Cholon: Saigon's Chinatown

Two days ago, I hopped on the back of a motorbike and cruised 4 miles through Saigon's busy streets to Cholon, Saigon's China Town. It's a rather large, and as you'd expect, bustling area, full of markets and people and small shops peddling everything from lanterns and woks to locs, copper tubing, paint, fabric - you name it and you can find it there. I loved wandering the streets and alleys and not seeing any white people for long stretches of time. Just getting absorbed into the place, and yet somehow being totally anonymous. I enjoyed some great local food, as well as a milk tea and tapioca ball drink, which I was introduced to back in Berkeley maybe five years ago. Yum! And what I found amazing about Cholon is that amidst the bustle live beautiful old Pagodas. You walk in and suddenly find yourself in a different world, of stillness, beauty, shrines, prayer, incense and chirping birds. What a wonderful adventure!