Oh yes we are walking across THAT street!!!

Stopped to do some shopping at a Coop Mart. Needed some things like another tooth brush. Stores in Vietnam don't carry the same selections of goods that are found in US stores. So even though the Coop Mart is somewhat comparable to a Walmart there are certain things that just are not there and must be purchased elsewhere. Example goods that aren't stocked are cards, pens, stationery of any kind. I needed a card and across the street from the Coop Mart was a book and stationery store. So across the street we went.

The stationery store didn't have much of a selection. Only two subjects on the cards, "Happy New Year" (Vietnamese New Year) and "Happy Birthday".

Crossing to get to the book/stationery store was mind blowing. Standing on the curb looking at the street it's hard to imagine crossing. Crossing back to return to the motorbike I decided right away to record the trek. Watch and you'll see why.

To cross was not just embarking on some foolhardy tourist adventure. You'll see plenty of other people crossing too, when they're not obscured by traffic that is.

Listen closely at the beginning and you'll hear the nickname for buses and why they are called that.

We don't need no OSHA!!

This goes under the heading of "you're not in Kansas anymore". Being a born and breed American you get used to looking at things certain ways. And one of those ways is OSHA and another would be the Consumer Product Safety Commission. I think we're all aware of them and that awareness colors our perception of how things should be done. We may decry excesses like, "caution hot coffee can cause burns", but in general I think they've contributed to our well being and safety. And I think having that undercurrent of safety makes it even more amazing when our standard everyday cautions are thrown to the wind. How can it be done? Aren't people getting hurt? Etc.

Here's an example of getting it done in Vietnam or being suicidal in the US. Things to note: no traffic control not even warning cones or a flagger up the street, two guys and a ladder where's the cherry picker?, and best or worst of all moving to a new spot to work.

Green means go

...and red doesn't necessarily mean stop! I'll beat the traffic horse for a while. Saigon traffic still fascinates me. Below is a video taken at a red light. We're stopped. The light changes to green. We go. The intersection isn't clear, the other traffic hasn't stopped and this is how Saigon traffic is. Watch the progress through the intersection. Just amazing.

Don't miss the traffic's composition. Buses, cars, motorbikes a bicycle and 3 pedestrians!! In Hochiminh kids are taught how to play in the street, it's a life skill.

How about working in traffic?

Hochiminh is a bustling city. There's life and activity on every corner and along every block. And there's plenty of traffic to and fro to bring activity to every block. Traffic is a feature of the city. It's written about in papers and magazines. And its talked about on television. So it really wasn't a surprise to see this photo/video shoot going on down the centerline of a four lane road entering/exiting a busy traffic circle. It wasn't a surprise but it was still worthwhile to stop, watch and shoot the action, from the safety of the curb.

Getting stuff from one place to another!

One of the things you'll see in Vietnam is there aren't many large trucks. At least not in the city. So things are transported in small quantities using all manner of vehicle. There's the ubiquitous motorbike that carries everything and is loaded down like the Grinch's sleigh, there's motorized and pedal powered 3 wheeled carts, very small trucks (think smaller than a light duty pickup truck) and bicycles. And the wondrous thing is all this traffic mixes together.

Here's a short example of a guy on a bicycle delivering a load somewhere. Watch it and wonder. And watch for the loaded motorbikes going by too.

Siem Reap Angkor National Museum and Angkor

Saturday and Sunday I was in Cambodia. My plan was to see Angkor and the temples there.

By lucky coincidence my hotel was across the street from the Angkor National Museum. So I spent Saturday afternoon looking through the exhibits there. This is an excellent museum! It has a guided floor plan that introduces Buddhism and Hinduism, the "historical periods" that Angkor's temples, their architecture, statues and engravings span and the distinctive characteristics of each period. Then it leads you through exhibits illustrating each of these things.


It also has very good multimedia presentations that all worked. And all could be played in a number of languages including English, Khmer, Japanese and Chinese. I'm certain there were additional options on the language menu I just didn't recognize what languages they were.

On Sunday it was off to Angkor. Our guide made clear that Angkor Wat is a specific temple site within the city of Angkor. So... off to Angkor.

Ta Prom temple detail

One piece of trivia our guide passed on, one of the Ta Prom temples was featured when filming Raiders of the Lost Ark. I'll let the pictures do the talking from here.

You can find a map of Angkor here. Or see Google Maps satellite view here.

Leaving Cambodia

Sieam Reap is a quiet airport. For some reason there are three international flights leaving at nearly the same time. So it's gone from empty to capacity in a few minutes. Will be nice to get out of here. Boarding should be starting in a few minutes I hope.