Blind man amidst Saigon traffic

Yesterday I saw a blind man, cane first, feet followed, amidst really busy traffic.

He was neither assisted by a companion, dog or human being, nor by traffic alerts for the blind.

Yet he made it to the other side (without music from the Door) , and was on his way into an alley, which must be his way home.

I am sure his hearing must be extremely sensitive to compensate for his lack of eyesight.

Then I reflect back to my situation. I am  sure I have missed tons of signals during my trip: designer glasses, upscale bikes, Vespa resurgence, Western-style brewery, less road fatality and infrastructure improvement.

Still I have been blind to many situation, most obviously, the absence of the middle class.

Yes, more are out of the poverty level, but it will be another 10-20 years before we see the emergence of a “middle-class Vietnam“.

Since…