Ho Chi Minh City, formally known as Saigon was renamed for the communist leader following the Vietnam war. Though the bustling business center of Vietnam is still called “Saigon” by many locals both young and old while the glowing neon signs, flashy luxury shopping and multi-story karaoke bars shout “capitalism” to the observer on the street.
We spent our three days weaving through the dense motorbike traffic to explore the city’s numerous markets and river front financial district while enjoying some of the best Vietnamese cuisine we’ve had for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Anytime we stopped for a break in one lovely parks we’d soon be approached by university students hoping to practice their English which lead to some interesting conversations.
These two videos show the regularly chaotic traffic in Saigon, neither is particularly special or amazing, but just the normal "flow" to be found around Saigon and many of the busier parts of Vietnam.
How to cross traffic. You can usually wait a few seconds for a natural break in one direction, but if you actually waited for both lanes to be clear you'd be there all day. Note this is in a crosswalk.
Some teens playing Dau Cau a popular sport played by many, it wasn’t uncommon to see middle aged men still in dress shirts and slacks playing around with university students. Something similar to hacky sack but played with something like the shuttle cock from badminton, there is also a version with a volley ball net.
The main post office built in grand French Colonial fashion
Some left overs at the War Remnants Museum dedicated to showing the impacts of the Vietnam wars (French and American) and the lasting effects of chemicals defoliants like Agent Orange which have caused a wealth of multi-generational birth defects.
A collection of propaganda posters from around the world
Many of the exhibits focused on the defeat of the USA despite the technological might of the US Army and the “war crimes” committed by the “American aggressors” despite international protest. While many of the images were quite disturbing, and the war was undoubtedly terrible, but the complete one sidedness, with the notion that the Communist north never did anything wrong or hurt anyone, undermined entire exhibit’s creditability, but I suppose that’s to be expected from a government controlled museum.
Reunification Palace where the North Vietnamese tanks famously crashed through the gate to seize power after the final days of the Vietnam War.
Along with the tangle of motorbikes came tangles of power lines.
Working in the rain
Vietnamese pancake with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts inside. Delicious
Best bowl of Pho to date.
Squid paste vendor. The dried squids hang from a stand built onto a bicycle also equipped with a car-battery powered grinder. Yum
The women of the fresh meat carts at the market.
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