How I've missed Saigon

American dollars, once shunned, are now common currency in Binh Tay Market. 

You have to learn to walk like a local in Saigon or you'll be in serious threat of injury. Stride confidently into the sea of motorbikes that are racing down the avenues: It's gut-wrenchingly scary at first. But like a scene from The Matrix, everything seems to move around you as long as they can trust you to keep moving in the same direction. Lose your nerve and stop or try to backtrack and disaster may ensue. 

Then: Proper ladies rode bicycles and their long gowns fluttered alluringly as they pedalled. Pedicabs were more common than cars as taxis. 

Now: Ladies ride motor scooters and most often wear jeans rather than dresses and don face masks to protect themselves from road dust and fumes. Motorcycles outnumber cars four to one, and the pedicabs have been replaced by Toyota SUVs. more>>