Ho Chi Minh
Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City were all that I thought it would be...hot & sticky, markets lining the streets, beggars, chaotic streets full of motorbikes and everything else that makes up a fastly developing third world country. And while that may not sound appealing to everyone it is great to experience. Children beggars were the worst though. One little boy too young to even speak sat down on my lap holding his basket of tissues for sale with the saddest eyes. It nearly broke me but I refuse to support the use of children as beggars as it is robbing them of their childhood.
The traffic was the craziest thing though with a hundred motorbikes whizzing past and no lanes, turn signals, or traffic lights and signs whatsoever. But it is amazing how the traffic flows. This city would never function with only cars. One day I just sat in the park and watched the motorbikes go by (and took lots of pictures). It was fun to see what crazy things there were on the bikes such as babies without helmets, four to five people on one, or a bike carrying chickens or anything that it could strap down to a piece of the bike. But it works because it is actually pretty slow, there is no agressiveness and alot of trust that other people will stop for you. It actually is a little like skiing...the person in front has the right away. It was fun to watch but to cross the street is another story...like I said there is no traffic lights. So you just step off the curb and "trust"that all the motorbikes will weave around you. Someone actually told me to "just close my eyes if I am scared"!!
We took a day tour on the back of two bikes to see some of the city's prettiest buildings and best sites...the post office, notre dame cathedral, opera house, city hall, Saigon river, war museum, China town, and reunification palace. But my favorite thing was just being on the back of a bike and weaving through the jammed pack streets.
The traffic was the craziest thing though with a hundred motorbikes whizzing past and no lanes, turn signals, or traffic lights and signs whatsoever. But it is amazing how the traffic flows. This city would never function with only cars. One day I just sat in the park and watched the motorbikes go by (and took lots of pictures). It was fun to see what crazy things there were on the bikes such as babies without helmets, four to five people on one, or a bike carrying chickens or anything that it could strap down to a piece of the bike. But it works because it is actually pretty slow, there is no agressiveness and alot of trust that other people will stop for you. It actually is a little like skiing...the person in front has the right away. It was fun to watch but to cross the street is another story...like I said there is no traffic lights. So you just step off the curb and "trust"that all the motorbikes will weave around you. Someone actually told me to "just close my eyes if I am scared"!!
We took a day tour on the back of two bikes to see some of the city's prettiest buildings and best sites...the post office, notre dame cathedral, opera house, city hall, Saigon river, war museum, China town, and reunification palace. But my favorite thing was just being on the back of a bike and weaving through the jammed pack streets.
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