Smokey Saigon

One thing I can't stand about Ho Chi Minh so far is that people smoke everywhere. Maybe this isn't true throughout the city, but it certainly is the case in my hotel. I've basically spent the last two days in a hotel conference room, and each time I emerge into the common area, I'm overwhelmed by the stench of cigarette smoke.

People simply lounge on couches, lean against columns or ride the escalators while smoking cigarettes! I suppose it's too hot and humid to go outside to smoke, but I really cannot stand how there's stale cigarette smoke everywhere.

The strangest place to smoke, in my opinion, is the restroom, where ashtrays are built into the walls above each urinal. And some of them have cigarette butts extinguished in them.