Saigon is a bustling place as usual. Crossing all the traffic clogged streets seems like ordinary stuff, now that I've had several months practice with this skill.
Everyone is getting ready for Tet and most businesses will close all this week. Many businesses have already closed for the holiday. There is no train service and other services are severely curtailed.
Red, yellow and gold Tet decorations are everywhere. Each shop has them on the street-side windows along with signs that show which dates they will be closed.
Ham Ngi St. has an annual Tet floral display. It reminded me of the Rose Parade floats, only there are no floats and the flowers are in one gallon containers.
I took a taxi on a long ride ($2.00 USD, 40,000 VND) to the biggest bookstore in Saigon, It is one of the Fahasa stores, run by the government and is new and four stories high. I was looking for some small format cookbooks which had been recommended. When I got there, the guard said that the store was closed, as it was a holiday. On Saturday, when everything else was open! I wasn't the only surprised person as there were about ten other people who pulled up on their motorbikes and wanted to go in.
All turned out fine as I found another smaller, independent bookstore with the cookbooks. And there was a nearby marketplace where Westerners are not a presence and I was pretty much ignored. It was nice to be able to look and shop without the continual, "madame, madame," and the tugging on the arm. I had written the word "pepper" in Vietnamese on a piece of paper and that was helpful, as people directed me to the stall that sold it. I doubt I would have found it on my own, as it was in the bulk candy section. Also nearby the closed bookstore was this very pink cathedral.
About halfway through my trip I got tired of wearing t-shirts and bought a bunch of made in Vietnam blouses to wear instead. These worked out great, and every clothing vendor in the marketplaces I went after that made sure that I knew they had more of the same in different colors to buy.
In Vietnam, 2011 is the Year of the Cat. In Japan and China it is the Year of the Rabbit. I'm not sure how that all works.
Many people are buying a lucky tree. They are transported everywhere on the back of motorbikes.
It's polite to give special gifts to family members. It might be floral, it might be special food, but it's for sale all over the city.
The car culture is happening here. This car was an item of interest in front of the huge Sunwah Business Center. People were sitting at the outdoor tables having coffee and taking photos of this unusual car.
The colorful flowering trees might have plastic flowers on them, but they look great until you get really close up.
One evening, as I was walking back to my hotel after dinner and seeing the sights, I saw the rickshaw drivers pedaling like crazy and lining up their rickshaws. I wondered what was happening, as there were so many of them. Turns out, a fairly large tour group was going to be pedaled around Saigon to see the Tet lights and decorations. The drivers were pretty excited about having all these paying customers.
Around the corner from my hotel was a five star hotel with taxi's lined up ready to go. There is a taxi captain there, who coordinates the drivers and passengers. I was waiting for a taxi there and saw a few MaiLinh logo caps in a bicycle basket. Since I've almost exclusively used this brand name of taxi in each city I visited, because they always use the meter, I asked the captain if I could buy a hat. He said they are only for his committee. But then he changed his mind and gave me a hat. We all had a good laugh about it. I think because he'd seen me several times in front of his hotel getting a taxi, and I am always wearing a hat, it gave me the edge in this situation.
I wanted to go to dinner at a little French place on my last night there, but they didn't begin serving until later than I wanted to eat, since early to bed is a good idea if you have to get up at 2:30 a.m. I usually have three restaurants written down, so if plan A doesn't work, move on to plan B or C. So instead of French, I went by taxi to a place away from the downtown area that serves local beef, Canadian beef and ostrich. I had the local beef with fried egg, the house speciality. Pretty good for $4 USD, 80,000 VND. I seem to somehow end up in places where I am the only Caucasian. Once the locals give me the once over, I'm accepted as a regular diner who might need help with the menu or how to eat what I order. It's very fun.
The trip home takes about 24 hours with flight time and layovers. The airport in Ho Chi Minh City is well organized with good signage. If you need to wish somebody well, this is the place to go.
Hong Kong airport is fabulous, since ten years ago it was a watery part of the bay. Perhaps you've read about or seen a program showing how they filled in the water with land, between two small islands. The architecture of the terminal is state of the art and everything is very well signed. USD are accepted, although change given is in Hong Kong dollars. A guard just walked by in full military uniform carrying an automatic military-type weapon slung over his shoulder at ready. Hmmm. Everything's cool here, just a few ordinary citizens working on their laptops sir. I didn't get a photo, I was so surprised to see him.
This has been a very wonderful way to spend two and a half months. It's certainly opened my eyes to the beauty of Vietnam, both in it's geography and it's people. I have many great experiences that I'll always remember!
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