And The Tiny...

Houses with rooms and shops
in the tourist hub of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Architectural oddities abound in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, a term still widely used, officially as well as unofficially. The skinny building is an extreme form of what are called "tunnel" houses. They often have no windows at the sides, and can have an impressive depth. Though dark, the houses of this kind are cool, so very suitable for the region's tropical climate. However, there is one more feature of interest beyond the thick skein of phone, Internet, cable TV and electricity wires that mar the street scenery around the city, and that is that the price of the skinny house would probably exceed the cost of a reasonable apartment in most big cities in the US or Europe. Property owners can get huge prices, such is the demand - and the ability to pay big money -  given the rapid growth of the  economy at about 6 per cent a year.