The Temple

This was taken in the Jade Pagoda, Saigon, Vietnam. The noon sun gave the perfect beams through the roof's ventilation holes. Thanks to the incence burned in the chambers, these sunrays were iluminated, giving the pagado an all round more sacred feel. This is one of the more beautiful pagodas in Saigon and definitely worth a visit.

Taken on: 25th September, 2010. Copyright: All Rights Reserved - See DreamingWanderer's page of Flickr

Read more about Ho Chi Minh City

As cyclo drivers rest easy below vast neon billboards, the emerging Vietnamese middle class — mobile phones in hand — cruise past draped in haute couture on their imported motorcycles. Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City — Vietnam's largest and most exciting city.

How things have changed from the sleepy days pre-16th century, when the Khmer fishing village of Prey Nokor was established on a vast swampland. Saigon's origins date back to the early 17th century when the area became home for refugees fleeing war in the north. Towards the end of the century, once the population was more Vietnamese and Cambodia weak enough, Vietnam annexed the territory. Over the following decades Prey Nokor developed into the Saigon the French found when they conquered the region in the mid 19th century.

Within a very short time the French began to leave their mark on the city and still today some of the best hotels in Saigon are within grandiose colonials overlooking gorgeous ... Read our complete Ho Chi Minh City travel guide

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