Home | Contact | Travel Tips | Epilogue | Terms of Use
Flight | Saigon | Mekong Delta | Dalat | Nha Trang | Hoi An | Hue | Hanoi | Halong Bay
Ho Chi Minh City(Saigon)
next «1 2 3» previous
1st 2 days in Ho Chi Minh City
Jeff and I are able to navigate in Saigon and converse happily with the people here. Everyone seems to have the same accent as my family and the women in the markets remind of my aunt. We've learned to walk the streets and cross the endless streams of motorbikes, cars and bicyclists. We figured out that they drive much slower than they do in the states so it's not as dangerous as it looks. The only draw back is the agressive selling and panhandling that happens everywhere. The street vendors are drawn to Jeffrey like moths to a flame and will not go away even after 5 or 6 "no"s. The heartbreaking part of all of it is that some of the street vendors are 5- and 6- year- old children who should be in school in the middle of the day.
Vietnamese Architecture
We spent much of yesterday exploring French colonial landmarks like the Main Post Office in Saigon. The buildings-- large dilapidated 19th Century Greco Roman palace structures painted in vibrant tropical colors of azure and banana-- stand out vividly in the midst of the city. To me they seem so out of place in this bustling town, like plantation houses without a plantation.
We also visited the Reunification Palace, the former home of President Diem and Birth Place of the People's Republic. It was bombed in a coup d'etat attempt in 1962 and was rebuilt by a famous Vietnamese architect who integrated the shapes of Chinese characters and the Chinese principles of flow and peace into every facet of the palace. It's a fascinating building. I always thought that I didn't like modern sixties architecture, but I love it if it is interpreted with a sense for classical Chinese design.
Di Be
My aunt Di Be came to the hotel to visit us last night and we gave her our gifts of the commemorative plate and money. She seems to like the plate. I talked with her a while and became very sad. She says that she has sold off most of my granmother's house and is living in a very small section of it. The section is so small that she's ashamed to have us over and is going to bring food to our hotel room. She is not well and has heart problems and must be careful with her diet.
Poverty and Homelessness
After 2 days of wandering the streets my observation is that Vietnam is not a desparately poor country, and in fact it's much better here than it is in Mexico or the Caribeen. Ethel (Jeffrey's mother) had said that one of her friends had been shocked by the poverty, but the people here are much better off than the ones in Mexico City or Jamaica. Also homelessness is not so much a problem as it is in Adams Morgan, Washington DC where I used to live. There aren't that many homeless here, as everyone is busy trying to make a living for themselves by selling you some good or service. I have not seen gangs of drunken or high homeless people in the parks as I regularly saw in DC. Overall I think the city is warm, friendly and first rate.