Singapore - from Manhattan to Mumbai

I can't make my mind up about Singapore. Perhaps only having been there for a measly 5 days that is not really surprising. Sure, its high-tech and clean and tidy compared with some of its neighbours in SE Asia, but I could not help feeling something was missing. The business district is impressive. The skyscrapers are huge. The waterfront by night is stunning, but like many modern cities the new glitzy parts of Singapore seem somehow impersonal and soulless.

From Singapore

The roads are very good, there is a virtual absense of the motorbikes that infest the roads of Vietnam or Thailand, and the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) which covers most of the island, makes our London tube system look archaic.

War Remnants Museum - Saigon

When I was bored by the Saigon traffic (we'll you can have too much of a good thing) I took a trip to what used to be known as the War Crimes Museum but, since relations have thawed in recent years between Saigon and Washington, has now been subtly renamed.

The museum is well worth a visit. It gives a graphic and often shocking picture of life, hardship, fear and sometimes death, for ordinary people during what the Vietnamese refer to as the American war.

Rather than try to describe these powerful images I would suggest you take a look at the pictures that I took of exhibits and photographs, some taken by well-known war photographers such as Bob Ellison (who was killed in the conflict) and Robert Capa.

From Vietnam War

Saigon Traffic - yes I know I am obsessed

OK so I am a saddo, but I cant help it. The traffic - especially the motorbikes - in Vietnam, have a hypnotic effect on me. Its almost choreographed. Everyone seems to be so confident of their own movement and those around them. I stood on street corners in Saigon for ages (no not doing that) taking video and photos of the endless stream - starting and pausing, interweaving, as if controlled by some unseen director. Its so much better than TV! Alright I know I'm getting a bit carried away. Here is a clip from the centre of Saigon. See what you think.

Vietnamese Laundry

One lesson I learnt early on travelling in Southeast Asia was that it was simply not worth trying to do your washing in a hotel sink. The hotel will do it for you of course but charge you a pretty penny per item for the privilege. In most cases you can locate a small laundry just round the corner from the hotel which will do it for you fast, well and cheaply. On top of that it gives you a chance to get out and meet the locals!

In Nha Trang, Vietnam I discovered a typical laundry run by Hong from the front porch and living room of her home in an alley to the side of my hotel. I could not help but admire her enterprise and determination, typical of so many Vietnamese people ...