinary local folks to do their daily shopping needs, ranging from food supply, household items, accessories, clothings and many others. So how do I feel.. I am not particularly an avid buyer.. so bargaining is not my field. If you are one then you can get cheaper products by bargaining and buying in bulks. Branded stuff almost the same price as in Malaysia.. However, I met some Malaysians who are wholesalers, regularly coming to Vietnam to get supplies of products.


A Mosque at Dong Ju St.(built in 1935) next to Sheraton Hotel




TRAFFIC AND CONFLICTS

The traffic is dominated by motorcycles. There are conflicts of users on the roads but the locals are very tolerant. I did not see any accidents happened in front of eyes yet. Millions of motorcyles dominate the mode of transport. Luckily, they use four cylinders so combustion process is complete therefore hardly black smoke is seen emitted to the air. I recommend foreign travellers to use metered taxis otherwise, we might be being cheated. The cheapest form of transport is using the motobike.. but how safe..I do not know. I think we will get used to the transport system after say 20 minutes in the city. The people are struggling to cope with daily life just like us, with the current inflation which jumps to 27% .


May be next post..some tips for muslim travellers

Happy Merdeka Day for Malaysians and Wishing Ramadhan Al-Mubarak to all muslims

Till then , Wassallam