February 11, 2006
Hello all
Anyhow, I am in Saigon, Vietnam which is now known as Ho Chi Minh city after the Vietnam war in 1975.
When I first arrived it began to pour down like crazy where all the streets were flooded and the rain was warm. As I was looking for a hotel in the pouring rain when some scooter hit me in the arm and the woman almost wiped out. Getting through Vietnam customs was a joke since people dressed as security call you over to fill out your arrival cards and then ask for $1us dollar from you. Total scam! and then some Americans who were ahead of me were talking to a woman who worked there and they basically told me it was another health check scam for $1 dollar so I bypassed it and then some other guy was calling me over to check my bags and I assumed he was another scammer so I ignored his calls until he yelled and I realized he was legitimate and wanted to scan my bags.
I asked what the normal salary was from my driver and he told me that most Vietnamese work for themselves and all have little businesses. And I also found out that it is against the law to have a motorcycle bigger than 175cc and most of the scooters on the road have no insurance and pay for insurance only if they are caught by police asking to see their insurance papers. I took a ride in a siklow which is a big chair with a bicycle on the back. I even tried it by riding my driver around Saigon and many people on the streets were laughing. I slowed down for an amber light and my driver says that no one stops for amber lights or red lights unless a traffic cop is nearby. I am also a millionaire in Vietnam since $1 us dollar = $16,000 dong. I have 1.6 million dong in my wallet!
I will probably stay here a couple more days before moving to the coast and making my way up to Hanoi. I will book an airline ticket in the next day or two from Hanoi to Bangkok for Feb 20 - 24th.
Kevin
Hello all
Anyhow, I am in Saigon, Vietnam which is now known as Ho Chi Minh city after the Vietnam war in 1975.
When I first arrived it began to pour down like crazy where all the streets were flooded and the rain was warm. As I was looking for a hotel in the pouring rain when some scooter hit me in the arm and the woman almost wiped out. Getting through Vietnam customs was a joke since people dressed as security call you over to fill out your arrival cards and then ask for $1us dollar from you. Total scam! and then some Americans who were ahead of me were talking to a woman who worked there and they basically told me it was another health check scam for $1 dollar so I bypassed it and then some other guy was calling me over to check my bags and I assumed he was another scammer so I ignored his calls until he yelled and I realized he was legitimate and wanted to scan my bags.
I asked what the normal salary was from my driver and he told me that most Vietnamese work for themselves and all have little businesses. And I also found out that it is against the law to have a motorcycle bigger than 175cc and most of the scooters on the road have no insurance and pay for insurance only if they are caught by police asking to see their insurance papers. I took a ride in a siklow which is a big chair with a bicycle on the back. I even tried it by riding my driver around Saigon and many people on the streets were laughing. I slowed down for an amber light and my driver says that no one stops for amber lights or red lights unless a traffic cop is nearby. I am also a millionaire in Vietnam since $1 us dollar = $16,000 dong. I have 1.6 million dong in my wallet!
I will probably stay here a couple more days before moving to the coast and making my way up to Hanoi. I will book an airline ticket in the next day or two from Hanoi to Bangkok for Feb 20 - 24th.
Kevin
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