JoJo, our Vietnamese guide, appeared. Step right into traffic. Never step back. No one will hit you. Accidents are crimes.
Criminals never get business licenses.
Still, we were grateful to pile into his van. Jojo's English, learned since the end of the U.S. embargo in February1994, often had us guessing. But he was cheerful and very proud of his city. His route along the city's broad boulevards conjured flashbacks of war-torn Saigon. No explanations were needed for still-ravaged structures huddling precariously close to smart French colonial buildings or the former American embassy where G.I.s once caught helicopters to safety.