{Saigon Snaps} Traffic chaos Vietnam-style

Over the past fortnight the traffic in Saigon, both District 1 and 2, seems to have grown significantly worse. I'm not sure whether it is the re-routing or additional police presence on the roads, but whatever it is it's creating havoc.

It used to take me 15 minutes in a taxi from the school in District 2 to the office in District 1. The trip now takes a frustrating 30 minutes.

This afternoon I left the office at 4pm to go to the bank and it took 15 minutes to travel down Hai Ba Trung Street to the branch - a trip that only a few weeks ago would have taken around 5 minutes. We were going so slowly that I had time to lean out the window and take a few snaps!

Snapped in Saigon at 4.10pm today on Hai Ba Trung Street. I was surprised to see this cable guy wearing a safety harness. Often you will see one guy at the bottom holding the ladder (resting dangerously against the cables!) while the other balances on the top to do the work!

Snapped in Saigon at 4:25pm on Ton Duc Thang Street. This photos gives a pretty clear idea of the Vietnamese psyche when it comes to driving...no matter whether it creates a virtual car park with no room to move, drive forward as far as you can into the available space and don't give way to anyone!