Ambient Aesthetics

The more I walk around the main street Le Van Sy and through the meandering back alleys, the more I notice the unusual attractiveness of the area.  There is a rugged charm about the way this area of Saigon looks; there is texture and colour, a myriad of sounds and smells everywhere, a sensory bombardment to an extent.
The walls of the alley ways alone are interesting enough with their aged paint, sprayed stencils, doorways, gates and other alley ways branching off.

I stepped onto the busy road, in amongst the swarming scooters.  It is the only way to cross a road in Saigon; you simply have to step into the traffic while watching the oncoming lane and let the scooter riders adapt and ride around you.
Once on the other side I spotted a large com binh dan eatery in a wide alley.  These are very cheap and delicious places that mainly the locals eat at.  There is a buffet in a cart at the front where you choose one or two things that you want from an assortment of strange and sometimes unidentifiable dishes.
The place was packed, so one of the owners directed me to a spare seat at a table with two Vietnamese women and a child.  It was like an space alien sat down beside them. They looked at each other wide eyed and then at me, fleetingly, out the corner of their eyes while grinning.  The little girl was a different story.  She stared at me the whole time with a confused and what appeared to be a slightly scared look on her face.  She stared at me the whole time I ate; Even when he mother was spoon feeding her rice and fish, she kept her eyes on me.  It was actually pretty funny.

Com Binh Dan food.  Pork chop, chicken leg, rice, vegetables and soup. $1.75

While walking back from lunch, I noticed an electrician on a ladder working on some wiring.  How this man knew what he was doing is beyond me considering the absolute jumbled mess of cables going everywhere.

Spaghetti wires

I am back now, as we have just had power restored from a two hour blackout.  It was pretty hot so I went out walking around to cool off as it seemed to be cooler outside.  While out on my little jaunt, I received a wide range of strange looks from many people; I also took some photos :

After all that walking and heat, I think it calls for some more Bia Hoi tonight with the friendly drunken locals who seem to always be there.  I hope Mr.Miyagi is there again.  There is one man in particular who always seems to be quite hammered and all he can say in English is "Where are you from?!".  It is great, they're such characters.

Bia Hoi in the alley

I have to say, I really quite like Saigon and all its little nuances.  Everywhere you go there seems to be something new to discover.  Be it little food carts, tiny shops, curious friendly locals, restaurants, cafes etc.  Getting about on foot is something that I have grown to enjoy here, as it gives you a much more personal experience with everything, as opposed to whizzing by on a scooter and focusing on not colliding with everyone else.