With friends and family visiting, I just realized how much of Saigon has changed. With the subway construction, more changes are about to happen.

They knocked a few buildings here and there but I am pretty sure that it was Nguyen Hue first makeover that started the domino effect.

It is such a lovely, lovely street that you can just sit on one of the benches to wile the time away — especially these days when the sun doesn’t come out as often because of the frequent rains in the afternoons. It’s almost always cloudy in Saigon.

But there are some streets that haven’t changed yet.

Nguyen Thiep is known for the Vietnamese restaurant, Lemongrass and still has that same Ciao Cafe at the corner of Nguyen Hue.

The street is also known for good souvenir finds. Sometimes a bit pricey but since most well-known hotels are just around, they do just fine.

And I guess it’s main attraction is Eximbank at the corner of Dong Khoi. One always gets a good deal on the exchange rate plus they accept a lot of currencies, including Philippine Peso.

The weather is perfect for exploring the streets of Saigon — until it rains of course! Must do more street hopping. 😉