People say the best way to learn a city is to walk it, but to really experience Saigon, you need to ride on the back of a motorbike through the crazy intersections and the “optional” stoplights. You can rent a “honda om” or, if you happen to tag along on vacation with your sister and her mom on their business trip you get treated a bit like an orphan princess. So today, while my sister and her mom were off doing “business” I was zipping along the streets of Saigon behind my cheerful “tour guide” Spanky. (Who warned me that if the police stopped us I should not call him a tour guide since he wasn’t licensed – nor did he actually have a motorbike license since the police had taken that earlier this week) Of course our “zipping” which had me hanging on for dear life was actually more of a snail’s pace compared to the rest of Saigon traffic. For my sake of course, which I appreciated since I’ve never been on anything that has two wheels AND a motor.

I saw a million places I wanted to go back to stop and explore. Places I’ll have to wander back to tomorrow or the next day. This time, I was happy to whip around the city, much to amusement of the people around me. We stopped a few places; a botanical garden and zoo, a park, notre dame, and a buddhist temple. The cacophony of the Saigon streets disappeared into nothing as I walked up the steps to the temple. It was beautiful, serene, calming. I could have stayed there all day – and probably would have if there hadn’t been a motorbike sitting at the bottom waiting to whisk me away to the next place.

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I am tired. The tropical heat, the sun, the long flight over here has finally caught up to me. I’m overwhelmed by the sites and sounds, by the constant companionship of others. As much as I enjoy the company I just want to escape on my own out into the city for a few hours. Experience things for myself. I keep thinking tomorrow, but every tomorrow brings a new list of things to do. Things I want to do but things that keep me from the Saigon experience I need to have. The quiet contemplation amidst all the noise that I can only do by myself.

Tomorrow, I will get lost in the market. Marvel at all the things they sell. Lose myself in the organized chaos that seems so prevalent in this city.