Beauty and Folly of French Colonial Legacy in the Developing World
Walking down the streets of central Saigon has a tendency to bring one to other places in the (ex-) Francophone world. At times, the shady boulevards littered with Neoclassical masterpieces, turned into museums, bars, and political institutions, reminded of the French Concession in Shanghai. Some of these buildings feel so dilapidated that their plain sight brings one back the rundown yet previously elegant main streets of Casablanca. Yet the well-manicured parks and horticultural street exhibits are just like those found in the central parts of Montpelier...