Vietnam Trip-Day1-Saigon Drivers

The next day found us distributing the goods that we brought with us to our friend's relatives, though we only have distance relatives left in Vietnam. They always love when we bring US products to Vietnam. This was 6am in the morning and the city is already busy and bustling. The sun comes out at about 5am and sets around 6pm. No daylight savings here.

My first experience with Saigon in daylight found it very energized with more than 1000+ mopeds, motorcycles clogging the streets. I now have come to understand why Asian drivers in the US are soooo horrible. The streets of Saigon seem to have no rules when it comes to driving. ‘cept the red and green lights, but other than that, they seem to drive however they want around here. Really crazy, I can’t even explain the chaos that goes on in the streets when it comes to driving. It takes almost a full day to adjust to the mannerism (or lack there of) that is displayed on the streets. The rules on the streets are: 1)The bigger vehicles have the right of way 2)Turn whenever you want, or you'll be waiting all day long. 3)No need to stop when you're coming out of an alley. 4)The side that has the most traffic gets most of the road. If you're in a taxi, your car is bigger than the mopeds. They will go around you since you have the right of way. In the beginning, you almost cringe and close your eyes when you see the way cars and bikes interact. Bikes (mopeds) out number cars hundreds to one. Just when you thought the moped died out. Nope, I’m sure its alive and well in many 3rd world countries. What’s even more impressive is to see ladies in heels (almost all) maneuvering their way through traffic with very skillful techniques. And through out all of that, I didn’t see a single accident all day nor did I see any road rage or aggression for that matter. Not to say that it doesn’t happen, but you have to have a really, really thick skin to drive around Vietnam. And a horn is very essential, because everyone is always blasting on that thing. I thought the morning was busy and hectic, but as the day progressed, the streets became even busier and even more chaotic.

In downtown Saigon, you see many foreign tourists from France, Australia and Japan. The goods over here are really inexpensive, having been brought in from China where most goods are made. A Northface backpack for $15 when this particular bag probably runs over $100 in the US. The 'dong' (pronounced like don't, but with a 'g') is 15,000 to one US dollar. And the knock offs are even cheaper, and there are a lot of them. Louis Vuitton travel bag is about $40, Channel purses between $5 to $30USD, the list goes on and on. The risk you take when buying knockoffs is that it can be confiscated by US Customs once you re-enter the states.

Everyone has been extremely friendly and they all want to practice their English with you. Most people were very surprised when we spoke their native language. We couldn’t even look like the locals if we wanted to.

Internet cafes and connections are all over here in Vietnam. It will cost you about 1,000 dong for 10 minutes. All the Internet cafes have headsets and videocam, so you can buy calling cards (very cheap, I can’t remember but I think it was about 5usd for 170 minutes) and call home to the US by internet. I spoke to my family. I missed them so much.

As I sat in a park in Saigon today, taking in all with out overload, I just kept thinking about who these people could become with the same opportunity that I’ve been given. I must say that I’m truly blessed. Vietnam is trying to grow and prosper.

That night, we caught a late flight to Hanoi of North Vietnam.