Vietnam is, indeed, a land of contrasts. It has the world's second tallest statue of Christ, numerous ornate Buddhist and Hindu temples, but the vast majority of the population claims no religious affiliation.
Roads and streets are lined with shops, usually dirty and messy, but the back half of the building is an ornate 3 or 4 story house built in the local style of narrow and long.
You can travel for miles and miles in Ho Chi Min city on streets lined with small shops and restaurants, but a lacquer workshop and showroom tucked in an alley sells ornate furniture and pictures priced at several thousand dollars.
Freeway medians sport modern art and beautiful plantings. Other streets an full of potholes, without curbs or gutters.
Tour buses share the road with motor scooters and 3 wheeled trucks.
Masses of wires droop from utility pools near the Samsung factory. Our guide could not explain what the wires were for or why there are some on poles and so many just drooping.
Modernistic hotels are just blocks from open fish markets.
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