I've already mentioned on my blog how amazing Vietnamese people are for street photography. But it doesn't mean that everyone wants to be a model for a stranger with a photo camera. For example, Vietnamese women sometimes don't want to be photographed. Let me share a good image of such a person:
"No photo!", she is saying. As soon as I heard her, I fully obeyed her order but... but it was too late - I already had a good photo of her. ๐
She soon parked by the sidewalk to have a meal. At this point, I was standing behind her in the shadows so she couldn't see what I was doing. However, she had a bad feeling about me - she knew she couldn't trust me, a dirty paparazzi. ๐ So she sometimes turned her head and threw an angry look at me. In response, I was innocently shaking my head (and giggling at the same time) saying by this: "I am really-really not going to take a single photo of you, I swear!"
So the explanation is: this lady sells fruits at the most touristy market of Saigon, a market that is fully oriented to working with foreigners; disturbing travelers and overpricing are normal there. So, believe me, this lady is not going to melt down because someone directs a photo camera at her.
I said "Vietnamese women sometimes don't want to be photographed", and I meant the accent falls on "sometimes". Because some of them don't mind or even ask you to photograph them. Just for fun is the most obvious explanation.
But I also have a theory about that: Vietnamese women like faces with stubble. Coincidentally, bristles are the most prominent feature of my face. ๐
I believe some Vietnamese women see that I have a photo camera in my hands and use this excuse to have a fun talk with a handsome bristled man. ๐ Maybe, I am wrong but that's what I sometimes feel. With the accent on "sometimes".
The story of this certain photograph is simple: the woman on the left offered to photograph her food cart and it was clear she meant I could take images of her too.
When I directed a camera at her and her friends, she started posing with v-signs, thus mocking the younger generation's trait; the woman in the center joined the comedy by playing a coquette with the hand-fan. The woman on the right didn't want to be the center of attention but showed the v-sign too not to sabotage the fun.
Two different stories about ladies of Vietnam. ๐
Keep walking!
I guess there was a moment when joining a taxi app, like Grab, was a way to raise good money. Nowadays, you can see many people in uniform, like in the image, just sleeping on their bikes in the streets, waiting for a customer for hours.
This looks like a form of unemployment. But it is worth keeping in mind that many people make their living with this craft in their free time after their main job.
Another flock of motortaxi drivers resting in the shade during a hot afternoon:
The poster in background is about opening the metro soon. There are even entrances to underground stations in District 1, waiting for the moment.
Saigon is clearly behind Bangkok from the point of development. I usually say Saigon is 25 years behind relating to this visible fact that the rail mass transit system (BTS) was opened in 1999 in Bangkok. But, imo, there is also a lag in the development of Vietnamese society, and that is more serious than 25 years.
But why always compare with Thailand?? Vietnam is a big diverse fast-growing economy, that's the main thing to keep in mind.
Keep walking!
The Vietnamese love their flag. Formally, it's another combination of symbols of Communist dictatorship. But if you look with greater attention, you'll see that the flag looks like a flower: orange core surrounded by red petals. Like a red tulip. It may be only my imagination or a coincidence... But what I mean is that the Vietnamese and flowers are inseparable.
The older generation of Vietnamese women love wearing clothes to cover themselves with flowers from the top to the tips of their toes painted red, purple, or blue, and age is not an obstacle. Sometimes, there are no flowers on the Vietnamese lady but all sorts of specks on colorful pants and blouses, and that looks like a field of flowers anyway.
Let's talk about Saigonese men of all ages. Very friendly towards foreigners! If you walk in the streets, some people sometimes would support you with a friendly "hello" or a smile or a good gesture. At the same time, they don't drain your time with long non-essential talks. You can have a short friendly conversation a couple of times per week or so but, usually, they only emotionally support you from a distance.
The only time when you can be "stolen" ๐ is weekend evenings when people sit outdoors and drink alcohol. In touristy areas - no. But the more off-the-beaten-path you walk, the more chances you'll be invited to drink beer with the locals. Refusing is alright but I personally first drink a can of beer to show my respect ๐
That's a special thing about Saigon people. You can also meet gloomy people, for example, in the Northern part of Vietnam.
Except for beers and motorbikes ๐, some Vietnamese men love playing this game:
Cแป tฦฐแปng in Vietnamese known as xiangqi in English (read it as "shyang-chee"). A Chinese game resembling chess but with cannons along with horses and elephants!
It's very easy to photograph people playing "shyang-chee" - they are so focused on the game that you can decorate them with peacock feathers and won't notice. ๐
Another quotidian thing for Vietnam in June:
Driving in colorful plastic ponchos. The rainy season!
But rain doesn't kill, unlike the road traffic.
In my opinion, Vietnamese traffic is the worst in Asia. That's an uncontrollable flow of bikes on the roadside and often sidewalks. They rush on the oncoming lane, they drive too fast in tiny alleys, and they love driving riskily. Too many drivers have no respect for others, and that's a problem when you are a pedestrian. The sidewalks are often cluttered with motorbikes, tables, and carts, with motorbikes constantly rushing onto the sidewalk to park. There is the only way to save your mind when you regularly walk in Saigon:
To cross the road, you are supposed to behave as a slowly moving obstacle, so the stream of bikes will flow around you. It sounds beautiful but trusting the tiny bones of your feet to a crowd of strangers on motorbikes who might be too tired, too old, too young, or just drunk... not comfortable at all. First two weeks, you think "oh what fun!", and then: "oh no, this shop is over the road, I can't go there".
So when I am tired of that... the best thing is to go to District 1, the city center, where you'll find wide sidewalks mostly free of parked bikes and much more structured traffic.
The good news is that these drivers aren't hostile, they are friendly and care a lot about what foreigners feel about Vietnam. The Vietnamese traffic, I believe, is just the reflection of how the Vietnamese live nowadays in the wild capitalism under the dictatorship of the Communist party - a survival race with tough competition and social support close to zero.
These were a bunch of generalizations, and generalizations is always a slippery slope. If you think that I was wrong (or right) in my conclusions, please, share your opinion in the comment section below.
I took these images with a Nikkor 50mm on a full-frame DSLR Nikon D750 in June, 2024, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
