In Saigon, there is an art to crossing the streets, of walking slowly and deliberately, and not panicking at the sight of dozens of oncoming motorbikes bearing down on you. I had to watch people before I tried it myself. The key is not to run, the bikes go around you. But yesterday, I took a break from walking and instead toured the city's museums in a cyclo, similar to the one pictured here. My driver stayed awake most of the time, unlike this guy (that is not me). My driver's name was Nam. Aside from the guy in the photo, everyone here is very busy, making, cooking, or selling something. Or driving around on their motorbikes. My Mekong River tour guide explained that without a motorbike, you don't have much of a life in Saigon. 8 million people, 4 million motorbikes. And counting.
Today I am in Hue, which is a different world from Saigon. Sitting next to me on the plane here was a Vietnamese woman, Mrs. Tran, who was going home to visit her 89 year old mother. It's a small world, as Mrs. Tran lives in Leesburg, VA and has for the past 18 years. We had a nice chat, she works as a cashier in the Giant, she was tired as had been on the phone til 3 AM talking to her husband's sister. She got kind of teary eyed as we landed in Hue. I don't think she'd been home for three years and she had lost her husband in the meantime. She explained that last time she visited, he did all the work and she just did what he said. But this time, she is having to do everything herself and she is working very hard. Nice lady, Mrs. Tran. I hope she has a good visit.
