Saigon, Vietnam

My parents left Vietnam in the 70s and although for many years they have told me about their homeland, this week was my first trip. Saigon is a bustling city that is filled with motorbikes speeding through the city from every angle. In a city with over 9 million people, 6 million of them have motorbikes.
The part that I had the hardest time getting use to was crossing the major streets of Saigon. There is no clear traffic rules other than the occasional green and red light, which is not always followed. If you want to get from one side of the street to the other, you are to walk into moving traffic at a slow pace and look on all four sides of you. You walk cautiously, while dodging and praying that you make it across the street in one piece. The rule here is that if you are hit by a motorbike then you are responsible and must pay for all related damage. Luckily for me, I had my sister Monica to be my body shelter as we cross the streets. Having lived here for a few months, she would shiver less then me as we cross the streets.

My sister caught this image. She was like "look, there's a baby in the basket"

Local on the Meltong Delta relaxing

Meltong Delta

Me holding a Boa
He started climbing up and wanting to kiss me. eeek.....

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

I love Vietnamese coffee. It's really strong and flavor with condensed milk. This glass was only $0.70 for the drink. Yum!

Cobra alcohol

These bottles will contain various species including scorpion, birds, various insects, and of course a whole cobra.

Bananas

Orphan
This little boy was at the Orphanage in Saigon for children with HIV. He was a sweet little boy who just wanted to be held. I play with him for a few hours and was sad to have to leave him.