Tuesday, November 12 - Saigon on Two Wheels

Prior to leaving home, Tom had booked a half-day photo tour with Mark Stennett, an Australian photographer living here.  Mark, along with three motorcycles and three drivers, picked us up at 7:30, gave us a few safety and security tips along with our helmets, and we were off!  Being on the bike gave us a different perspective on the traffic mayhem than we'd had as pedestrians; now, we were on the offense!  Actually, our drivers were very skillful and we pretty quickly learned that being in an intersection full of what seemed like vehicles hurtling toward us was perfectly survivable!

Our first stop was in a cafe in a park, where Mark questioned Tom about his photography preferences and interests and offered advice about techniques and approaches that would be useful for today's street photography, using the scene around us to illustrate his points. 

And, what an interesting scene it was.  We likened it to a dog park back home, but here, men gathered around low tables and chatted over coffee and the pet birds each had brought!  They arrived, carrying lovely covered wooden cages, which they unveiled and set on their tables, on the ground, or hung from special metal racks.  It was absolutely fascinating, but also notable that no women seemed to have the time for such (in)activity!

There were other things to see and photograph in the lovely park: ponds, a temple, people exercising. 

 One beautiful young woman was practicing what I can only describe as back-kick badminton; Tom describes it as hacky sack, but she only used a back kick.  Her partner pitched a shuttlecock to her, which she returned by kicking her foot back, all the while holding her arms in a graceful circle above her head; she rarely missed sending the shuttlecock back THROUGH HER ARMS!

 

Then, it was back on the bikes, headed for District 4, across the river.  There, we rode through ever narrower streets into neighborhoods that are well off the tourist trail.  We drove for blocks through a narrower market than we could have imagined; the "lane" between facing vendors was barely wide enough for the bikes, let alone the local shoppers and young children darting back and forth.  Despite the close quarters, everything from fish, fruit, vegetables, and meat to clothes and housewares spilled out onto the street.  In District 7, we got off the bikes and walked around a market that had slightly wider aisles and a possibly even greater array of goods -- just how many varieties of rice did you think there were?!?  Following Mark's lead, Tom really got into engaging the locals.  Far from being remote, they smiled easily, laughed heartily, and willingly agreed to/begged to be photographed; the camera fostered some real, if momentary, connections.

We re-crossed the river, back to District 1, where the main tourist sights and hotels are, and returned to the Emperor Jade Pagoda, which we'd visited yesterday.  Tom was interested in some tips that Mark had had about shooting there and wanted to give it a try.  The smell of incense and the smoke in the air were so atmospheric and, again, it was so interesting to watch the worshipers light candles, pour oil into lamps, make other offerings, and perform ritualistic movements.  

We bid farewell to Mark in the courtyard of the  pagoda and our drivers returned us to the hotel.  We'd had a great morning and especially appreciated being able to visit some generally unseen areas of Saigon.  Motorbikes are the only way to go and, their natural air conditioning is terrific!

After lunch, we wandered through Saigon Square, an air conditioned market jammed with clothing and accessories of every variety and label you might find in US stores.  Most of the shoppers appeared to be locals.  After one more trip to the not air conditioned Ben Thanh Market, we walked that neighborhood a bit and headed back to cool off.

Dinner was at a restaurant that Mark recommended and walked from there to see the illuminated People’s Committee Hall, one of the French colonial gems on our way back to the hotel

 

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Seen in Saigon:

*  Traffic lights, spotted infrequently, and occasionally observed.  Where they do exist, there is either a pedestrian signal, or a vehicular one.  Neither can be viewed by the other. Many of the lights have countdown clocks so the motorbike and car drivers can get started a few seconds before or rush through a few seconds after the light changes.

*  Many curbs are slanted, not for wheelchair access, but so motorbikes can get onto the sidewalks, to park or ride!

*  Businesses, too, may have a ramp at their entry, as employees park their motorbikes INSIDE; even the bank across the street from our hotel had several bikes parked indoors.

*  It's not uncommon to see hens or roosters on the sidewalks, and not only in market  in the central city.  They may or may not be penned.

*  In this great heat and humidity, we were amazed to see people walking around in sweatshirts and hoodies!

*  We've noticed 40-something year olds whose facial features, size and dark complexions indicate that they are likely the offspring of war-era Afro-American soldiers.

*  The vestiges of French colonialism are obvious in many large and lovely parks and beautiful architecture.

*  Unlike Hanoi, several American franchise restaurants are represented here, but not in great numbers.  We saw only two Starbucks, but many Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf locations.  KFC, Burger King and Domino's are represented, but no McDonald's!

*  Despite the insane traffic both here and in Hanoi, there does not seem to be any road rage.  Horns are typically used for signaling that you are there, not to remark on the stupid move someone just made. We'd heard that the Vietnamese were a patient people; that seems to be the case.

*  Did we mention the heat and humidity?!?