Page 27 - Thirst Magazine Issue No. 3 Coffee & Tea

e were
chauffeured from
the busy Tan Son
Nhat International
WAirport in a car,
and for 40 minutes to our hotel,
the city of Ho Chi Minh passed
by our windows like stereoscopic
images. Unlimited reels of hectic
new Saigon merging with the
city’s old structures. Historical
buildings torn down to give
way to monuments which
seem out of place, as if the city
wanted to replace the memory of
colonisation and the cruel wars
over the last century.
Motorbikes, the most
affordable alternative to public
transport, are numerous, adding
to the traffic chaos by zooming
amongst cars and appearing
from all directions on what
are supposedly pedestrian
walkways. With road signs that
merely seem to be suggestions
and not instructions, traffic
flows exist with an almost
telepathic understanding
amongst road users criss-
crossing each other’s path.
Story and photos by Kim Choong Image/123RF

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