Viet Nam

Saigon chaos

This is one of hundreds of AIDS campaign posters I have seen throughout the country

Power lines - watch your head

PE class on the street

More traffic chaos

After what was a very pleasant fligt from Darwin into Saigon you are confronted with an assault on the senses when leaving the airport! I think this is the first country that I have been to where they sell gas cooking hobs duty free. I was met at the airport by Tony a friend from NZ who has just moved here with his wife Fi and there 18 month year old Caleb. It was great to see familar faces and catch up on what had been going on since we last met. It was a great way to start of a trip and get a little bit on inside knowledge about how Saigon works.

The Vietnamese are very industious people and everyone has a job out of necessity as there is no welfare state, however I would not say they are productive. During the day you only see men and women no children and as a stark contrast to my time in China you do not see the daily living activities during the day on the street - the day is stictly work time. Work is divided into the smallest of tasks. Women carry large heavy friut baskets all day long and men drive motorbikes and will ask at every opportunity if you need a lift. The street vendors and motorbike guys will ask but they are not as invasive as in some other parts of the world. Just smile and say no and keep moving - they do not follow or grab you which is much appreciated. Crossing the road through the sea of car, bikes and motorbikes can only be described as a skill. It is like a river where each particle of water has its own unpredicatble trajectory and you must become part of that flow. As one of the people I met said - some people in this world drive on the left, some on the right but in Viet Nam we drive anywhere! how true.

I must have mastered the art by the end of my time in Saigon as a few Vietnamese elderly women took to using me as a human shield while crossing the road especially at the round about in front of Ben Thanh Market.

Everyone in Viet Nam has the amazing ability to squat on flat feet in a lotus position for hours on end - my knees hurt just looking at them. This extends to eating where the plastic stools provided by the street cafes are very low to the ground.

I have taken quite a liking to Vietnamese coffee the extra strong coffee with sweetened condensed milk is devine!

As the sun falls the city changes again and young couples park their motorbikes in the parks and canoodle as it is customary to still live at home with your parents until marriage.

There is a large public health campaign at the moment about AIDS there are posters everywhere. Sex is definetely coming out of the closet in VietNam.

The streets fill with families at night who are obsessed with xmas, and I mean obsessed! Please STOP the Christmas carols :)