Eureka! Pedestrians on the street?!??

It is hard to imagine urban street life in Ho Chi Minh City as anything other than a chaotic, hustling and bustling motorbike mayhem. But in fact, there is a way to experience the city in a very, dare I say, peaceful atmosphere. I once got up at the break of dawn and at 5:30am went wandering towards downtown, and I was delighted to see that the city was already beaming with humble local activity. As the weather is drastically cooler in the wee hours of the morning, a lot of Vietnamese locals profit from this slim window of refreshing air to go out and do exercise. In other eye-opening words, they become pedestrians! Wow! What a rarity! I saw locals jogging everywhere in the main streets!

Food vendors and stall owners also start setting up shop as early as the rooster's first crow. They bring out the ubiquitous red and blue miniature plastic chairs, chop fresh ingredients, start brewing rich broths... Taxi vans are seen in relatively rare positions- parked, on roadsides, or conglomerated at the gas station, which serves as the parking lot de facto for taxi drivers living in the neighbourhood.

But I gotta say the best part about this peaceful morning venture was the street traffic- or lack thereof. Riding in the morning bare streets of Ho Chi Minh City was really invigorating! I sailed through to downtown in a breeze, plunging in fresh unrippled air and enjoying sidewalk sights of locals getting ready for yet another bustling day.