Valentine's in Saigon

So it looks like Valentine's Day has come to Vietnam is a pretty big way. The usual pink and red hearts are everywhere, set-price dinners abound, and flocks of schoolchildren selling flowers add to the usual gum and postcard hawkers.

Of course it makes sense that it should be so: Vietnamese culture is quite sentimental and any opportunity to sing love songs and sell candy is siezed upon.

The upshot of all this, however, is that it is literally impossible to find a taxi. Usually content to simply ride their motorbikes, the Saigonese have decided to splurge on a motor vehicle with doors and four wheels.

Eventually, Oanh and I were forced to share a cab with a good-natured Japanese fellow who was on his way to the airport, but the traffic was tremendous - even more than when Vietnam won the Asia Cup.

L'Opera Du Rue Catinat

They re-opened the Opera House! And right after Tet, just like the receptionist told me.

No opera in it as yet - just some silly Vietnamese comedy involving cross-dressing. Still, this is definitely a hopeful sign. I'll drop by today to see if they have a schedule posted.

I don't expect Juan Diego Florez or Cecilia Bartoli to drop by anytime soon, but something classical would be nice...

Climbing Mt. Jesus

Since time was passing slowly at Tet i decided to take a short trip to Vung Tau, a beach resort about two hours outside HCMC.

It's a pleasant little town, with nice beaches and good seafood. For some reason Vietnamese people don't usually wear swimsuits to the beach; they show up in jeans and shirts and go into the water anyway.

For reasons no one can quite explain, VT inspired a the construction of numerous huge religious statues. Probably the most striking is Mt. Jesus, who peers down on the city like a stalker hiding in the bushes:

Once you get closer, however, old JC becomes a bit more impressive, if not any less silly:

The Tet Blues

So today is the first day of the Vietnamese New Year, or Tet. This year is the Year of the Buffalo - my year!

Alas, everybody leaves town for the holiday and most of the businesses shut down. I'll have to find a way to pass the time until things start up again.

On the plus side, the streets are relatively peaceful and there are flowers all along Nguyen Hue.

Ego, Obama...

It says 'Barack Obama will unite America just like Ho Chi Minh united Vietnam'.

As Barack Obama enters the White House, like most Americans I can't help but be reminded of the I, Claudius novels by Robert Graves. In them, Graves recounts the 'autobiography' of the Emperor Claudius, who took over the Roman Empire after cruelty of his uncle Tiberius and the more ruinously insane follies of his nephew Caligula.

Tiberius, of course, is probably Clinton. For all his bizarre (maybe 'indiscreet' is a better word) sexual habits under his watch the Empire was mostly well-managed, with the public works running and the treasury overflowing with gold. When Caligula took over from him, he was greeted with public adulation and the belief that his youth and eloquence would be the antidote for that dusty old he-goat. Unfortunately, Caligula turned out to be rather insane, committing incest with his sisters and pulling pranks like granting his favorite horse senatorial rank (at least according to Suetonius).

Eventually Caligula was assassinated and his uncle Claudius - infamous for his stuttering, his physical disabilities, and his general reputation as an idiot and an idealist - was made emperor by the Praetorian Guard, after which he surprised everyone by ruling justly and well.

So the question is: is Obama a Claudius or a Caligula? Like Claudius he has a fondness for studying history and is often underestimated by his opponents. Unlike Claudius, Obama probably won't be officially deified until he's out office. Like Caligula he has a talent for oratory and youthful vigor, though as far as I know Obama has no particular regard for horses. We will see...