Ho Chi Min City / Vietnam

 roads are overflowing with them, and it's not unusual to see three to five people riding one motorbike. When the traffic lights turn green, a wave of motorbikes flows across the intersection. In the two and a half years that we lived there, crossing roads that don't have traffic lights was difficult and dangerous; we were afraid that we might someday have an accident. The people riding motorbikes wear masks over their mouths and hats to avoid directly breathing the exhaust gas, while the women wear long gloves to avoid sunburn, which makes them look like bank robbers. But among all this, when we saw women wearing the national costume, the light pink or white "ao dai" (which is also used as a high school uniform), we experienced the relaxed feeling of traditional Vietnam.
 
Ho Chi Min city is full of Japanese women tourists as a result of the "Asian boom" of the past few years. Embroidered and beaded bags, wooden sandals, rattan goods, pottery, tropical fruits and the great variety of Vietnamese dishes that are so palatable to Japanese; there is such an abundance that those of us who love things Asian are at a loss for the words.
 
In this place, haggling when you shop is second nature, and you can sometimes bring down the price of goods to one-third their original price. Even for us, who had become used to shopping in Vietnam, there were times when we thought "Okay, they won't go any lower than this, and we've already reduced the price a lot," only to see the Vietnamese person next to us buy the same thing even cheaper, which as you can imagine made us feel very disappointed. Even though there wasn't much of a difference in price, here you feel that even 10 yen makes a big difference.
 
Japanese tourists often say "It's so cheap!" while shopping, but they are actually paying over twice the regular price, and seeing people being cheated is not unusual. Although we could only watch without speaking while this was happening, since we were not allowed to obstruct the shop owner's business, it may be because of this that prices have in fact risen sharply over the last two to three years.
 
Vietnam is now growing rapidly and the landscape is changing. We fear that the slow leisurely days of the past may be disappearing in this country. Although the new buildings rising in rows and the streets becoming rapidly cleaner make us feel lonely, it should be something to be happy about.
 
Although it's nice to see advanced countries like Europe and America, we recommend that you visit Vietnam, where the feeling of age and nostalgia still persists, and experience the attractions of traditional Asia.

People's Council Building Central Ho Chi Min City seen from Saigon River