Vietnam- A Giant Dollar Store?

Times Lost: Ha. Ha. Ha.
Items Lost: Well, my stack of one dollar bills is officially depleted but that’s my fault.
Near Death Moments: Every time I crossed the street.

Going to Vietnam, I didn’t know what to expect. I had a very naïve notion that it would be run down markets and small communities, with endless amounts of green landscape as a backdrop. Hardly. So what is Vietnam exactly?

Vietnam- or more accurately, Saigon/HCMC- is:
- Motorbikes. Everywhere. The main mode of transportation for 4 million people. Families of 4 are piled one after the other. Babies, new born babies, will be standing on the mom’s lap. Little kids- sans helmets- will be dangling on the back or standing precariously on the front.
- Chaotic Traffic. There is an anything goes mentality. Every now and then a motorbike or two will go right by you on the sidewalk. Hoards of people will be going two directions at once, weaving in and out of one another. See: Crossing the Street 101.
- A Dose of City. The last thing I expected was large booming buildings, 5 Star hotels, pristine shopping malls, large parks with fountains and statues, etc. Granted there are parts that are more modern than others- but it was a phenomenal city nonetheless.
- How can I not say it- Shopping! You have your choice between high end stores near the strip of hotels, handfuls of malls with upscale stores, and then endless, endless amounts of hole in the wall shops, people selling things on the streets, and markets with anything you can dream up. Purses, fleece jackets, backpacks, jewelry, tea sets, perfume, even make-up.
- Ben Thanh Market. Going along with shopping hand in hand, you can’t go to HCMC without paying the market a visit. Hundreds of stalls crammed in side by side with narrow walkways, countless tourists- with a fair share of them being rude, loud, and obnoxious, yells of “Madame! Madame, please look Madame”, smells of fruits, flowers, dried fish, and seasonings permeate the air, and anything you could possibly want.
- Inexpensive food. Near the market is a row of restaurants outside during the night market- across from Ben Thanh. Everything is outside- in the open. They clean the dishes and make the food right there. You could get a drink or two (beer, wine, or pop), noodles, and a plate with several kinds of meat for a whopping total of 3 dollars. Even in the nice restaurants towards the tourist area will only eat away at 10 dollars for 2 drinks, one appetizer, and an entrée. At one place you could get a liter of beer for 3 dollars. A liter. Ridiculous prices.
- The People. I’ll finish on that note. The children here are absolutely adorable. At the service visits they were so interested in you- your name, family, and what you wanted to be. People would come up to you and ask where you were from in stores and markets. One man thought I was from Canada, when I said no, he assumed Ireland. I know there were some instances that people were robbed or mugged- but dare I say it- I felt very safe here. I spent several hours on end walking by myself, as did others, but did not feel unsafe at any point in time. Then again, that’s subjective.