Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City

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Today we start with a pop quiz on Saigon:

1. What is a sidewalk?
a. A paved path alongside roads providing a space for pedestrians to walk safely.
b. A convenient place to park motorbikes.
c. A place to sell wares/food.
d. A workbench for that welding that needs to be taken care of.
e. The nearest bathroom.
f. A nice place to hang a hammock for a nap.
g. All of the above, except a.

2. What is the best way to cross the street in Saigon?
a. Wait patiently for the "walk" sign, then cross when it is safe.
b. Dash across as quickly as possible when a gap appears between vehicles.
c. Plunge directly into the crush of motorbikes/bicycles/cars at a very slow pace, while saying several Hail Marys.

Answers:
1. f
2. c (although a bit of trick question because I suppose a would work, but you may be stuck waiting at a corner for a couple of weeks)

According to one website the population of Saigon is just over 6 million, and I have noticed that at any one point in time, about 90% of these people are driving mopeds down the streets. The other 5% are eating food on little stools strewn across the sidewalks, with the final 5% selling the food to everybody else. Furthermore, I am thoroughly convinced that the person who discovered the Chaos Theory must have been inspired by traffic here. While no theorist myself, I have spent many a moment on a corner observing traffic and thinking, "there doesn't seem to be any discernable pattern to this, yet somehow it seems to work," (by work, I mean that I have only witnessed one accident in all my explorations of the city).

However, I am quite pleased with myself, because while I was thoroughly cowed by traffic in Kuala Lumpur, I seem to have become a Jedi level street crosser, as I was immediately able to cross streets without being fazed or killed. The above answer to number two is in fact recommended by guide books, with the theory being that by going slowly, one gives all the motorbikes ample oppurtunity to see you and make the necessary adjustments to their course so as no not to hit you. However, reading and doing are two different animals, and as one wades into a pack of mopeds all going 30 mph, it is hard to be convinced that the guy with three squirming kids on his moped, who is seems to be throughly enamored with his conversation on his cel phone, has the spare capacity to see me and then not hit me. However, fortunately for me (and all the other pedestrians out there) he seems to manage.

All of this came to a head today when I headed out for a run (read: scampering down the road avoiding obstacles, while stopping every so often to wait to cross a street). From the start it promised to be interesing, because before I had made it even a block I realized all the taxi drivers were thinking "this guy's running, he must be late for a bus, I bet he needs a lift," this resulted in me routinely having to fend off offers from prospective drivers. Concurrently, I also had to be wary of various obstacles littering the sidwalk that routinely forced me onto the edge of the street, where I was forced to enter battle with mopeds and cyclists. When making my way down the sidewalk, the parked mopeds presented no real challenge, but those driving down the sidewalk or hopping up over the curb to take a corner faster and oddly the people backing the bikes out of a parking stalls kept things interesting. I tangoed with a number of mopeds navigating the sidewalks by inattentive drivers (read: all drivers), who seemed incredulous to actually see (at the last second) a pedestrian making his way down the sidewalk. Furthermore, I found myself hurdling various chairs, tables and stoves that make up the ubiquitous restraunts that line the sidewalks through about 50% of Saigon. One other obstacle I didn't experience often, but when I did it was quite disconcerting. Store owners would be using a long stick to get an item down from a high shelf, but as they pulled the pole in, retrieving the said item, they would slide the other end of the pole across the sidewalk at ankle height, thereby creating an effective tripwire for everyone walking down the street. However, the really challenging parts were the afore mentioned street crossings. I became more and more adept at this manuever and actually got to the point that I could cross streets without breaking stride, and I can assure you it is an experience to find yourself in the flow of traffic with mopeds zooming by on either side of you.

In short, running in Saigon is . . . a hell alot of fun.

In sum, Saigon is a crazily busy city that one doesn't observe, but rushes over a person at about mach 3.

My accomadations in the city are also quite charming. To begin with the location of the guest house is fun, I cut down a tiny alley off a road then turn down an even smaller alley, which at the start is just barely wide enough to fit my shoulders. A ways up, I find my guest house which is squished in the middle of a number of houses owned by locals. The said "guest house" actually consists of the guest bedroom of a family's house, so on top of being in the midst of a local neighborhood, I found myself essentiall living with a very friendly Vietnamese family, it was great.

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