Remembering How to Cross the Street

After a reasonably uneventful 24+ hours of flying, waiting for flights, and trying to sleep, we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Sai Gon). After getting to and settling in to our hotel, and meeting some of the other people on the tour, we walked around the city, found a bank machine, and a source of inexpensive bottled water. It's not recommended to consume the water (nothing really wrong with it, just different microbes than we're used to).

On our last trip we spent very little time actually in HCMC, so saw very little of the sights there. This time, we visited the War Remnants Museum, as well as the Reunification Palace. The museum details some of Viet Nam's history of war with the French and Americans in the past hundred years. Viet Nam was a French colony, and after the defeat of the French by Vietnamese forces, the US immediately moved into south Viet Nam. One exhibit, "Requiem", displayed photos, mainly from the American War, taken by photojournalists who followed both American and Vietnamese troops into action. Many of the photographers whose work was featured were themselves killed during the fighting.

In the west, our image of the Reunification Palace tends to be that of South Vietnamese Liberation Army tanks crashing through the front gates, or American officials escaping from the roof via helicopter. The interior of the palace has been restored to what it would have been before these events, so during the war itself.

Returning to a place tends to bring up all sorts of "oh, right - I'd forgotten about that" moments. So, yes, it is really that hot and sticky; yes, you can fit that many people, or a plant, or your new desk, on your scooter; and you have to relearn how to cross the street. Crossing the street here the way we do in Canada will result in either injury, or standing on the same corner for 3 weeks. For a city as large as HCMC, there are very few traffic lights and cross walks; people mainly cross wherever it's most convenient. So, to cross, you first make sure that no one is right where you plan to step, and then, just. walk. Slowly. Do not stop, run, dodge, or make sudden movements. The traffic (mostly scooters and motorbikes) will go around you. It's a very Zen-like experience, once you get used to it. Of course, it's nerve-wracking until then.

Since Ken (Mr. Avenue) and I have been here before, we've been designated as street-crossing experts. Right. And really, the best way to learn to cross is to do it with someone else until you feel comfortable on your own. So, yesterday, a group of us were out and needed to cross the street  - Ken went first, then I waited, looked, and started out by myself, so I thought. About halfway across the street, I felt an umbrella being placed over my head as one person came up beside me. When I reached the other side, I realised that there was a small clump of people attached to my back. The local people are really helpful to "newbies" - in some areas, there are people actually employed (no, not boy scouts) to help people across the street!