Tet, Transportation, and Tic, Tic, Tic
Tet is over and Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) is back to work. Depending on the employer, you are given a week or two off for the lunar new year. It is the most sacred time of year for the Vietnamese where one spends days with generations of family and friends and great food. On a sadder note, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Tet offensive during the Vietnam war, or what they call here the American war. Quick recap; Until the Tet offensive by the North Vietnamese Regulars and the Viet Cong, Tet was usually a peaceful time, even during war. In 1968, that was not the case, as the South was hammered with 100 separate attacks by 80,000 troops which were eventually repulsed. In Hue alone, over 200 US Marines were killed. The message was sent. The North would not rest. Today, there is nothing official here to commemorate the pivotal offensive. Tuns out, many Southern Vietnamese were taken by men with “Northern accents” never to be seen again. The current government does not want to scratch that wound.
So Saigon, once the capital of the South was renamed Ho Chi Minh city after the North won the war, but is still called Saigon by many. I wish the airport kiosks understood that the airport code is still SGN, when they ask me where I am going. Answer: you have to enter Ho Chi Minh to get your boarding pass, which says SGN. Confusion before you even arrive.
Saigon is big with about 8.5 million people and a whole lot of scooters. When you cross a street, do it slowly and do not stop or make any sudden moves. The scooters will go around you like you are a river rock and are watching your pace and adjusting to it. YouTube has some great examples. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3Jkzj7WyzE
So public transportation is needed. The Japanese led metro construction is going a lot better than the Chinese led one in Hanoi. It is to be mostly above ground given Saigon’s location with the first leg coming one line this year. However, tic, tic, tic. By that I mean climate change. The city of Saigon also works with the Dutch, the leading experts in holding back water. They need their help since they are located in the Mekong Delta, and the country as a whole has 2,000 miles of coastline. It (climate change and construction) is happening now, so only a small part of the Metro is underground. Much like the cities of New York and Miami, strategies are being formed with the certainty that things will be wetter in the near future. In my six years in Vietnam, I have never met a climate change denier.