HOT TIME IN SAIGON

摘要

The air is crackling with electricity this Tuesday in Saigon (officially Ho Chi Minh City, but the locals have reverted to the old name). Monsoon clouds are moving in from the west. People are hurrying along sidewalks, newspaper vendors are getting out plastic sheeting, cyclo drivers are making for shelter. On Nguyen Trai Street, Kieu Viet Lien has brought her new moped indoors. The 25-year-old designer is kneeling on the floor of her shop surrounded by paper patterns and pieces of green silk, preparing for a fashion competition. From his office in an advertising agency across town, Pham Phu Xuan, 31, can see the storm approaching too. He is on the phone setting up a TV shoot for a shampoo commercial. Hong Nhung, 30, one of Vietnam's most popular singers, is working out in her gym in the Saigon Center.