Riding motorbikes under the rain

Saigon — The City I Love

A series of photos about Saigon

June Nguyen
SNAPSHOTS
Published in
3 min readAug 5, 2020

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I was born in a city located in the South of Vietnam called Saigon.

Saigon had been the original city name but after 1975, the name was changed into Ho Chi Minh City for political reasons. Yet most people around here just call it Saigon since it sounds informal and they are already used to calling it.

I love Saigon for ways too many reasons that it’s hard for me to leave it and move to a different city or country. I’m probably biased but I think the street food here is amazing, the people are full of compassion and are true to themselves, and the places are full of history behind it.

My favorite thing to do in this city is to walk around with a camera and capture the liveliness of Saigon. So here we go!

Perhaps for many tourists, crossing the streets in Saigon is a living nightmare because usually, people don’t stop their vehicles for pedestrians…! But most people here are willing to help so if they see you hesitate to cross the street, chances are they would step out and cross it with you.

Saigon Central Post Office
Saigon Central Post Office
Independence Palace
Saigon Opera House
Saigon Opera House

The architecture of many buildings in Saigon was heavily influenced by the French because the city was part of the French colony for a long period of time back then.

Each of those squares is a café or a food place

Part of the reason why Saigon is referred to as “the city that never sleeps” is because at night, many young people enjoy hanging out at these cafés.

Perhaps food is what I miss the most about Saigon while being away. There are endless street food options for any meal in a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, late-night dinner.

Saigon, thank you for everything!

Thanks for reading. All photos were taken by June Nguyen and before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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June Nguyen
SNAPSHOTS

I write about ideas that light up in my head as I’m about to fall asleep. Also a learner, reader, and cat lover.