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Saigon - City of Scooters
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Ho Chi Min City, formerly known as Saigon, is insane, period. This must be what people mean when they say South East Asia traffic is crazy. At any single moment, there are at least 30 scooters hogging the entire road four lanes wide and three meters deep, darting and dashing in all directions, speeding down the wrong side of the street, cutting off buses, running red lights and honking non-stop. The bus we rode in on was repeatedly honking for a good 15 minutes while we slowly slid through traffic into the center of town. It became apparent that there were no traffic laws. It would be impossible for a fleet of even 1000 cops to regulate this traffic.
Fortunately, we were dropped off a few blocks from the guesthouse we decided to stay in and only had to 'frogger' our way across the street once. Once again the touts and beggars were out in full force, begging and pleading for our attention and money. God forbid you make eye contact or they will follow you for a good 30 meters yelling at your backside, "you buy cigarettes." At the hotel, we both let out a sigh of relief and started to settle in.
Our first night in the city was uneventful. We ate some grub, drank some beer, bought the 1st and 2nd season of Heroes and browsed the streets for potential watering holes. I was quick to spot all the tailor shops in hopes of having a party dress tailored in Vietnamese silk, but that dream soon got lost in thoughts of heavy luggage and possible shipping costs. There were art stores every five shops always with someone fake-painting one of the pictures on an easel and enough restaurants and hotels to host an army. For some reason, all the women here dress in matches tops and pants that, to me, look like kids PJs. The men all where pants or jeans regardless of the heat and the foreigners stick out like soar thumbs in shorts and tank tops. My favorite street side annoyance was the men on motor bikes asking if I wanted a ride somewhere. When I would answer No, they would ask Rory if he wanted a ride somewhere. Umm, is it not obvious that we are together? Why would one of us take a motorbike ride and not the other? There are also bicycle riders that have a one-person-chair on wheels in front of the bike asking the same questions. One, no way am I trusting my life to some bike rider on a road full of crazy scooters and furthermore, why would I sit in front of your bike flying into traffic face first? Like I said, insane.
Day two we decided to do some sightseeing and walked through the city market on our way to the War Remnants Museum. It is hard to describe what it feels like to be an American in Vietnam at a Museum dedicated to the destruction and cruelty of American soldiers during the Vietnam War. I was introduced to the horrors of Agent Orange used to clear the jungles for a better shot at your enemy. Apparently, the chemicals affected not only the victims of war, but also their future children with deformities and missing limbs. Tears were filling my eyes at the photo of American soldiers posing with two Vietcong heads looking proud and evil all at the same time. It was hard to tell whether the heads were just heads or if the bodies were completely buried under the soil as some form of torture, but either way I was disgusted. We only spent about 30 minutes total at the museum, but the images will stick with me for life.
After those emotional 30 minutes, we strolled through a park and decided to plan our next move. Nha Trang. Since Ho Chi Min City was just another big city like Phnom Penh (only greener), we wanted to get to the beaches as fast as possible. Onward - train style.
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