Tan Dinh Cathedral - Saigon, Vietnam

With a strong Gothic, Roman and Baroque style plus obvious French roots, the 136 year old Tan Dinh Cathedral along Hai Ba Trung in District 3 in Saigon glows  - from the distance and close up - with a distinctive and elegant presence and stature. I was fascinated with the gabled roofs, its tower standing at 52.6 meters, a bronze cross, sizable gardens, fish scaled roof tiles, strong porticoes and its obvious pink outer walls.  There is a school on its grounds and also a statue of Christ with out stretched arms.

Inside the Cathedral, there are shrines to Saint Therese of Lisieux, Saint Martin de Porres and also to Catholic martyrs of Vietnamese background.  The layout of pews, richly stained windows, arched columns and some austere non-trappings are all evocative of Catholicism and yet evoke another time, another place.

Tan Dinh is near by the Pasteur Institute, the Tan Dinh Markets and the Women's Museum.  The nearby markets offer a variety of fascinating produce, live, dried and fresh.  Binh Tay and Ben Tanh are examples of other popular markets in Saigon, referred to as cho.  The picture below shows a view of Hai Ba Trung in Saigon, standing from the front of the Cathedral.

Nha Trang, Vietnam - Long San Pagoda

At the foot of Trai Thy Mountain, in Nha Trang, lies the Long San Pagoda. This is recommended for any visitor to Nha Trang who wants a break from the beach and scuba diving scene and understand better the grassroots life of the locals. It has a unique address of 22 October 23 Street.  There is a bell pavilion, a Sleeping Buddha, a giant pink coloured container and a strong sense of tradition and heritage.

Mosaic murals and motifs are scattered around the main shrine hall, from which you can see two illustrative examples - a legendary animal above and the Chinese script for "fa" or prosperity in Mandarin, below.

Standing at 14 meters tall, the representation of the Gautama Buddha occupies the highest point in the complex, sitting on a lotus blossom with a circumference of 7 meters.  The long dragons protecting them are 7.2 meters long each.  This Buddha overlooks the city and the ocean, in a classic and traditional repose of 'sitting on  mountain and looking at the sea".  One walks up a couple of squat outdoor staircases from the main shrine hall and is rewarded by views from a vantage point.

There are visibly three levels to walk up when you approach the Long San from a busy street side in an inland part of the city. You can walk back from this temple complex back to the Nha Trang tourist and ocean waterfront in under 30 minutes, after ducking hordes of motor cycles and walking past various forms of commerce.  here in Long San, you can savour  the tranquility and timelessness of patience, compassion and architecture.  For the latter, it is evident there are strong influences from not just China, but from Kampuchea, Thailand and India.

Nha Trang, Vietnam - Transitions

National Geographic has condemned Nha Trang beaches in 2010 as suffering "over development without a watchful eye".  I could sense some of this as my fellow travellers and I walked along the main beach area (the Tran Phu coast), noticing continuing construction of major hotels along an otherwise clean and soft sand stretch with outer isles visible on the horizon.  The Tutukaka Coast of Northland in New Zealand, the northern coast of Mozambique, Broome in Western Australia and the southern coast of Sri Lanka were rated highly by Nat Geo in that survey (99 Top Coastal Destinations on  http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/coastal-destinations-rated/
Above picture shows a view from the KFC joint in the tourist hub in Nha Trang, especially favoured by Russian visitors of all ages as the city has direct flight connections with Russia.  Not far from this corner is the Sailing Club.

A bird's eye view of Nha Trang city from a look out point (picture above) contrasts with the main city beach in the early morning mid-week (photo below).   The city has lively markets in the evenings, a growing population drawing immigration from other parts of Vietnam and is foreseen to have significant changes in the coming years - I am reminded of Phuket and Pattaya in Thailand in their hectic tourist affected  years in the seventies and eighties.  How this late comer to the competitive beach scene navigates through the economic, commercial and political temptations, opportunities and dangers of being an international beach destination,  is worth watching.  There is an interesting local life away from the tourist areas and how the benefits and risks of tourism affect them is in the end the most important thing, apart form the tourist dollars.  Nha Trang was the site of the Miss Universe competition in 2008.

A placid moment with only few vehicles in front of the official government building of culture (above). The municipal area continues to expand with housing and commercial development across what was once naturally kept plains towards the mountains (below).   Both the French colonists and American marines loved this place fortunate enough to have an impressive bay - which Travel & Leisure magazine included as part of the top 29 beautiful bays in the world. Its site harks back to the Champa Kingdom more than a thousand years ago - you can view the rather intact Po Nagar Towers north of Nha Trang central.  It is now a significant scuba diving, kite boarding, birds nest collection and lobster farming centre for Vietnam, although do avoid the monsoon season from mid-October to December.

Art deco (above) can be encountered along the main strip at Nha Trang's city beach.  Below, a view from the top floor of our hotel looking out at a main tourist street replete with scuba diving shops, local food and fruit outlets, tourist orientated cafes and restaurants, retail shops offering day excursions and visitor accommodation.  There is a heightened risk of security and creepiness late at night in Nha Trang, although when we were there it approached Halloween night, with many street and restaurant parties  not just involving visitors but the locals.

My group had the chance to spend a day at a beach an hour by van out of Nha Trang and we already noticed more beach hotels being built or planned as we went along the highways away from the city itself.
We had a local themed lunch like a picnic, with tasty grilled meats on skewers, lots of cut fruits and salads plus cold beer and drinks.  Life looks more pleasurable and simpler lying on a deck chair on a remote beach in Vietnam.

Nha Trang, Vietnam - Halloween Dinner

The Sheraton at Nha Trang in south-eastern Vietnam set the scene for a celebratory buffet dinner on its first floor.  Staff wore Halloween themed masks, table settings had pumpkin covers for dining lights and even the napkins followed the tone in black and white.  The cook staff behind various corners and cooking displays were international.  Some items were meant for cooking according to your preferences, others were ready to be consumed and the choices were more than ample.

I was more than happy with my choice of freshly prepared gnocchi served in a  fabulous tomato-based sauce (photo above).  My other favourite was the sushi and sashimi (picture below) - delicate, precise and subtle in flavours.  Service was delightful from smiling and well trained staff.

Dragon fruit slices (bottom right in photo below) were part of chocolate fondue skewers. I am fond of the bananas in Vietnam - petite, tasty and wholesome.  Papayas, honeydew and strawberries contributed to an interesting platter to wind up the dinner.  Below on the main strip facing Nha Trang city beach, looking through the large glass windows, we could see people still milling on the pavements, as night transformed parts of otherwise empty spaces in the day time to markets with many stalls after sunset.  The commercial penchant for activity is truly alive in Vietnam, whether amongst the locals or for tourist interaction.

Saigon Symphony

The early evening view from the top of the Rex Hotel (above), looking out across the main road to the revamped Hotel Caravelle.  The Rex Hotel was famously the site where American soldiers provided skewed press briefings around five o'clock each day and today it continues to thrive along the Nguyen Hue Boulevard in the city centre as both a lively day and night gathering spot.  The Caravelle Hotel, across the road at Lam Son Square, served its own distinction to attract hordes of diplomats and journalists during the sixties and early seventies - and when opened in 1959 at ten stories high, was the tallest building in this bustling metropolis.  Both the New Zealand and Australian Governments once maintained embassies here.
It is worth a visit to the renovated marbled roof top bar.

The colours are bright pink and do not fail to catch the eye of the passer by in District 3 - with arched windows and doorways, plus immaculate grilled iron work, this Catholic Cathedral has tall spires and side alcoves that are based on French architectural traditions.  This is the second largest church, after the city's well known Notre Dame Cathedral -  the Tan Dinh Church ( or Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus).  Saigon has several religious buildings of note, and they include the Cao Dai Holy See, the Quan Am Pagoda, the Jade Emperor Pagoda and the Mariamman Hindu temple.

When I reflect of grassroots Saigon, I recall this roadside scene with fondness - electric cables that grotesquely meet and almagate, peddlers in traditional coned hats , motor cyclists, modern city buses, side stores and people going about their commercial lives - in front of a large market venue.

One can sip filtered Vietnamese coffee anywhere - on roadside pavements, in heritage coffee shops, from a village stall, in a tourist hub or in a modern cafe based on franchised lay outs and in air-conditioned comfort - above picture was taken at a Trang Nguyen outlet in Saigon along the Hai Ba Trung in District 1.  No paper filters are utilised in the making of the cafe sua da - drip coffee that requires no massive cleaning effort afterwards or use of large machines.  Vietnamese coffee is infused with chicory, a caffeine free herb and dark roasted blends are always used.

Bamboo and rattan  bird cages hang from a high ceiling (picture above) in front of heritage buildings  whilst below, a snapshot in a room at the Novotel Saigon Centre, which opened only this year.  The affinity with bird cages is well documented and known in south-east Asia and China - they are used to keep song birds in courtyards, gardens and outside houses and shops.  Such birds are taken by their owners to accompany them for meals with friends and family.  Interesting enough, such bird cages are increasingly utilised as lamp holders or as mere decorations to bring up the vitality of an otherwise empty space or high ceiling, especially in heritage hotels.