Ho Chi Minh City Guide

Sugimoto: Yamada-san and Nishina-san live in Ho Chi Minh City. Shimodera-san, you visited the city for research two years ago. Please tell us about the places and situations in the city that you feel are particularly Ho Chi Minh City-like.

 

Nishina: One is the situation in Ho Chi Minh City's District 2 (Thu Tien District). National development has been underway since around 2000, and there are plans to eventually turn District 2 into a new urban center on par with District 1, which is currently the center of the city. However, construction has been halted in some areas for about two years. Let me show you some photos.

Sugimoto: Hmm? I thought it was finished, but there's no one here. The contrast with the overgrown vacant lot is amazing. Why did it come to this?

 

Nishina: Ho Chi Minh City's rapid economic growth has caused prices and labor costs to soar, far exceeding the original budget. Construction has now been halted until the necessary funds are raised. From afar, it looks like a glittering, glamorous city, but some parts are like ghost towns.

 

Yamada: In District 2 in Ho Chi Minh City, there are many properties where construction has only just begun, with the framework still standing.

 

Sugimoto: What do the people of the town think about the state of the 2nd Ward?

 

Nishina: It seems that the people who live in the new urban area of District 2 are wealthy, and many people think that it has nothing to do with them. Also, since Vietnam is a socialist country, there is a tendency to believe that "what the government does is absolute." In fact, when it was decided to develop the Thu Tien district in 1996, 15,000 residents were forcibly evicted.

 

Sugimoto: Perhaps the current situation in Ho Chi Minh City is that the power of economic growth is so strong that it is swallowing up such social contradictions.

Shimodera: At the same time, I also have the strong impression that Vietnamese people are much more powerful and generous than Japanese people. They don't seem to care much.

 

Sugimoto: That quality may be an important sensibility in accepting hypotheticality.

 

Yamada: That's right. I think generosity is necessary. In Japan, the laws are so strict that you can't even have a single seat outside your restaurant, but in Ho Chi Minh City's most famous tourist spot, Bui Vien Street, as long as your restaurant has a kitchen, you can turn the entire street in front of you into seating for customers.

Sugimoto: This is also spectacular... This is more like a road or a square. It's going to change our concept of the street.

 

Yamada: In Vietnam right now, property and land prices are soaring compared to the average salary. Moreover, even if you invest and prepare a large space, there is a risk that the government will take away your land, as happened in District 2. So, I think this culture has been born from the idea that it is better to set up a temporary place without owning the land, so that you can handle anything that happens. Setting up seats on the street or pulling in food stalls is a rational solution in Ho Chi Minh City right now.

 

Sugimoto: I see. At first glance it seems like a chaotic situation, but when you look closely you can see that there is logic to it.

 

Nishina: That's right. What's interesting is that even if something looks like chaos, once you jump into it you can see the order. For example, at first the herd of motorbikes looked like chaos to me and I was really nervous while driving, but if you just go with the flow it's not that difficult.

Sugimoto: What places are popular among young people in Ho Chi Minh City right now?

 

Nishina: There is an old 7-8 story apartment building called "42 Nguyen Hue" on Nguyen Hue Street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, with square windows arranged in a grid. When you go inside, various shops appear one after another, and from the outside, the windows decorated with neon signs look like a patchwork, which is very interesting.

Sugimoto: What kind of shops are there here?

 

Nishina: They are cafes and fashion stores for young people. However, because the land prices are high, the stores change all the time, and it's interesting to see the facades change each time. The tenants only decorate them simply so they can leave quickly.

 

Shimodera: I think it's a shame that urban development causes the loss of a city's individuality. New buildings are being built one after another in Ho Chi Minh City, but I think 42 Nguyen Hue is a place that is in a state of flux, which is why you can feel its individuality. That's what makes it so Vietnamese.

 

Yamada: That's true. No one is trying to unify the area, and each tenant is trying to stand out, so it doesn't have a sophisticated feel. I think that's a good thing.

 

Sugimoto: As the so-called gentrification trend continues, two districts that were planned as new urban centers were left abandoned midway through development. Perhaps there is something about the national character that just seeps out.

 

Nishina: Yes. There is another underground mall called "The New Playground" that is home to many fashion brands for young people, but the turnover of tenants here is also very high. I think they are operating on a temporary basis without worrying about the possibility of tenants withdrawing.

Sugimoto: By the way, where do young people in Ho Chi Minh City go on dates?

 

Yamada: There's a park called Turtle Lake in the very center of town. In the evening, a lot of food stalls are set up around it, and a ton of couples gather there. It's an unbelievable number of people. There are a lot of people there during the day, but at night, they even start sitting on the edges of buildings. I thought to myself, there must be no place for people to go on dates.

 

Nishina: As you can see from the photos, there's nothing romantic about it.

Sugimoto: Wow! It's so crowded...

 

Yamada: Since we have a culture of eating and drinking on the street, there is almost no resistance to sitting outside, and I think it is normal to go on dates outside. If your house is small and you don't have your own private room, there is no place to get cozy.

 

Sugimoto: Shimodera-san, is this a phenomenon similar to the couples you see along the Kamo River in Kyoto?

 

Shimodera: After all, when it comes to couples, rivers and waterside locations are great. Relaxing outside is nice! I'd like to sit outside and go on a date too.

 

Yamada: That’s true!

 

Nishina: But actually, there are no couples along the river. There are a lot of older men and women along the river, and I have a strong image of them fishing and exercising.

 

Sugimoto: Even though they're both bodies of water, rivers seem to be healthier...!

Sugimoto: Since the spread of COVID-19, more stores have been opening their doors to allow for ventilation, and the laws regarding street businesses seem to be changing. Is there anything Japan can learn from the streets of Ho Chi Minh City?

 

Yamada: I think so. For example, the chairs and desks used on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City are lightweight and low. They are easy to take out and put away, and easy to replace if they break. This is also related to the fact that they can be put away in an instant when the police arrive.

Sugimoto: However, in Japan, there seem to be some drawbacks, such as the sidewalk in front of the store being narrow or immediately adjacent to the road.

 

Yamada: It's true that in Japan, there is a clear division between shops, sidewalks, and roads. But as you can see from the photo, in Ho Chi Minh City, everyone sits facing the street, so it's also attractive that they can start interacting right away. I think that could be a hint for doing something on the streets of Japan.

 

Shimodera: My impression is that in Vietnam, once a certain framework is created, there is still room for each country to customize it.

 

Yamada: Yes, that's true. In Japan, when we build a building, we try to make it exactly as the blueprint shows, but in Vietnam, there are few professional craftsmen at the construction site, so it's difficult to make something exactly as the blueprint shows. So we often start by making adjustments as we build it, depending on the situation. That has its advantages, such as not having to draw detailed blueprints at the beginning and being able to think about things as the construction progresses. In the first place, in Vietnam, there is a strong impression that buildings are things that can be destroyed at some point, rather than things that will remain forever.

Shimodera: In fact, there is a lot of room for users to customize food stalls. In Ho Chi Minh City, factories that manufacture and sell food stalls are concentrated in District 5. People who want to start a food stall business can buy their own food stall here and customize it. On the other hand, there are many factories in each area that maintain food stalls.

Sugimoto: I see. So the infrastructure to support the yatai culture is well established.

 

Shimodera: Yes. In Japan, it is normal to have a place to do business, but in Southeast Asia, there is infrastructure in both the soft and hard aspects that makes it very easy to start a business. That's why I think that anyone can do business at a night market.

 

Yamada: It fits perfectly with what we've been discussing so far, about people living in temporary housing without owning land. The fact that it's so easy to start a business may also be making people optimistic.

 

Shimodera: Also, in Thailand and Taiwan, only the wealthy have kitchens at home, so it seems that it is normal to eat takeout food from food stalls or outside. What about Vietnam?

 

Nishina: I once went to visit the family home of a Vietnamese acquaintance, and they were cooking on a hot plate on top of a shoebox in the entrance. Some people also cook on something like a charcoal grill outside.

 

Yamada: Vietnamese buildings are long and narrow when viewed from a floor plan, so this may be because placing the device at the back of the house makes it difficult to ventilate.

 

Sugimoto: The food culture that requires food stalls and eating out is increasing the need for the food and beverage industry. Also, the barriers to entry are low, making it easy to take on new challenges, and the risk of withdrawal is not high, so there is no need to fear failure. I think this is what has created a highly temporary town ecosystem.

Sugimoto: Listening to your story, it seems that the way people live in Japan and Vietnam, as well as the speed and dynamism of change in towns, are completely different. Do you think your contact with Vietnam has had an impact on you personally?

Yamada: When working in Vietnam, it's natural to fail, so what do you do from there? That's the value system. No matter how well you prepare, the situation changes quickly, and what you thought was the right answer at first often turns out to be no longer the right answer. I myself have almost completely stopped being resistant to failure.

 

Shimodera: I think that in future urban planning, rather than building new buildings, it will be important to think about how to use vacant buildings flexibly. I feel that there is a lot of potential in using buildings temporarily and bringing in food stalls.

 

Nishina: I think the concept of temporary construction can be further developed. For example, I have an acquaintance who is planning to build a house by assembling containers, and because containers are highly temporary, they can be moved around. If there is an earthquake, they can be transported to the disaster area, and when things have settled down, they can be moved to another location.

Now that people are reluctant to gather in big cities due to fears of infection, it is conceivable that the need for moving around while living will increase. As things evolve, the concept of temporary structures will also change, and yatai stalls in 10 years may be even more amazing.

Yamada: I think the current COVID-19 situation has created a shared awareness that more and more of this kind of thing is likely to happen in the future. If the situation continues to change, there will no longer be a right answer to the question of "where should I live?" and it is possible that temporary housing will become the norm.

 

Shimoda: I think that yatai are moving architecture. If the yatai get bigger, they can become residences, and they may be more adaptable to an era where people can live anywhere. Also, if they are temporary residences or buildings, the areas that can be customized become larger, and it becomes easier to express individuality. If that happens, I think the cityscape will change more fluidly.

 

Sugimoto: If we can incorporate a sense of provisionality into our lives, our perspective will change and we will be able to live more interesting lives. I would like to travel to Ho Chi Minh City someday. Thank you everyone!