The Mekong Delta and another entry in the Asian architectural sweepstakes

I have to post pictures to the blog from Picasa, which is not opening via the satellite connection just now as it has done previously.  When I can open it, I will post the pictures from Marilyn that go with these comments. Future pictures from me will be taken with the iPad as I master techniques.

We visited another example of the  "more is better," Vietnamese aesthetic, a temple of a fusion religion combining Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Christianity, dating from the 1920s. The same aesthetic appears over the country in five of six story narrow - because lots are narrow -  tower-like houses of those who are benefitting from the free marker approach dating from 1986. They appear bizarre to Western taste.

We spent a fascinating half day in the Mekong Delta along waterways that support lively communities of small producers and traders. Boats whose prows sport large eyes meant to ward off the crocodiles that previously infested the waters serve as local markets and transporters for goods to market. Shacks on stilts sit slightly over the water. Some are clearly homes; in other cases people live in more substantial houses across the road from the water and use the shacks for commerce.

A small home enterprise we visited made the rice wrappings for spring rolls and coconut candy.

 Ho Chi Minh City's entry into the Asian architectural sweepstakes is a highrise with helipad sticking out of the side two-thirds of the way up like a mushroom growing on a tree.

There may be a transportation indicator of  Asian development: feet, bicycle, motorbike, auto. Each form of movement generates its own form of urban pollution. Vietnam is definitely in the motorbike stage even if it has entered the architectural sweepstakes.