September 09, 2010 in Blogs | Permalink | Comments

Saturday, May 22, 2010

My Phu Quoc Website is Up, and My Phu Quoc Blog is (Nearly) Out There Too...

EVER SINCE THE END OF JANUARY THIS YEAR I HAVE BEEN BUSY WITH A PROJECT, MY FIRST ONLINE FREELANCE PROJECT IN FACT, TO DOCUMENT EVERYTHING A TOURIST OR INVESTOR NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT PHU QUOC ISLAND. The fruits of my labour are now online, and the twice-a-week blog is coming soon. For those who don't yet know, Phu Quoc is an island off the south Cambodian coast, not that far from the Mekong Delta. Like China's Hainan Island, Phu Quoc is a former penal colony turned tropical paradise, and it is on its way to becoming the next Phuket. For investors hoping to be part of the action, my blog should hopefully offer some valuable information. I will cover coming developments such as the Roi Island Project, which looks like another Vinpearl Resort in the works. For canine lovers around the world, I will be detailing how to buy the unique Phu Quoc dog.

Vietnam seems to be investing a lot of attention on its islands these days, to the concern of China which regards the entire South China Sea as its own. Two years ago I was able to spend a night on Cat Ba Island, one of the largest of the jewels which stud Halong Bay in the north of the country. Even before you step off the pier here you will notice evidence of a building boom, as the photo above testifies. Like the limestone cliffs which rise into the mists all around, this island's economy is on the way up. There is one major resort on this limestone chain (Cat Ba Island and Spa), and another one the way.

May 22, 2010 in Blogs | Permalink | Comments

Monday, January 25, 2010

Urban Revitalization of Ho Chi Minh City

THE BUILDING BOOM IN HO CHI MINH CITY CONTINUES UNDETERRED BY THE GLOBAL CREDIT CRUNCH, AND THE ROADS OF THE METROPOLIS ARE CLOGGED WITH CONSTRUCTION CREWS. Try going for a stroll almost anywhere and before too long, you will find the pavement blocked by a big pile of sand. When the wind blows some of that sand will end up airborne, there to mate with the vicious Saigonese smog. On the last day or my last trip to Vietnam two weeks and a day ago, I got caught in a rare January squall. When I looked at the rain landing on my hand I was surprised to see it was yellowish/orange with tiny specks of sanddust mixed in. No wonder my girlfriend Nga often goes out with a mask on!

Smog and dust withstanding, this is a happening place to be. Just as in Berlin in the 1990s, wherever you look these days there are cranes, big ones, toiling endlessly:

Now this may or may not be the Bitexco Financial Tower under construction, which when finished will rise 68 storeys above the alluvial plains to become Vietnam's tallest building. (I got these stats from Colliers International). I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure it is the Bitexco. It is not yet nearly as pretty as it looks on the artist's rendering, but it is slowly taking shape in the cold bedrock of reality.

There is a lot of Korean investment in the city and I have seen more than one modern Korean greenglass cube transplanted here. This angular greensail style building above, however, seems to be more Japanese than Korean. It would not look out of place on the streets and sidestreets of Okachimachi, in Tokyo near my old house.

January 25, 2010 in Blogs | Permalink | Comments

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