So far, I have come to the conclusion that Saigon is a fucking crazy place. The first thing that you notice here is the traffic, which at initial glance looks devoid of any laws or regulations. In a city of 7ish million people and 4 million mopeds, it seems like all of them are converging at one intersection simultaneously. Somehow it works because I have not seen any accidents here yet. The madness is not just the sheer volume of mopeds and bikes, but its the noise as well. Everyone is spamming their horn like its going out of style. On the busy streets and intersections that makes sense because it looks like shit is going to hit the fan at any given moment, but the horn abuse is a little silly on the smaller one-way alleys. It could be quiet for a few seconds until someone starts honking, then everyone will join in subconsciously. For some reason it reminded me of the scene from "Finding Nemo" where one seagull sees something and starts saying "MINE MINE MINE" then all of his buddies join in.
However as Fast and Furious as the driving is, crossing the street has been even more nerve wracking. That neon green crosswalk stick figure that makes pedestrian life so easy in America is no where to be seen here. Instead, you just walk through the middle of a sea of mopeds and cars and pray you don't get hit. The trick is to walk in a steady pace and make no sudden movements. Usually I try to tag along with a much braver (and usually much younger) local Vietnamese pedestrian and shadow their footsteps. I'm getting the hang of it, but its still embarrassing when I am trying to time my crossing like Frogger and some old lady carrying 50 pounds of shit just waltzes through a busy street like she is purposely trying to punk me.
The other means of transportation I have been using here is the xe om, which is basically a moped taxi. For one or two dollars you can get around most of central Saigon on the back of some guys moped. However the main price you pay isn't in the form of US dollars of Vietnamese Dong, you pay with the feeling you get that you are hopelessly going to die a fiery death. These guys usually drive even faster and more recklessly than usual, because the cost isn't meter based but a pre-negotiated price. Even though I havnt seen the movie Knight and Day, I felt like what I imagine Cameron Diaz must have felt like during that motorcycle chase scene. Only my Tom Cruise was even crazier, if that is possible.
The other thing that you cannot escape is the heat. I often commented in Tunisia how the heat in North Africa was akin to Satan's asshole. While that may still be the case, this is like Satan's asshole if he sharted. The temperature has been hovering around 95ish F, but the humidity is what gets you. After you step out of the shower you instantly feel like you need to take another. After the shitty weather we've been getting in Oregon lately though, I cant really complain.
The place I am temporarily staying at now is a place called backpackersville, which is a neighborhood that has a shit ton of hostels and inns, and even more tank-top clad european backpackers. Likewise, the allure of acquiring some Euros or Greenbacks has drawn a lot of Vietnamese vendors, and this place is madness. I am in a sort of twilight zone here, because most of the Europeans mistake me for a Vietnamese citizen and all of the Vietnamese can instantly tell I am from the U.S. I get asked a lot of questions from tourists in restaurants and hotel lobbies in slow, exaggerated English like I am staff, but the surprise that escapes on their faces when I answer in English is enough to keep it amusing. On the contrary, about 99% of every Vietnamese person here opens the conversation with English, not taking any chances.
My more permanent housing is yet to be determined but I will move there later this week. I start what I came here to do tomorrow, and I still have no idea what in the hell I am doing but improvisation is the name of the game in this city. Took some crazy videos and pictures but I forgot to bring the cable that connects my camera to my computer, so those will have to wait. My brain is overloaded with what I am taking in right now, so I will wait for further updates to attempt to explain everything. Seriously though, this place is awesome.
However as Fast and Furious as the driving is, crossing the street has been even more nerve wracking. That neon green crosswalk stick figure that makes pedestrian life so easy in America is no where to be seen here. Instead, you just walk through the middle of a sea of mopeds and cars and pray you don't get hit. The trick is to walk in a steady pace and make no sudden movements. Usually I try to tag along with a much braver (and usually much younger) local Vietnamese pedestrian and shadow their footsteps. I'm getting the hang of it, but its still embarrassing when I am trying to time my crossing like Frogger and some old lady carrying 50 pounds of shit just waltzes through a busy street like she is purposely trying to punk me.
The other means of transportation I have been using here is the xe om, which is basically a moped taxi. For one or two dollars you can get around most of central Saigon on the back of some guys moped. However the main price you pay isn't in the form of US dollars of Vietnamese Dong, you pay with the feeling you get that you are hopelessly going to die a fiery death. These guys usually drive even faster and more recklessly than usual, because the cost isn't meter based but a pre-negotiated price. Even though I havnt seen the movie Knight and Day, I felt like what I imagine Cameron Diaz must have felt like during that motorcycle chase scene. Only my Tom Cruise was even crazier, if that is possible.
The other thing that you cannot escape is the heat. I often commented in Tunisia how the heat in North Africa was akin to Satan's asshole. While that may still be the case, this is like Satan's asshole if he sharted. The temperature has been hovering around 95ish F, but the humidity is what gets you. After you step out of the shower you instantly feel like you need to take another. After the shitty weather we've been getting in Oregon lately though, I cant really complain.
The place I am temporarily staying at now is a place called backpackersville, which is a neighborhood that has a shit ton of hostels and inns, and even more tank-top clad european backpackers. Likewise, the allure of acquiring some Euros or Greenbacks has drawn a lot of Vietnamese vendors, and this place is madness. I am in a sort of twilight zone here, because most of the Europeans mistake me for a Vietnamese citizen and all of the Vietnamese can instantly tell I am from the U.S. I get asked a lot of questions from tourists in restaurants and hotel lobbies in slow, exaggerated English like I am staff, but the surprise that escapes on their faces when I answer in English is enough to keep it amusing. On the contrary, about 99% of every Vietnamese person here opens the conversation with English, not taking any chances.
My more permanent housing is yet to be determined but I will move there later this week. I start what I came here to do tomorrow, and I still have no idea what in the hell I am doing but improvisation is the name of the game in this city. Took some crazy videos and pictures but I forgot to bring the cable that connects my camera to my computer, so those will have to wait. My brain is overloaded with what I am taking in right now, so I will wait for further updates to attempt to explain everything. Seriously though, this place is awesome.
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