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The petit cabs here are different from Bangkok where they are small and elegant in Taiwan, where they are heavy old and serviceable with drivers to match?

The wild life is rather subdued. So is the tame life. There are no cats. Even in Siam there are no cats. I'm told that in Taiwan all of the dogs have been eaten. Siam has but one dog, a single breed and these are rather frequent. Wizened old dogs with hair manged off seem like the old beggar monks. Here there are of course, poodles and ponys which pull the native taxi bus. A tiny little 4'x6' bus box, floating high above four feet, spoked wheels which seem to hold about 6 people, sitting flat on its tatami floor. 

There are amazingly few mosquitos and flies and crawling insects here. I have in my room but one roach, he's almost as big as my fist, and obviously eats anything smaller, also a huge moth lives here continuously and about half a dozen allegedly small, yellowish, transparent lizards come out when the lights are on to prey on the insects, ---? on the lampshades and bask under the electric warmth. Not that it's cold, but they feel cold if the temperature drops below 80 degrees during the course of the night. My great oversized bed, though unsprung and scooped out like a hammock, has a great mosquito net canopy, fine enough in mesh to keep out most ventilation, even from the roaring fan overhead. But this is a pleasant room, a big emptyish cube like 9th street, with a stately armoir and a desk, vaguely regency. The moderne chairs aren't so good, the faded old majolica floor is pleasant and cool seeming and one wall is jalousied, glassless openings, effective in keeping out some of the heat of the day and letting in the cool river breeze, welcome at night. The balcony outside overlooks the Place Opera and the Rue Catenat, the Park Avenue or Fifth Avenue of Saigon. Must be Park Avenue, there's a 14 story, modern building going up right across the Square, probably the tallest south of Hong Kong.

I recommend to you, Graham Greene's THE QUIET AMERICAN, it is not only far superior to his general writing, with a sensitivity and perception generalizing within its racey format, but it paints a pretty true picture of little known Saigon. Saigon is of course, less adventuresome. Since the white flagged Communists keep outside its walls and only on special occasions, are bombs thrown at Americans or anything of that sort, that is here in town.

By the way, I have met a member of the "American Leaders of USOM". United States O.M. or whatever, and I am impressed by an industrious, efficient, hardworking office. It would seem to have little time for socializing at the club, worrying about the rank pecking order, making local opportunistic deals or lewdly chasing, local ladies of previous honor. All of these things I found easy to believe of our American bureaucrats abroad; moreover, these men have objectivity in their purpose, great sympathy and equality in their feeling towards the people, a general awareness of most things cultural, taste, charm, and certainly they are superior to anything I've seen in the large corporate structures at home. Alongside of the potty, seedy French, I'm pleased that we stand up so well.

How very pleasant it is to do something conversational. I was starved for it. Certainly, I've been frustrated for it here. Our work day 7:30 to 6:00, a long lunch period that gets eaten up and with reason to stay at the office 'til late dinner time. All this is appointments, meetings and such, so the real work must be accomplished in the evening. Besides this I was a week behind on correspondence and paper work because of traveling when I arrived here to get two weeks of mail. On top of this, exhausting heat. January, it turns out, is the hot month, and an almost hopeless mission to accomplish, constantly nags at ones thoughts to find some solution.

This is a pleasant social town. Sitting at a cafe, promenading the streets, is very much the thing to do. Of course there's lots to see and to learn from.