A night in Saigon
Paradox originated from the greek word paradoxus (para, meaning 'outside off' + doken ,' to think'). And you will realise it when you arrive at Ho Chi Minh, the city of Paradoxes, the "Paris of the East". Is it Saigon or Ho Chi Minh.....well the official name is Tanh Po Ho Chi Minh (TPHCM), but ask most Vietnamese (they will say Saigon, a name given by their collonial masters,the French) ignoring the name given in the name of their leader, Ho Chi Minh, after the reunification of their country in 1976. Presently the central district 1 is called HCM, while the surrounding areas are called Saigon (a truce between the names!) After coming out of the airport, HCM suprised me. Being accustomed to the noisy dirty cities of SE Asia, I was thrilled to see wide boulevard flanked by 3 lane roads, beautiful lush gardens ,glimpses of French architecture interspersed with high rises of a metropolis.It is a country of paradoxes, a country with a violent past with a peacef