It's only sunday...

Sunday afternoon. Just awake from a nap. Time passes by fast, as always... Since two weeks now I am in Saigon, and it beginns to feel a little bit like home, not as Singapore of course, but a little home anyway. In this very moment I am liying on the bed of my nice hotel room in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City's Backpacker's Quarter. A soft breeze of warm air comes from the open window, and when I turn down the volume of my "Buddha Bar" music, I can hear the unique sound of Saigon entering my small kingdom as well. Motorbikes honking. Clapping spoons of Pho (ricenoodle soup) sellers. The city's heartbeat.
Today I finnished the first article for the Saigon Times. A story about "Xe Om" (motorbike taxis), which, if translated literaly, means "hugging vehicle" (even nicer in German: "Knuddelfahrzeug"), due to the fact that you sit very close to the driver, almost hugging him. So I am a little exited, wether the paper will print it...
Friday night, after work, I was invited by some of the colleagues for "di nhau" wich means drinking a lot and eating a lot of snacks, like porks kidney, spare ribs, all kinds of beef and so on. Haven't tried the dog yet. And to be honest, I don't want to. According to our Vietnamese book, "di nhau" is for man only, but there was also girl joining, and no, it was not the San Miguel promotion lady. The remains of the food, like bones, are just to be thrown under the table... mhh, interesting after four months of singapore brainwash. "Together we keep Saigon ok!" - never heard of!
Talking about differences to good old S-pore: Jaywalking of course is a big issue here. No other way to cross the crowded streets. The best thing is to walk very slowly just straight, and never, never ever, look into a drivers face. Otherwise he might think that you have seen him and so its your turn to jump away. Just close your eyes, or look to the ground. Once you entered the road the destiny anyway is out of your hands. So probably it's even better to hear loud music on your walkman as well... and see what will happen. Some of my readers might think this is a dramatisation. Well....