Sailing the Karina C

This pic is hard to see, but there are 4 people on this bike.

Yesterday we were in Saigon. The tour guide was very informative. Vietnam has been overrun by so many countries. He complained bitterly about the one party government. Vietnam is a curious case of a decimated middle class. The wealthy live lives of indexed pensions, Lexus and deluxe European furnishings and styles. We saw a furniture store that had furniture you couldn't even buy in Canada. The per capita income is very low. However, they all seem to do OK. There is no welfare and little crime. At the point we were there, there were 93,000,000 people in Vietnam, 8 million of which were in Saigon. Saigon is the preferred name although Ho Chi Minh City is the official name.

KFC is huge in Vietnam as the Colonel bore a vague resemblance to Ho Chi Minh.

Feng Shui is huge down here. Most houses are 4 metres wide x 24 deep as this is thought to be lucky. Most families live in homes that would be considered small in Canada. The very poor live in houses on piling over the Saigon River as then they don't have to pay land tax. Untreated sewage just flows downstream to your neighbour. You bathe in your upstream neighbours untreated river water.

Motorcycles are the preferred way of getting around here. Most are low powered with families of up to 4 on one bike. Transport of anything happens on motorbike (including fridges). Many roads have dedicated motorcycle lanes in parts. Even with that, there are frequent accidents and the horns are well used. Brakes...not so much.

In Vietnam, the "dabigga" rule works in reverse:
If a motorcycle collides with a bicycle, the motorcycle pays.
Between a car and a motorcycle, car pays
Bus and car, bus pays
This is all regardless of who is at fault.
When the horn doesn't have any effect, and the road is too congested, sidewalks are employed as alternate lanes for motorcycles and cars. Keeps pedestrians on their toes. Traffic lights are optional for compliance.