Despite being a huge sprawling city of 10m, Saigon is still very much a “low rise” city with most buildings seldom surpassing 5 stories. The current tallest building in town, Saigon Trade Centre, is only 33 stories high bearing further testament to how relatively low rise the city is. Of course given the robust development currently happing in Vietnam in general and Saigon specifically all this will soon change as many skyscrapers are being built as I type and the skyline of Saigon will eventually become like any other south east asian metropolis. However for now the lack of skyscrapers gives Saigon a unique skyline (or should I say lack of) enabling even the most modest of temple pagodas and church spires to enjoy a relatively prominence unlike in other big cities where such structures tend to be obscured.Although there are no major grand central pagodas like in Bangkok and Yangon, the sprinkling of temple pagodas all over this city are still very unique and do boast a unique character of their own. The relatively broad (as far as pagodas go that is), Vin Nghiem Pagoda in District 3 which is only 15 minutes walk from where i live has a bit of a himalayan twist to to design which is rare in this part of the world:-
This newly renovated particular pagoda in phu nuan district is right smack in the middle of one of the busiest roads in the city and sits in the middle of a scene most typical of saigon at the moment with demolition of old houses going on in the foreground, ongoing roadworks across the street and construction in full swing in the background:- 
The sprawling Chinh Nghia temple complex is not exactly a pagoda but it is high enough to be a prominent feature in the skyline of Saigon's Chinatown area:-
Right in the middle of saigon's District 10 is the simply named "Vietnam Pagoda" with its eyecatching bright orange roof tiles.
Buddhist/taoist pagoda's are not the only type you will find here in Saigon as Vietnam is home to a unique religion called Cao Dai which boasts a few million followers here. At first glance their “temple-churches” may be mistaken for just another Buddhist/Taoist temple or perhaps a church built in oriental architecture but on closer inspection these structures have their very own identity once one is able to identify the tell-tale signs of this particularly unique spiritual group:-
Not to be outdone by the pagoda's, Churches here tend to be an eclectic blend of French/European influence combined with local elements. Of course for the older churches like Saigon’s very French style Notre Dame Cathedral, the western influence tends to dominate:-
The ornate and "pretty in pink" Tan Dinh church in Distirct 3 is 10 minutes walk from my place and boasts a distinctly western style facade as well:-
Pastel pink seems to be the popular choice for church colors here as evidenced by this pink hued church in District 1 near the backpacker area of Pham Ngu Lao St:-
Many newer churches have evolved with a distinctive local flavour as evidenced by this newly built church in district 4 which minus the crosses and statues could pass for a temple:- 
Last but not least is a church with dragons on their roofs here, that would seem unimaginably horrific to some western Christian fundamentalists as the “dragon” symbolises the devil in the book the several biblical references LOL. The resplendent Ba Cuong (3 bells) Church in phu nuan district is one such church where dragon motifs adorn the curved corners of is pagoda like roof:-
