[Video] Downtown Saigon Is at Its Best in This Drone Video

Sometimes, when you're trapped in a gridlock of rush hour traffic, struck by an especially foul scent or awoken by the ear-splitting noise of roosters, construction projects and chatty next-door neighbors, it's hard to appreciate Saigon.

Being caught in the thick of things makes it easy to lose sight of what's so great about the city, but sometimes all it takes to be reminded is a change of perspective.

Which is exactly what the drone camera video posted by YouTube user DJSharks71 provides. Though it's rare to find sky-high footage of downtown Saigon due to strict filming regulations, this four-minute video manages to capture much of District 1 and its landmarks during late afternoon, when the light is at its best and traffic hasn't yet reached peak levels.

Though it's a bit repetitive, the camera travels around Notre Dame Cathedral and over the Reunification Palace, depicting the landmarks from an altogether different angle. Sky-high views of Nam Ky Khoi Nghia during the late afternoon are filled with propaganda billboards and the far edge of Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, while a trip along the city's canals catalogs the old tube houses lining the waterway. The drone even makes it to the Thu Thiem Bridge, looking toward the empty land where construction projects are about to begin.

The resulting film is worth watching, if only because such vantage points of Saigon are hard to come by.