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The murky, polluted Saigon River weaves its way through central Ho Chi Minh City like a giant brown serpent, impossibly clogged with floating vegetation and rubbish. Passenger ferry boats jam packed with people and their bicycles and massive container ships fight for space on the crowded river with sampans and other small boats. Dockside on the Saigon River is pure chaos.
If you walk south west down Dong Khoi street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City you will reach the Saigon River, just beyond the glitter and glamour of the Majestic Hotel. The incessant electronic music reaches your ears long before the sights of the docks hits your eyes.
The racket is from the endless succession of roll on roll off ferry boats crisscrossing the river and transporting hordes of people and their bicycles, chickens, baskets of food and motorbikes. They play an irritating high pitched electronic tune which indicates when it is time to embark or disembark. As soon as one boat disgorges its crowd, it reverses away to be replaced by another.
A nice old lady near the waterfront sold us a green fruit juice concoction from a rusty cart and wandered off cackling to herself. A breathless young man in a suit rushed up to us to warn us that this area was "very dangerous" and that the waterfront area was home to local mafia. "They steal your camera and push you in the river", he reveals.
He warned us not to stay and rushed away again. However nothing untoward occurred and we continued to wander down the waterfront. Like every one else in Ho Chi Minh City the man is under the impression the streets of his home town are swarming with invisible thieves. Truth be told, Ho Chi Minh City feels a lot safer than your typical western city!
The Dong Khoi Pier is an excellent vantage point from which to watch the endless ebb and flow of commuters coming and going. On the river itself, massive container ships pass on their way to Saigon's sprawling dock area with its rows of cranes and crowds of worker bees.
Across the river the sun sets behind the huge billboards rising above the low roof line of Saigon's District Four, interspersed with tall palm trees. The billboards - so ugly it is hard to believe anyone putting them up - would be banned in virtually any city in the world with planning regulations.
Then again, this is Vietnam, although the billboards read "Mercedes Benz", "LG" and "Carlsberg". They attempt to sell dreams unobtainable to the crowds of people who are passing by and likely existing on a dollar a day or less.
Despite the dire warnings received, we spend an hour by the river without interruption and enjoy some piping hot and deathly strong filtered Vietnamese coffee, a real treat for the taste buds. There is no such thing as a bad cup of coffee in Vietnam.
Young couples use the pier to idle away time together away from the bustle of the city and children throw rocks in the water. The commuters and motorcyclists keep on swarming the whole time.
The sun sets over the busy river and the light globes begin twinkling over the foods stalls setting up around the waterfront. We wander off back across the torrential flood of motorbikes swarming over Ton Duc Thang Street towards the bright lights of Dong Khoi Street.
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