My first motorbike adventure

Hey everyone,


The past week or so has been relatively uneventful and we have not had much to do other than meet with people and students to help get set up for our research project. We have been going over the framework of our research methodology with the new students who we will be working with. We are now all pretty well ready to start visiting districts and wards and conducting our interviews. We are hopeful that that will take place next week after the holiday weekend here.

I, as well as my friends, have been keeping busy by reading a lot of academic literature on food-related topics in Ho Chi Minh City. I have been learning a lot of how various local state institutions and policies work within Ho Chi Minh and how that affects life within the city. There is plenty of work just on Ho Chi Minh City with various topics all pertaining to development. It is quite interesting to learn about all the issues that are being talked about in these articles I am reading and then to see them being played out in reality. It adds a dimension of authenticity and seriousness to the topics I cover and provides me with further incentive to look into them further.

The other day we read an article on urban zoning in HCMC and how zoning policy has affected some areas of the city. In particular, the article analyzed the rezoning and development that has been taking place in Thủ Thiêm ward, directly across the Saigon river near Bến Nghé (where I lived). This once densely populated ward had been completely levelled to a flattened land of rubble and debris. The residents of the ward had been compensated by the state and forced out to make way for new developments that had been planned for the area. This process has been taking place within the past 5 years and should be completed within the next couple years. Some residents are still living in the area for one reason or another (some due to unsatisfactory land compensations). The article mentioned that residents even gathered in makeshift cafes as well.

After discussing this article, we decided to take a short trip to this ward and see the results for ourselves.  We travelled by motorbike across the river and took a short drive through the now sparsely populated area. It was incredible to see nothing but rubble and ingrown shrubs that had replaced what was once a densely populated ward located across the river from the city's centre. We also noticed how much cooler it was on the other side of the river given how open and less congested the environment is compared to most of the rest of the city. We stopped by one of the cafes for drinks and took in the sights. It was a complete paradox of worlds we were seeing. On our side of the river was a rubbled wasteland being prepared for a grand urban development project and on the other side was the towering skyscrapers of the city over looking this seemingly temporary eyesore according to some. The pictures below I think illustrate this idea better.

The view from where we were drinking coffee. The sky scrapers in the background highlight the modern architecture that city officials are pursuing as part HCMC's new look.

This is the Texaco building. It is the tallest building in the city. 

Travelling by motorbike was awesome by the way. It is a really fun way to get around the city quickly. I am hopeful that I can maybe take a short video going through some of the nicer parts of the city and I will post it here.

Cheers,

Noah