American tanks and helicopters turn up in the oddest places, such as in the garden outside a downtown restaurant. Old American DeSoto buses, loaded with people, bicycles, and produce, take people from the villages to the big city. Saigon's economy is growing rapidly, especially in contrast to Hanoi. Its per capita income is more than twice the national average. Life moves faster.
Pickpockets abound, and there are a few beggars.
The architecture is more evocative of Miami Beach than Paris. The Continental and Rex Hotels, where the celebrated American war reporters hung out during the war, are back in their glory, but they have to survive on a smattering of European tourists and businessmen. Joint-ventures are very popular. The largest building project in the city is a hotel financed by Hong Kong interests. One runs into people who look forward to the return of the Americans and who imply, but don't quite say, that the wrong side won the war.