![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhveOZ4KNlM1RpGRtBgWPxH0V7c_Syaqlbm0tMz8HC952a48pLTS8JW6xF9Pij7bkV-7jkNsTImH9ushO9olR4JjwLGFm4Sc_xPKnA5t-G2V0T9VrZ59Ue21rFdLDAAW-X5frGauscJeRVE/s400/b_houses+of+Ho+Chi+Minh+City+3.jpg)
Ho Chi Minh City is crowded by anyone's estimation.
Officially the population of the city is 9 million, though most experts say there are a couple of million on top of that. Even a cursory glance at the city's population will reveal that almost everyone you meet, and certainly everyone that works for you or serves you, is not officially a resident, so heaven knows how many people are actually living there.
It is crowded and cramped, and real estate has become insanely expensive - buying a house in the city area is far more expensive than buying a house in Sydney, for example, but people earn only a fraction of what people in Australia earn, so in real terms the cost of housing is truly astronomical.
So people tend to build up.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptmAuvAfKE0qLgeTndh00Adl0XKVj_Rk1plz8SVp1ndcYJsuQpOY9OzcS2nddvzKGXgC1qSdwTPAW5WihcQwtEpeqnIyO87OUKstvwmNVVEyhZRJYMPFkc24QgSuDPbzFUsSMYL5n_Ubj/s400/b_houses+of+Ho+Chi+Minh+City+5.jpg)
One stumbles upon some quite extraordinary architecture, and a distinct "Saigon" look has emerged in the last few years.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3D8AXUdJoxfxI_Q6JqtiSCFQPGet_ZHAhACTbXDu7jNT_MMHY9SRUC1gj44m7tU3uRDWmCznAcXrpWfiTpTcpYvEXx26KCRDofJxIBonu0LJbS3M1MB97_b2LMmHvBzUDmeDTd95krvPE/s400/b_houses+of+Ho+Chi+Minh+City.jpg)
Getting around in Ho Chi Minh City can be quite difficult, with houses hidden down a bewildering series of alleys, leaving you looking for addresses like 1/6/31/8/ bis Pham Van Hai.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8p0hw-sFW4b8KQ_Q7565evY4Mi-eDPKJiUPsG8KQ1ZIHdJkZFe8DkytHJBNLEmf8d4gCen7RHnZhTo33-ZVVjoK_WQEyfYK79_5G78LxY9A2CUIzFc5TCS6MfoZUAiDWA3q56nA3u9zdP/s400/b_houses+of+Ho+Chi+Minh+City+4.jpg)
The residents of Saigon, too, are inveterate shopkeepers, and houses frequently feature a business of some sort in the downstairs front room.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSWkRi_c1fzImti-X58TwLYYIlkmKyBMuxTOQdxvdHLU-OqNGaPp33Ead0ZLnwPYRyQ2-0mPQhPqLoGlUHFqlNTcFWYMMxxRTnEp1EvuqzqGQOp-wWeO6F4BMQ3uD1PQ718h1I1O6EZyWm/s400/b_houses+of+Ho+Chi+Minh+City+2.jpg)
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