Around the World in 150 Days: Saigon 2.1

Back in Saigon. This has turned out to be one of my favorite cities. I love the vitality. In Saigon cars are extremely expensive so most people have motorcycles instead of cars. imagine hundreds, and I am not exaggerating,hundreds of scooters all converging on an intersection. Now imagine them turning while competing with buses and trucks. Now imagine the carrying anything you can think of. I've seen them carrying panes of glass, newborn babies, pigs, a woman hooked to an IV, a family of five, and aquariums of fish. It is a ballet to observe. I would never want to ride one, but I love to wAtch them.

In the 40 years since the end of the Vietnam War this country had recovered very well. When you go to the countryside you see farms growing rice, corn, bananas, and other fruits and vegetables. 40 years ago the harvested using water buffalo; today they use modern farm equipment. This not to say that they have or are even approaching a standard of living found in the west, but they live far better than they did 50 years ago.

We had a really great excursion yesterday. We went down the Mekong Delta to an island. There we saw how they live and how they make a living. On this island it was pretty much tourism.

One of our modes of transportation

Along the canal

A water coconut

Prawns we had for lunch

Spring rolls

The fish they made into more spring rolls

Some of the people of Vietnam. This man was Vietnam Cong. That was a little creepy to think about. The Vietnam Cong were fierce and scary soldiers. His home was very nice. Obviously, he was very wealthy.

Cutest kid. Greeted everyone one of us as we got off the boat. He was very somber til I took his picture and showed it to him, then the grins appeared.