First Impression
We leave Tan Son Nhat International Airport en route to our first lodging.
It's dark, but there's a lot to see. It's hot, but not intolerable. I’m hit with that same smell and inescapable feeling I was after landing in India -- of burning, of living. Streets and facades seem a mix of Delhi, Miami, Paris, and anywhere else, but the city has its own personality. Businesses compete for attention and don't waste an inch of space. Neon on advertisements and neon just for the sake of bright color pop up everywhere. Second floors designed with lights, plant fixtures, flags, and merchandise loom over streets like a diorama dedicated to the first floor's wares. And people. So many people. On motorbikes, on street corners. In taxis, on buses. It’s cliche to say so, but this city is truly alive. |