Covenant of the Serpentine Dragon

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Abstract

se death contraptions). The scooters did not appear to follow any rules as they weaved around cars and pedestrians in seemingly random patterns. I never did see an accident though I noted a few close calls.After some time observing, I realized that the movement is less chaotic and more organic. The scooters often slowed down and rarely moved very fast. Eye contact was ever-present as the riders were looking to see what the pedestrians and other drivers/riders would do. Pedestrians too were always looking and or otherwise nonverbally signaling their intentions. There was an ongoing mindfulness coupled with a covenant of communion that allowed the chaos to become an organic moving dragon twisting through the streets of Saigon.As I walked through the city letting it and the people wash over me, I found the rhythm and joined the dragon. Movement was no longer filled with fear instead each street crossing was filled with connection. When I lost my mindful awareness however the drivers would let me know their displeasure in having broken the covenant of the serpentine dragon. A near-death experience also has a way of snapping you back from reverie and distraction.<figure id="45b5"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*prvV0joe2F1zCBsTs1vZdg.jpeg"><figcaption>Fully Loaded — Photo credit — The Author</figcaption></figure>*This story reflects my first-day experience walking in Saigon. My trip there was part of a quest that is articulated in my forthcoming novel The Promise of Feral Seeds. The quest was real and crossed borders of time, geography, and expectation. In the book, it is transmuted metaphorically so that it has universal appeal and relevance. The book, then, is a form of autobiographical allegorical fiction that also dips a toe or two into urban fantasy and cross-cultural mythology. As noted in previous stories it also weaves through standard and nonstandard states of consciousness and includes a fair bit of poetry.Some of my earlier stories can be found below. They are not in chronological order with respect to the book and I have not yet introduced the characters that play prominent roles in the novel.<div id="87cd" class="link-block">

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Travelogue 4: Saigon and the Madness of Scooters

The Madness of Scooters — Photo credit — The Author

Saigon, officially renamed as Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) after their spiritual communist leader, is a bustling metropolis of about nine million inhabitants. It is the largest city in Vietnam, situated in the south, and it surrounds the Saigon River. Locals still refer to the center of HCMC as Saigon.

The streets and buildings of Saigon incorporate modern skyscrapers with older French colonial buildings created during the 19th and early 20th century of colonization by the French (who also introduced coffee to the Vietnamese).

Although poverty was evident, Saigon had the feel of a rising economy and burgeoning middle class. There was also a strong entrepreneurial inclination amongst the people with many small vendors and street hustlers. The people were friendly and they smiled a lot. I will admit I remember little else of the city on that first day, immersed as my mind was on completing the quest.*

The madness of scooters however does stand out. Two-wheeled vehicles make 90% of the motorized transportation in Vietnam. In Saigon, there are about 2 million scooters and motorcycles weaving through the congested streets with very few of the standard indicators directing traffic. On the scooters, you see people in business attire, families of three or four, and even sleeping children held by parents or older siblings. Perhaps most outlandishly, for an outsider anyways, you will see scooters loaded with so many supplies and even livestock, you wonder at the magic keeping them and their driver from tipping over.

At first, crossing a Saigon street seems like another dance with chaos as the scooters swarm and move like colonies of killer bees through the crowded streets. On my first crossing of a major intersection, I was standing paralyzed uncertain of when and how to move lest I be stung (and if I have been too subtle, by stung I mean run over by a dozen of these death contraptions). The scooters did not appear to follow any rules as they weaved around cars and pedestrians in seemingly random patterns. I never did see an accident though I noted a few close calls.

After some time observing, I realized that the movement is less chaotic and more organic. The scooters often slowed down and rarely moved very fast. Eye contact was ever-present as the riders were looking to see what the pedestrians and other drivers/riders would do. Pedestrians too were always looking and or otherwise nonverbally signaling their intentions. There was an ongoing mindfulness coupled with a covenant of communion that allowed the chaos to become an organic moving dragon twisting through the streets of Saigon.

As I walked through the city letting it and the people wash over me, I found the rhythm and joined the dragon. Movement was no longer filled with fear instead each street crossing was filled with connection. When I lost my mindful awareness however the drivers would let me know their displeasure in having broken the covenant of the serpentine dragon. A near-death experience also has a way of snapping you back from reverie and distraction.

Fully Loaded — Photo credit — The Author

*This story reflects my first-day experience walking in Saigon. My trip there was part of a quest that is articulated in my forthcoming novel The Promise of Feral Seeds. The quest was real and crossed borders of time, geography, and expectation. In the book, it is transmuted metaphorically so that it has universal appeal and relevance. The book, then, is a form of autobiographical allegorical fiction that also dips a toe or two into urban fantasy and cross-cultural mythology. As noted in previous stories it also weaves through standard and nonstandard states of consciousness and includes a fair bit of poetry.

Some of my earlier stories can be found below. They are not in chronological order with respect to the book and I have not yet introduced the characters that play prominent roles in the novel.

Here is an earlier Saigon story focusing on Vietnamese coffee.