Ah the sights and sounds of Saigon, and there certainly is lots of sounds.  We arrive in Ho Chi Minh City during Tet, their big New Years holiday.  Just like Chinese New Year, Tet is a lunar festival and this year it happens to run from the Jan 31st to Feb 7th, basically all of our stay here.  The mood is festive and there are displays and crowds of people everywhere.  The big downside to this is that for the first couple of days most eveything is closed, but by the 5th things started to reopen.

Saigon, the name most locals refer to HCMC, should certainly boast of being scooter capital of the world.  I have never seen so many and it seems every one is honking.  This as it turns out is probably a good things as it lets everyone know they’re coming through…through the crosswalk, through the red light, down the sidewalk and basically anywhere they can fit.

Crossing the streets is an art form and I marvel at young children dodging cars and bikes with ease as they cross 4 lanes of traffic.  We catch on fairly quickly or at least Nick does and I just stick close beside him. The trick is to move at a steady pace, watch everything around you and don’t make sudden moves.  The drivers are used to it all and everything seems to work in its own way.  Traffics circles are another matter and has to be seen to be believed.

Although there were several things we weren’t able to do because of the Tet, we did check put lots of the usual tourist sights.  At the War Museum we learned a lot about the Vietnam war from a whole different perspective. It was heartbreaking seeing pictures and reading the stories, it left us with an overwhelming sadness at the unnecessary loss of so much.

The streets are also alive with food stalls, restaurants and coffee shops everywhere.  One of the things the French left beside the Opera House and Notre Dame Cathedral is the bake shops.  Baguette and other delicious treats are everywhere!

The day before we leave Ben Thanh opens up, this is a huge market full of everything you can think of and a place I would have liked to browse much longer, oh well, my suitcase is crammed enough. By evening the night market came alive with vendors selling their wares and souvenirs.

It would have been nice to spend a few more days to do some of the things we wanted like the cooking course and the Ao show at the Opera House but it’s time to move on.  So as we sit at the airport waiting for our flight I think to myself….I’ll be back!