Just a quick recap here, as I’m still fighting off the flu and feel a bit out of it. After a brief stop in Bangkok to arrange our entry visas, we were on our merry way to Saigon (now named Ho Chi Minh City) to start our Vietnam leg of the trip. Our plan was to start in the South and head North, since Vietnam is a long and narrow country… and since Saigon lies in the far South, it seemed as good a place as any to start.
Some Quirks, Smirks (and the Works):
- This place has some crazy traffic: …especially motorbike traffic. Everyone here seems to own a scooter of some sort, and it’s amazing that more people don’t get seriously hurt. From what I can tell there are very few rules to the road, and even these aren’t really followed closely. For the most part the right of way is determined by the rule of the jungle: pedestrians yield to motorbikes, motorbikes yield to cars, cars yield to vans, vans yield to buses, and buses yield to no one. Yikes! Still, not everyone can afford their own bus to drive around, so most of the vehicles are some sort of motorized scooter type of thing. One of the most interesting things to do here is to just sit and watch traffic go by at an intersection. Everyone is going in their own direction, and amazingly no accidents occur (well, not too many). Somehow all the bikes know exactly when to stop, swerve, or speed up away from oncoming danger. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has written a doctoral thesis and come up with an algorithm on why this works. Kind of like birds flocking….
- How much can you fit on a motorbike: Turns out, it’s a LOT. We’ve seen anywhere from 2 to 5 people sitting on these scooters zipping through traffic. Sometimes with kids… sometimes with kids on a high chair… sometimes with mom on the back, sitting side-saddle while feeding the kids. Cargo can range anywhere from groceries, to livestock, to two 5-foot marble columns… made of plastic of coarse: one carried in each arm of the guy riding shotgun.
- Pho-Sure!: I was really looking forward to eating real authentic Pho (beef noodle soup) out here, and we sure got our fill of it. It’s funny though: The beef that they use here is different… More beef brisket than beef sirloin. It’s still good, I just think I prefer the Americanized version better. By the way, some of the cafe names out here are pretty priceless: Our dining choices usually looked something like this: Pho 24 Cafe or Pho 2000 Cafe or Pho 33 Cafe, etc. They couldn’t come up with better names than that?
- Mekong Delta: We booked a 2 day / 1 night tour through the Mekong Delta, and it was pretty cool for 1/2 of the trip and pretty horrid for the other 1/2. It turns out that all tour agencies in Saigon will resell you pretty much the same trip because there is only one operator that actually runs a bus or boat between Saigon and the Delta… and that company has the absolute worst reputation. Our “guide” on the 1st day kept telling sexist jokes the whole time, and took us through the most touristy areas where every kid walking down the street would ask for “tip-money”. Not surprisingly he didn’t even have a tour operator license, so a few times we would have to circle through various docks on the islands to avoid officials checking for credentials. Thank god we signed up for 2 days and got handed over to a local guide company on the 2nd day. Worlds better. For the night we stayed in the delta, we slept at a homestay, where there were only 6 of us spending time with the family. We even helped cut up the food and cook! …A great experience.
- An American, an Aussie, and a Dutchman sit at a bar: Oh my god. Never, ever, try to match drinks with an Aussie and a Dutchman. Especially if you are 15 years their senior. Your next morning will punish your exploits with a wrathful vengeance. It was fun while the night lasted though. Thanks Joel and Daam for the laughs and good times at the Bia Hoi (fresh beer) outside our hotel. Less than $1USD for a liter of beer… pretty dangerous. Joel: let me know how your 10-day group tour went… Daam: Go buy that Russian Minsk bike! I think I saw the matching yellow star cap at the night market the other day.
Click here to see a map locating Saigon in Vietnam.
And here are some pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/richmosko/Bangkok
http://picasaweb.google.com/richmosko/Saigon
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