Saigon, Viet Nam

Dear lovely reader,

At long last, we are finally here in the motherland, Viet Nam. Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, has been the port I have been eagerly waiting for the most. This would be my first time ever setting foot on Saigon, where my mom and dad grew up. I know this is the port that my mom has wanted me to see ever since I became her own. Growing up, I was actually fighting the opportunity to go back home to Saigon. Places like Sydney Australia, and Paris, France seemed to stop my heart more than Saigon, Vietnam. But spending 6 days in Saigon, the most days we would spend in port so far, was one of the most rewarding weeks I have ever experienced. Saying good bye to the young girl who replaced family for school and finally realizing that you learn so much more about yourself through family than you can ever learn in classes and text. This port has been the most emotional port for me. I really couldn’t tell you how many were going through my head as well as my heart. But I can tell you that I left a piece of my heart and soul in Saigon – inspiring me to go back one day, to where I belong.

Day 1 of Saigon:

Today was a day entirely devoted to a field lab I had in Professor Ullerich’s Development Economics class. Field labs, kinda like field trips, are pretty important because they compose of 20% of your overall grade in the course. But it’s an easy 20%, so show up, and don’t do something dumb. I could already feel the humid weather when I stepped off the ship. We were definitely in weather nowhere close to any of the ports we have been to. We took a bus to arrive at a local pottery export shop. The pottery was exquisite, hand-made and well-done. Everything ranged from bowls, plates, tea sets, pendants, cups. The prices ranged from about 60,000 dong to maybe 300,000 dong. The exchange rate is 20,000 dong for 1 USD. I wish I could recall more about my experience there, but we were a 20 person class crowded around a tiny pottery shop. We stood still in pure sweat so that we didn’t break anything. I honestly was just waiting for the minute we would be back on the bus again. But it was still a first experience for me. Later, our bus took us to downtown Saigon in District 1. You could immediately see how much celebration was in the air and in the streets when you saw all the Tet decorations. I know I’m a little late, but Chuc Mung Nam Moi to you, lovely reader!! This time of the year is the happiest time in Viet Nam, but it also means that some shops and stores will close because everyone is on holiday. But the Post Office definitely wasn’t closed during this year. The Post Office or Buu Dien in DT was like a tourist hot spot in District 1, which I thought was really smart. If you want to mail a postcard, you could also stop at souvenir shops, exchange your money, or take pictures around the area. I learned that District 1 is the main district in Saigon where you would see all the streets decorated with flowers for Xuan or Spring. During Tet, Vietnamese greet the New Year while also welcoming the Spring season. District 1 is where you definitely see a lot of crowds down Nguyen Hue Flower Street – a street where people gather and walk down to celebrate, to eat, and to relax. Motorbikes, motorbikes, motorbikes. You would see as many as 2 to 6 locals on a motorbike. I know during pre-port, sessions where administration feeds us information about the port, they were trying to scare us on going on a motorbike due to the horrible and ugly scars we would  get on our legs being near the exhaustion pipe. But all I could think about was how much fun it would be to own one and ride one in Saigon. But being a pedestrian on the other side of a street can be super fun, a little dangerous I might add. You get to dodge oncoming traffic in a very calm manner. The key is to walk predictably and sensibly when you cross streets in Viet Nam. Because motorbikes can go around you but they won’t always. Many voyagers think traffic is crazy but it didn’t bother me so much. If a local can do it, you can too. Oh right, getting back to the field lab. We had a lot of downtime to just explore District 1 before dinnertime. District 1 is designed for tourists with many higher end hotels and corporate buildings. So Cindy and I went at the top of the Rex Hotel, for a beautiful view of DT and the sunset. Dinnertime was the first taste of Vietnamese food I had in a while. And I’m from the Westminster mang, so Vietnamese food was all I knew of until now. There was some Can Chua, soup with fish, tomatoes, and veggies, egg tart, beef with salad, and spring rolls. It was kind of like at a fusion Vietnamese Chinese restaurant, very red, very fancy. The restaurant had a stage featuring a saxophone player and cellist. Mang, we don’t even have that back at home. But I found out that if you wanted the fresh flavor and taste of Vietnamese, you had to eat at the smaller, more intimate restaurants, usually more crowded and loud. Within five seconds, I saw that the food portions in Viet Nam restaurants were probably half the size you would get in Westminster. T’was a bummer but explains the differences in eating habits I’m guessin’. The day was so long already, but I knew we had to make more plans for the next few days with the gang. The thing about travelling is that you’re constantly thinking, constantly moving. Not just about the future, but about the present. So it does get exhausting sometimes, but your experiences become so rich that you wish you didn’t need to be tired and sleep.

All love and hope,

Kimmy