This was a hard country for me to visit and I did not enjoy the brief day I had there. I have heard from several that the countryside and other areas are worth seeing.
We docked in Phu My and had a 1 1/2 hour drive to Saigon. According to my guide the people and country are in a better place than before the war so I have to respect that. The drive to Saigon looked like extreme poverty and filth but the people were very friendly and waved as we passed. Saigon was very clean and had a lot of green areas and is moving toward a very urban city.
Population in Vietnam is 95M and 11M of them in Saigon. Major crops for export is rice and cashews. Rice fields covered the landscape as we got closer to Saigon.
Everyone owns a motorcycle and the law states two people per, we saw several with four people or a complete family of four. They are amazing at what all they can carry on their cycles.
Most of the young people are wanting to live in the city and not work in the rice field or fishing industry so apartment demands are high. They can own an apartment for 70 years but if they own a house it transfers to the next generation of the family. Houses are narrow but long with most of the front areas used as a business.
Communist country after the war but they must pay for their health care and education.