My stint in Saigon and the specialty teas

canopy of a tree in Saigon.-image released into the public domain by author Madhavi Madhurakavi.

A tall tree in Ho Chi Minh city - possibly Dipterocarpus.image released into the public domain by author madhavi Madhurakavi.

A numbered tree trunk .image released into the public domain by Madhavi Madhurakavi.

I had to been to the beautiful Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam and was greatly charmed by the preciously numbered tall trees.The effort made by the government to monitor and conserve their vegetation is commendable.
The city was formerly called Saigon and it is truly a paradise for fruit lovers.The markets are filled with the  fresh and delicious mangosteens, dragon fruits, pineapples, the juicy water apples,the very sweet jack fruits,lichis, rambutans  ,sapodillas, custard apples, mangoes, durians ,guavas, soursops, grapefruits...and the list can go on.
The most dominant flowers I saw were the plumerias and allamandas along the roads.
The country values its  herbal medicines but unfortunately I couldn't gather too much information.
Though the coffee of Vietnam is famous I found the tea section to be more interesting.

The Lotus tea promises  to detoxify and help patients suffering from hypertension and insomnia.
The Grapefruit tea supposedly works for stomach aches and indigestion.
The other teas were Soursop tea ,green teas with many flavours,Ginger tea,Chrysanthemum tea and many other special teas with directions for use for various ailments.This was similar to the kwaths or kada of India where a herb is boiled in water and drinking the decoction will have a beneficial effect.