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I have spent the past three days in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) shooting an assignment for the European edition of American Express' Centurion Magazine.

I used to live in HCMC in 1998 and 1999, so it is always a pleasure to return to Vietnam's economic capital in the south to see old friends, and how much my former home is changing.  HCMC is rapidly growing and developing: luxury hotels line the streets of District 1, modern skyscrapers rise up behind them, and less-and-less ubiquitous are the bicycles and cyclos of a dozen years ago, replaced instead by seas of swarming scooters, cars and trucks.  However, HCMC remains charming, and one doesn't need to go too far off the beaten path to catch a glimpse of yesteryear.

Each night I was in HCMC, I made one panorama photograph at dusk in the city centre: the first from a coffee shop overlooking Nguyen Hue Street and Le Loi Boulevard and The Rex Hotel, the second from the rooftop terrace of Shri restaurant and lounge, and the third from Saigon Saigon, the rooftop bar at The Caravelle Hotel.

I arrived in Hanoi this afternoon, and have four more days of shooting here for this assignment.  It was sad to say good-bye to HCMC and my friends there, but I am looking forward to exploring the nation's capital city.