Asia Photo Trek

So I have been in Saigon for 3 days now and starting to get pretty comfortable moving around the city.  It has also taken me a little bit of time to get over the "jet lag".

Perhaps the most challenging part of getting around the city is crossing the streets, which I am sure others who have visited other Asian cities will be able to relate to.

From what I can tell the city absolutely loves mopeds, as they are everywhere and used for pretty much everything.  Unlike North America, or many other countries, the traffic does stop long enough to really allow people on foot to cross the street.

So, you have to do like the locals and simply start crossing the street....mopeds and bicycles will just naturally flow around you as long as you do not make any sudden stops or move too quickly.

Cars on the other hand need to be given a little (lot) more respect, as they can hurt when they hit you :-) .

When it comes to transporting goods the mopeds in Saigon are king, closely followed by bicycles.  I have seen mopeds with entire families (5 people) riding on them, mopeds hauling cases of beer, livestock, building materials and way too much weight.  The same thing goes for bicycles...I have seen them hauling some interesting stuff.

For instance in the photo on the left, can you spot the person that is actually riding the bike?  No?  I am not surprised, as all I saw were the balloons.


The many images of mopeds I seen so far have inspired me to create/dedicate photo gallery to the power of modern moped transportation....it should be interesting and available shortly after I return from my trip.

The city of Saigon is a buzz of activity right now, as everybody prepares of the upcoming New Year celebrations.  Everywhere you look there are people putting up decorations, setting up lots of lights and preparing the streets for a very big party.  As each day passes, and 14 Feb (New Years day) draws near, the city gets a little busier.  I cannot imagine what it will be like on the actual New Years day.  I guess I will get a taste of the excitement during my visit to Phuket (13-19 Feb).

As expected, I am plan to get as many photos of the decorations in this city, as well as the other cities I visit in this trip, and include a special subset in a gallery for all to view at the conclusion of my journey.  Hopefully you will return to read this blog and check out the photo galleries that get created.

Day 3 in Saigon and I decided to go on a road trip to Cu Chi, which is basically park/site dedicated to the Vietnamese freedom fighters and their heroes from the Vietnam war.  The historical significance of the site and the amazing story behind the tunnels built/maintained by the freedom fighters was very impressive.  However,
the 90 minute drive from Saigon, and back again, were not so impressive.  Regardless, I believe the experience was worth the trip and something that others should add to the itinerary when visiting Vietnam.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment for me was that Cu Chi did not afford me much opportunity to get a lot of photos that I can include in my gallery of images from the trip.

I am going to wrap up this blog with a few details on the food.  I can say without a doubt the food is some of the best that I have experienced in my many travels.  There are way too many places to eat and, I am guessing that the odds of picking a bad place to eat is pretty low.  To date I have been batting 100% and have enjoyed all the small restaurants that I have walked into.  However, the restaurants that I have come to prefer are all Vietnamese (no surprise).  Halal@saigon for example serves incredible dishes at amazing prices.  The total cost of my meal being under $5.00 Canadian.

I have a few more days in Saigon, and hopefully a few more great restaurant names to share with the readers.