And the (2010) Tiger is already nipping at the Ox’s tail. Saigon is one great big party town. I have never ever experienced a city partying like this. I’ve witnessed Lunar New Year in Hong Kong in 1962.  I have not been to Rio yet at Carnival but, I want to make a bet, that there is not a place on this earth that spends this kind of energy and resources to celebrate a holiday. Keukenhof pales by the number of flowers and plants that are right now displayed in Saigon alone. The Vietnamese even know how to raise Tulips in the tropics. I got a glimpse and plan to return at the proper lighting to prove it on tomorrow’s blog. Hanoi blew my mind but Saigon took my breath away. It is impossible to do justice with a few pictures on the blog and I intend to post a slide show of just the Tet splendor. I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams what I was in for by being here in the Lunar New Years holiday. Tet 1962 was a wonderful experience but the numbers and growing techniques have come a long way since. Hanoi’s Tet colors are Red, the red Peach blossoms and Poinsettias. The south is Yellow. Yellow Apricot blossoms, yellow mums.

The below pictures were taken in the afternoon and another run on the rented bike in the evening. The “Peoples” Party has spent most of their resources on Le Loi and Nguyen Hue. The Uptown intersecting boulevards that did not have their names changed after the “reunification”. The same signs with the Hammer and Sickle and Vietnam Yellow Star wishing us a “Happy Communist  Happy Spring”  ( Mung Dang Mung Xuan) as I sho wed you in Hanoi.                   I went up to the roof top at the REX hotel to get the below pictures. For those who don’t recall or have not yet read my log of my 2006 Vietnam visit, I was among the very first customers to sleep at the REX in 1961, when it was in it’s final phase of becoming a hotel. We had our  1961 Thanksgiving dinner cooked on the same roof top with our company field kitchen… For two Heinekens at the outrageous expense of $7.50 I was entertained on the Rex rooftop by an incredible Vietnamese Flamengo band. A Greek Canadian crooned some of my favorites, “Hotel California”, “Delilah”, etc. A fabulous latino singer sang with the Flamengistos and when he saw my lips move on “Besame Mucho” he pulled me up to the microphone. So, justice came to Vietnam after all, after the 17 men crowd was rudely denied my Karaoke performance on Ha Long Bay. Am I having fun yet? You bet your sweet ass, I am!  Between the matinee and soiree I stopped to have a beer with my Vietnamese American friend Mike, who I got to know the first day I came to Saigon on this vacation. I like him very much.