Thoughts on saigon

Price of two round trip tickets to Saigon $2000.00

Price of one one way ticket to Seattle $ 900.00

Price of street vendor iced coffee – 35 dong (about 15 cents American)

Price of spring roll 28,000 dong (not much)

Price of medical exam for adoption – 65 dollars US

Price of being thrown up in van driving from orphanage – priceless


My stories are way behind now given the lack of Internet access and having only one computer. Oh well maybe we can catch up in Hanoi. It seems Henry has us on a crash course to get us on our way. Not sure why given the history others before us.

It was fascinating to see him in action yesterday. I felt like a rock star on a mission – whisked in and out of meetings with the officials signing our papers and on our way, while a room full of Vietnamese just watched and said or did nothing at the injustice of us not waiting our turn like they. I doubt that would fly well in the US.

Our final episode was the medical exam which I of course could have done myself – weight 15 kgs, height 98 cm, lungs and heart listened to – clear, sign more papers, shake our hands and done for the day – 3 pm started @ 8:30 with short nap break for Kino.
Steve wanted me to get an application at the hospital clinic – I declined – never have been one to wear the starched whites of the early 20th century and the hats! Oh my – yes nurse friends I have pics!

Saigon is a city that lives in its streets. And they are wild. A human beehive of frenzied activity as if the queen were about to arrive and everything is in disarray. Driving in the streets is not for the timid or even foolhardy. There are no rules except keep a steady pace, honk at everything- intersections, other scooters, vans, people, the moon or stars. Line of traffic to slow for your taste? – well cross the center line (a definition which is clearly loosely held) and drive straight into oncoming traffic. No worries they’ll move and hook cheerfully and with great zest as they weave around you.

Crossing a street is a dedication in spirit and trust. We all remember holding our parent’s hands and being told to look both ways before crossing. Abandon that rule and toss out the book. In Saigon the imperative is to just dive into traffic – don’t look at the racing scooters, trucks, vans and bikes coming at you from both directions, no just plunge in head first and walk steadily and with purpose toward your goal. DO NOT LOOK AT THE DRIVERS – it will ruin the delicate balance. The drivers are to go around you and your rule is not to deviate, trip or slow down – in which case you will die. J I think. Cannot image how a blind person gets around in this city, oh maybe that’s why I haven’t noticed any…
We keep telling Kino – “don’t remember this” as we thrust ourselves into the danger of crossing the streets.

Balance is part of the chemistry that are the streets of Saigon. Our first morning here we of course were awake by 2 am and after pretending to try to sleep went out to find a wifi café (HA) and get a coffee – lots of wandering around later and after being kicked out of a fancy hotel lobby while trying to scam their wifi – we came back to our hood found a street vendor had our first Vietnamese coffee (on ice of course) The coffee is a part of the song and fabric that is this city. It is made slowly through a small filtration system perched over a glass. The drips come through 1 or 2 every 15-30 seconds. The vendors make many and line them up along the walls as they drip ever so slowly. Sugar cane is added to each cup as it is served. The taste – sweet, cold, strong with a sense of place that I suppose comes from resting on the a stool made for a preschooler with a tiny table to match, surrounded by taxi drivers waiting for customers. The dichotomy of a slow measured dance of drips while the world roars by isn’t lost on Vietnam as people take the time to “do” coffee all day long, balancing the rigors of a life in a city this amazingly alive, overcrowded, frenetic, HOT, graceful, friendly, charming, poor beyond American capacity to fathom, dirty, struggling, striving and our son’s birth place, so therefore special in all it’s positive or negative angles.

Here it is 6 am- I’ve been sitting o the bathroom floor for the last hour waiting for the boys to awake – sitting next yet another characteristic of Vietnam making do – a pipe sticking out of the wall with a downward angle draining the shower (?) with the same slow careful drip of that is the background music and song of this city.

Weird note – Steve’s cell phone rang in the middle of the night – some guy he left a message for before we left. I didn’t think our phones worked here- but guess what they do! I mumbled to this person – “uhhh we’re in Saigon right now” – he said “Vietnam?”

Steve forgot that detail when he left his message…
Saigon 6:05 am, bathroom floor of room 401 Y Thein Hotel
Leslie