What we didn’t see much of, if at all, in Vietnam
In our blog, we have been describing a lot of what we have seen and observed. We thought it would be fun to reflect on what we haven’t seen during our stays in Vietnam, or what we haven’t seen very much of. So, here is a tentative and I am sure quite partial list, to which we will add as time goes on.
• Cars, pickup trucks and SUVs
• Car washes (There are actually motorbike washes, however!)
• Automobile repair shops
• Body repair shops
• Houses with three car garages – come to think of it, we didn’t see any with a one car garage!
• Lawnmowers or people mowing lawns - again, come to think of it, I don't remember seeing any lawns.
• Cinemas
• Police with guns (hard to tell the police from the army but then neither of them seem to carry guns, at least around town)
• People wearing sunglasses or eyeglasses (a few more of the former than the latter)
• People wearing headphones, listening to their walkman or IPOD (Nada, so I didn’t listen to my book on tape while walking)
• Running shoes (made me quite conspicuous walking, as if I needed anything to stand out!)
• People petting pets (lots and lots of dogs running around and some cats but the petting process seems private, if it is occurring at all)
• People arguing or fighting (Well, one of our taxi drivers had what seemed like some unkind words for a motorbike operator who wouldn’t get out of his way, but that was very unusual).
• Bicycles with multiple speeds (at least as we know them) or downturned handlebars (lots and lots of bicycles but looking a lot like the Hercules three-speed I used to ride when I was a kid).
• Motorbikes larger than 150cc (for those of you not attuned to engine sizes, a Toyota Corolla has a 1.8 L or 1800 cc engine, my RAV4 a 2.0 L engine (2000 cc), and my Goldwing motorcycle 1500 cc. The Honda Spree that was so popular on college campuses a few years ago had a 50 cc engine).
• Vending machines that dispense soda (alas, much to Kris' s dismay, but luckily for MaxiMark she found her caffeine fix)
• Chain coffee shops, like Starbucks (there are numerous, small, family-style cafes that advertise coffee but this is not the American-style coffee we from the Midwest are used to. I am not sure one is able to get that sort of coffee anywhere here. My guess is, as Tourist Town expands, it won’t be long before it sees its first Starbucks).
Well, that's all for now.
• Cars, pickup trucks and SUVs
• Car washes (There are actually motorbike washes, however!)
• Automobile repair shops
• Body repair shops
• Houses with three car garages – come to think of it, we didn’t see any with a one car garage!
• Lawnmowers or people mowing lawns - again, come to think of it, I don't remember seeing any lawns.
• Cinemas
• Police with guns (hard to tell the police from the army but then neither of them seem to carry guns, at least around town)
• People wearing sunglasses or eyeglasses (a few more of the former than the latter)
• People wearing headphones, listening to their walkman or IPOD (Nada, so I didn’t listen to my book on tape while walking)
• Running shoes (made me quite conspicuous walking, as if I needed anything to stand out!)
• People petting pets (lots and lots of dogs running around and some cats but the petting process seems private, if it is occurring at all)
• People arguing or fighting (Well, one of our taxi drivers had what seemed like some unkind words for a motorbike operator who wouldn’t get out of his way, but that was very unusual).
• Bicycles with multiple speeds (at least as we know them) or downturned handlebars (lots and lots of bicycles but looking a lot like the Hercules three-speed I used to ride when I was a kid).
• Motorbikes larger than 150cc (for those of you not attuned to engine sizes, a Toyota Corolla has a 1.8 L or 1800 cc engine, my RAV4 a 2.0 L engine (2000 cc), and my Goldwing motorcycle 1500 cc. The Honda Spree that was so popular on college campuses a few years ago had a 50 cc engine).
• Vending machines that dispense soda (alas, much to Kris' s dismay, but luckily for MaxiMark she found her caffeine fix)
• Chain coffee shops, like Starbucks (there are numerous, small, family-style cafes that advertise coffee but this is not the American-style coffee we from the Midwest are used to. I am not sure one is able to get that sort of coffee anywhere here. My guess is, as Tourist Town expands, it won’t be long before it sees its first Starbucks).
Well, that's all for now.
posted by John at 2:55 AM
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