Ho Chi Minh city (also known as Saigon) - motorbikes, bicycles, cars and more motorbikes

I've been told that everyone in Vietnam tries to be industrious for the sake of the greater community. The pace of life in this country is fairly frenetic, especially in the cities. Ho Chi Minh city is an absolute blast and I would have sorely loved to have stayed here a few more days. Firstly though, let me try and describe the traffic. I have never seen so many motorbikes in one place in all my life. Vietnam has a simple traffic system played out to perfection in HMC - the bigger the vehicle, the more right of way you have. There are very little traffic lights and people tend to ignore them anyway. You can sweep across lanes, turn back on yourself and go against the flow as long as you abide to the vehicle size/give way rule. Beeping of the horn loudly is a national pastime, far more than in Thailand or Cambodia. As a pedestrian, there is no point in waiting for a gap in the traffic - there will never be one. The way to cross the road in HMC is to step off the pavement and walk at a steady pace across it. Drivers judge your speed and go around you. Once you've taken the plunge and find you've not ended up as road kill, then you get the hang of it. I used a moto and a cyclo (rickshaw) here and at times you just have to have faith that your driver knows what he's doing. Failing that, closing your eyes at times also works! HMC has a great feel to it. More busy than Bangkok and although it seems chaotic, everything seems to fit and work. Would love to come back if I can. I'm so loving Vietnam!
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/VietnamHoChiMinhCity