saigon subtleties

a few things i've noticed here in saigon (aka ho chi minh city) that i found to be particularly interesting:

  • when some large buses back up, they play jingle bells instead of that "beep! beep! beep!" american buses play. how festive!
  • i've seen at least eight people walking along the street around midnight rolling a scale that plays music (for guess your weight bets, i guess). yet i have never seen one that was not moving at the time
  • coffeeshops are a bit different here
  • many motorbikers will blast through red lights, feeling safe by merely honking the whole time
  • somehow, of the five times i've returned from work, i've arrived in a completely different way, yet every time going there has been identical
  • i'm not as much of a freak here as in some other southeast asian countries. it's refreshing.
  • they put ice in their warm beer, and repeatedly ask for more ice in a macho fashion, apparently unaware that they're diluting the hell out of the beer
  • "thank you" sounds like "come on", so everyone says "come on" all the time
i like it here a lot

February 27, 2008 @ 8:48am . 68 views . 0 comments

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