The Saigon River is neither beautiful nor spectacular. But it is the heart of the old French Saigon, and is still a significant element of the, now-called, Ho Chi Minh City. The rivefront was the focus of much activity when Nancy and I first arrived in Saigon in July, 1962. The Quay, "Ben Bach Dang," was obviously influenced by classic French Urban Coastal Culture, as evidenced today in Nice and other cities of the French Riviera, with wide sidewalks for promenades under flowering trees, benches, and many flowering plants. One could still sense the elegance of a bygone era, as families made their late-afternoon promenades under the tamarind trees, with children five or six deep on their motorbikes. The slim young girls were lovely in their flowing "ao-dais," as they strolled hand in hand with their boyfriends. In the early sixties, it was a tranquil site in a definitely non-tranquil city and country.
