From the S&S archives: Saigon: Sidewalk show in the sun

For in the tropics there is much "showcase" living and the visitor can see many aspects of Vietnamese life without ever leaving the sidewalks.

Merchants are busy selling their wares, a woman pauses to take her noon meal, a man holding a child stops for a few moments of peaceful relaxation while the baby dozes.

Saigon is a city that lives for the present, trying to forget the past and hoping the future will bring an end to the seemingly endless strife.



A basket of fruit and and a few feet of sidewalk make up this old woman's shop as she sells strawberries.



An old man squats in the shade as he holds a sleeping child.



Sidewalk stall keepers take time out to eat between sales.



A shopkeeper displays long loaves of French bread in front of his bakery on a downtown Saigon street.



A Vietnamese woman wearing the colorful and eye-catching Ao Dai native dress rides a motorbike.



Vietnamese women look over clothing at a sidewalk shop in busy downtown Saigon.