I don't know what compelled me to go down the alley, but I did.
About a half hour before, I had been dropped off in the midday heat of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) by a cab driver who assured me the hostel I had booked was around here somewhere. And sure enough my phone map was saying I was standing right outside, but I could not find it. I was walking up and down the city block of De Tham, but there was no number 199. Everyone I asked could only point in one direction or the other, but none pointed in the right direction. Finally, there seemed no other logical choice. It must be through this passage way that looks as if it leads nowhere.
I entered the maze.
I began following the numbers inside the alley until finally I came upon my stay. It was not what I expected, but I soon decided that as long as it was clean, I could live the experience and I am glad I did.
I've been intrigued with alley dwellings ever since living in Washington, D.C. where I stumbled upon one that has been designated as a national park. But the Saigon alley communities are different because they are fully activated functioning little towns.
Here you definitely get to know your neighbor because you can usually see them cooking, hanging out, or watching television in their underwear. Doors and windows are open to keep the air circulating. It's quite normal to see someone sleeping on the floor near the door and next to a motor scooter parked inside.
You can live a full life in these places and never leave, because all the basics are right there. Laundry services, hairdressers and barber shops, small restaurants and street food vendors, nail salons, massage parlors, mechanics, hostels and small hotels.
The notion of "a dark alley" in most stories about city life conjures up danger, but I did not feel unsafe in these passage-ways. The people who live here seemed curious about me, but as soon as the shock of seeing a white guy with a camera walking through their neighborhood wore off - you could tell they categorized me as a short-timer - a tourist - and returned to their routine.
People say there is no such thing as privacy anymore. In the alleys of Saigon that has always been the case. You know what your neighbor looks like naked, you know whether their marriage is working, you know what they are having for dinner and just about everything else. I suppose there is some safety in all that transparency. Any crime would lead to an immediate short list of suspects.
I suppose it is easy to feel sorry for the people who live in these conditions when seen from an American perspective. Especially the children. What chance will they have to break out of this lifestyle?
I don't know the answer, but there is another way to look at it.
Saigon is a tough, non-stop city. The thousands of people who live behind the walls of these alleys have adapted to their environment. They have found a quiet, safe and comparatively inexpensive way to live in a city that is becoming more modern and costly.
They are smart. They are survivors. They have all they need and in some cases all they want.
Credits:
© Dean Pagani 2019