We are in a hotel in the Old City - about 30 minutes from our school by insane taxi. A sane taxi would never make it. Swarmed by scooters I keep humming Flight of the Bumblebee.
The Old City has streets 1/2 the size of regular ones - even for VN. And twice as many scooters. The doors of the hotel are thick glass so it is a quiet lobby but crack them a little and the blast of noise - and heat and humidity - put us right back into the subtropics. We are almost to the rainy season so there are a lots of clouds and that helps with the sun intensity but means we can almost swim through the air. Even so people purposefully walk and shop and sell and eat on The sidewalk.
In the lower level of all The buildings are shops and the families live in whatever is above - once in a while an apartment looking building but mostly a ramshackle hodgepodge of walls and windows. Sidewalks are uneven and, of course, 2/3 full of motorcycle parking. There're are a lot of Western tourists here - it is very colorful. Some talk of purse grabbing, but I have not any any fear. The vendors some times approach but take "no" as final and go on to the next person. There are plenty of us!
I scored an English paper and it looks like not much has changed. Shockingly their sports section did not have CUBS scores or a singe word about the Green Bay Packers!
The Old City has streets 1/2 the size of regular ones - even for VN. And twice as many scooters. The doors of the hotel are thick glass so it is a quiet lobby but crack them a little and the blast of noise - and heat and humidity - put us right back into the subtropics. We are almost to the rainy season so there are a lots of clouds and that helps with the sun intensity but means we can almost swim through the air. Even so people purposefully walk and shop and sell and eat on The sidewalk.In the lower level of all The buildings are shops and the families live in whatever is above - once in a while an apartment looking building but mostly a ramshackle hodgepodge of walls and windows. Sidewalks are uneven and, of course, 2/3 full of motorcycle parking. There're are a lot of Western tourists here - it is very colorful. Some talk of purse grabbing, but I have not any any fear. The vendors some times approach but take "no" as final and go on to the next person. There are plenty of us!
I scored an English paper and it looks like not much has changed. Shockingly their sports section did not have CUBS scores or a singe word about the Green Bay Packers!
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