Scenes from around the city.

This is the view from the rooftop bar of the Rex Hotel.

The Go2 Bar

It's a landmark in the middle of Pham Ngu Lao (the backpacker district).

Go2 Bar stays open all night.  At 7AM, you can always find a few die-hard foreigners tripping the morning fantastic.

Much of Saigon is gritty and grimy.  Life happens on the street, more than indoors.

This is one of the alleys in Pham Ngu Lao that is chock-full of guest houses.  We no longer stay on this street, because prices have raised to $12 a night.

Inflation is a big, big problem in Vietnam right now.  In the first quarter of 2008, the annualized inflation rate was 18 percent.  Yikes.

Out in chinatown, where the big wholesale market goes on.

Yes, chinatowns exist in asian cities.  Anywhere Chinese merchants settle in order to trade back to The Motherland. 

Saigon's chinatown is big and thriving.

The biggest chinatown in the world is Singapore, where chinatown swallowed the entire country.

Wholesale clothing area of Binh Tay Market.

Most of these shops won't talk to you if you're interested in buying retail (less than ten).

At most of the shops in Binh Tay, Chinese is the primary language.

I spent several days in Binh Tay, checking hand bag prices.

If you want to see a bazillion pictures of hand bags, knock yourself out.

The three-wheeled carrier is basically the pickup-truck of Vietnam.

If my brother Chris lived in Vietnam, he would have at least two of these.

College Fair

Twice now Rosemary Etter (pictured on the left) has come to Southeast Asia for a college fair tour.  When she is in Saigon, I serve as her Little Helper.

Our Vietnamese translator quickly learned the answers to all the common questions.

She probably delivered more information than me and Rosemary combined.

Outside of town at the Cu Chi Tunnels.

The Cu Chi tunnels were the most extensive network dug by the Viet Cong to wage guerilla war against the Americans.

These tunnels have been widened to double size, to accommodate fat tourists.

Sarah thinks this photo is cool.

I think it makes me look creepy.

When Vietnam accidentally didn't get knocked out of the first round of the Asia Cup (regional soccer tournament) people went ape-sh*t. 

Massive traffic jams, everybody elated, hooting and hollering and honking up a storm.

The traffic-jam mobile revelry lasted for hours.

Football (soccer) is a big deal here.

In December 2007, the Vietnamese government finally passed a helmet law and made it stick.

Immediately, the customized helmet-detailing industry was born.  Oftentimes these are the same artists who paint your toes with microscopic nail polish scenery.  They also detail cellphones.

Hand-sculpted taffy candy

The hair wash.

Municipal government building.

Due to the lighting, which attracts bugs, the outside of this building is covered in hundreds of geckos at night.

In the park they had a big evening Christmas celebration.

I dunno if they did it multiple nights.  These pictures are from December 30.

Every Christmas celebration needs a massive karaoke-dance contest.

I find these street vendors really impressive.  They carry an entire kitchen on their shoulders.

Another shot from the roof of the Rex Hotel.

In the basement of the opera house is a funky bar called Q.  They have live music most nights.