I found out that part of the vehicular insanity in Cambodia is that most of their cars used to originate in Thailand, where cars have a right-hand driver side and people drive on the left side of the road. Now, most cars come from other parts of Asia and are US-style. Understandly, this has caused mass chaos, as no one is really sure on which side of the road to drive, and a good percentage of the vehicles on the road (maybe 10-20%, by my totally unscientific standards) still have a right-hand driver's side.
Also, I have learned that, in Asia, honking your horn means "I am going through this intersection, and I'll be damned if you don't stop or at least slow down to let me pass." As previously mentioned, there was a serious dearth of traffic lights in Cambodia, so I guess this is a pretty entrepreneurial way of dealing with that problem. We're taken to singing, "Moooooove bitch / Get out da way" everytime we hear a car or moped honk its horn.
Turns out that honking is common place here in HCMC as well. Except that with 3 million (yes, you read that correctly...THREE MILLION) mopeds on the streets, it's a nightmare of epic proportions. I hope to soon be able to upload a video of us attempting to cross the street here. To be fair, there are technically crosswalks. However, they prove to be of little use. If you were to wait by for a break in the traffic to cross, you might be there for hours. Instead, the preferred technique is to just go, walking with purpose at a steady pace; They will avoid you. It's kind of like a Jedi mind trick. You just have to take the situation into your own hands and will them NOT to hit you.
Other initial thoughts on HCMC: it's more impressive at night. When we first got here, we were ready to spend one night and leave as soon as possible. After a fun night out, we were more inclined to give it a chance. It definitely feels more like Bangkok that Phnom Penh, and considering it is technically a socialist country, it is astounding how much of a free market there is. It's probably more capitalistic than the US. You can buy or sell absolutely anything here, and all prices are negotiable.
Other first impressions on HCMC: for a purportedly socialist country, they are way into free markets. You can buy or sell just about anything you can imagine here, and all prices are negotiable. Also, it's a lot easier to warm up this city at night. When we first got in this afternoon, we were convinced we'd only stay until tomorrow. After a fun night out, I think we'd be inclined to give it more of a chance, but knowing that there is so much to see and do in Hanoi, we'll probably keep moving north.
We ate some great food and then went for a walking tour, ending up at a fancy riverfront hotel where we enjoyed a drink at their rooftop bar overlooking the city. They had a live band that was just starting up as we left. The band was playing American country music. No joke. They played "Johnny Come Lately." I am not even kidding.
From there, we continued on to a bar called Yoko, which was legit. They also had a live band, but they were awesome. They played mostly 1960s and 1970s classic rock; Everything from The Doors to Led Zeppelin to Eric Clapton. They sounded great and the placed was packed without being uncomfortable. It was a perfect scene.
Tomorrow we will hit up the War Remnants Museum and visit a study room dedicated in memory of a friend of mine (more on that later) then probably start heading to the beach later in the day--either Mui Ne or Nha Trang.
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