October 23, 2008

Ups and downs

I almost lost it today. The traffic here is terrifying. Very few streets have lights, let alone a pedestrian signal. Most people just step out into traffic and trust that the thousands of motorbikes will zoom past them safely. Between the stress of all the horns blaring at me and staring down buses I felt myself just wanting to punch everyone around me.

But then we turned a corner and came across a quieter street with an old colonial building which is now the Museum of Fine Art and everything just got much, much better. The night ended with a Vietnamese meal which could best be described as spiritual (needless to say, we were too busy eating to take photos.) I guess sometimes it just takes awhile to get used to a place…

Fine Art Museum

Walking down an alleyway next to the museum

A quaint alleyway

An alleyway

Birdies and clothes

Birdcages, clothes, and deadly power lines...

Good old Uncle Ho

Uncle Ho Chi Minh guarding the post office

Hotel Deville

Former hotel, now home of the People's Committee