Vietnam Telecom Goes Underground

There are a few ubiquitous sights in SE Asia. The street food... the busted sidewalks... the tangle of power lines?

One of these might be most welcome: ... HCMC wants all these wires underground!

You guessed it, this is yet another one of HCMC's ambitious urban programs. Just like the canal project, which delivered substantial benefits not originally envisioned, this project appeals to those in power who have dedicated their policy to making Vietnam a fully-developed country by 2050, and making Ho Chi Minh City the center of that progress. Appearances are important, and governmental types are intent upon developing the modern character and atmosphere of Vietnam's biggest city and central business hub.

As with most of Vietnam's urban projects, it's massive, ambitious, and pushed to a timetable that mocks cautious international observers and investors and begs them to keep up with this shifting, rapidly modernizing city and country... will it succeed?

First World Problems

One of several escalator tanks of fish in the mall.

What better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than by telling you about my foray to the "Western" Mall? It's the First World in Vietnam! Which is pretty damning, when you consider that it's the place that I think is most like America that I've been to yet, and yeeesh... malls.

I mean, don't get me wrong. It's a very nice mall (Crescent Mall, D7). It's expensive, and it's got a movie theatre, which I haven't tried yet. It's attached to a great lake (man-made, of course) and features a spectacular bridge across the river to the beautiful park on the opposite side.