What you're looking at in the above picture is the Bitexco Financial Tower in Ho Chi Minh City. The 68 story, 861ft. tall building is the biggest by far in the city, and 2nd biggest building in Vietnam.
The 49th floor observation deck gives you a good 360 degree view of Ho Chi Minh City and the Saigon River.
I've seen a lot of big cities and am especially partial to the skylines of Tokyo and Hong Kong, but I have to admit Ho Chi Minh is nice. There are a lot of modern buildings here and there but the city itself hasn't abandoned its character. And that's rare.
People say everywhere you go, "If you don't like the weather in [insert current city name], just wait 5 minutes, hoo hoo!" but in Vietnam that's actually true. Tho for the record I'm not sure if this was rainwater streaking down or something else.
The Saigon River curls by in the pic above. It's amazing to see how packed the city there is on the one side and there be absolutely no development on the other.
It's only when you go up and look down on a city IMO that you really get a feel for its shape. You need to pull back a bit to see the real pattern of things.
OK, I guess there is some development across the river, but not much, especially considering that just across from the small group of buildings in the above pic is literally the financial center of Ho Chi Minh.
Yes for the record I am not afraid of heights.
Now, let's have a look inside. It's a pretty cool design, futuristic but not too space-agey.
I like the columns and sheer reflective path. It's not really like any of the other landmark buildings I've been in before. The Bitexco isn't tacky at all, which is rare in such a self-aware project as this.
Clouds over the river. This is an un-zoomed view, pulled back a little.
Finally, I'll finish with a shot of the covered market, the place I showed a bunch of pics of in my last post. I don't think you really get a feel for how big it is until you see it from a bird's eye view.
I'm not sure how to put it but Ho Chi Minh struck me as being about as honest and true to itself city as I've ever seen.
Every city has its own character. In Chicago you have a city that feels very organic and chaotic, majestic and real at the same time. Tokyo is a mash-up of 1000 different cities that are all "the real Tokyo" - some tacky and new; others old, small and mysterious; some beckon with a smile, an open table and a full glass; and others push you back and feel almost vacant. London is a human city, itself almost a part of the conversation you have on the way to the underground, to work or to a pub.
But Ho Chi Minh City felt different than any of those... which is about as pointless of a statement as has ever been made. Of course every city worth mentioning is unique.
I will say, though, that it's one of the few places I've been to where I felt at home from the beginning. And that's something I've only felt two other times.
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