Catching Up

It's been a while since I've had the chance to sit down and write. This is why blogging is such hard work, requiring discipline.

We are in HCMC which I personally like better than Phnom Penh. It's cleaner here for one thing. It is, however, a city of 11 million people crammed with motor cycles of various sorts but not so many cards. I am told you can buy onw for about $400 USD and gas is twice as much as it was a year ago but the 125cc engines here sip rather than gulp.

You'll see entire families on them, going about their daily routine of shopping, work, and entertainment. There are parents with small children and people with older family members aboard. There is lots of horn honking and noise on the stree where so much of life is lived.

There's no room on the sidewalks because this is where people congregate, park their motorbikes, shop, eat, etc. It's a crowded, loud, vibrant mess.

I should write an entire blog on how to cross the street in Vietnam but won't . . . here goes. Approach the street and do not be intimidate by the fact that there are thousands of vehicles (motorcycles, buses, trucks, cards, bicycles, etc.) zooming in both directions and sometimes driving on both sides of the roads. Take no heed of the fact that they don't look at you or acknowledge your existence. Get over the fact that it appears they will run right over you without a thought. Take a deep breath and say a prayer. Are your earthly affairs in order? Step into traffice S-L-O-W-L-Y. Notice now that they really don't want to hit you and that they will move arround you. By moving slowly you give thim a chance to miss you, which they do. Keep moving and remain alert. Avoid buses, they don't slow down and honk a lot. Keep going and . . . you made it. This takes some practice and is not for someone who is hypertensive.