Vietnam Travel – Hello there!

Day 5: Saigon — Never Looking Back

“The best way out is always through.” ― Robert Frost

View of District 4 through a rainy window [8/23/2023]

Through only five days, I can say that Vietnam is a wonderful country that I developed a connection with. But it would be a blatant lie if I said I even came close to comprehending this complex and convoluted place. However, it takes little time for some aspects of Vietnamese society to be realized and appreciated.

First of all, the radiance of its people. They are some of the kindest and purest souls I’ve ever met. Helpful, curious, and always willing to serve you up something absurdly delicious, their warm demeanor puts you at ease and helps you feel right at home. Even with the extensive language barrier between us, these attributes naturally pour out of them.

Secondly, the food. It boggles my mind how many street food stalls and restaurants one can stumble upon in Saigon. But we must keep in mind that many Saigonese eat primarily on the streets, and with over 8.9 million people, that’s a massive demand to cover. On the ground level, this makes for a truly staggering amount of street vendors and food operations. Walking hungrily down the streets is a full-body experience for us food-obsessed travelers.

While aimlessly exploring, I came across various markets of food stalls and restaurants, which often veered off into surrounding street food-infested alleyways, which in turn opened up into a new market, which also contained completely undiscovered food-lined mazes. And it seems like one could just repeat this process in an endless loop; the number of culinary options here is virtually limitless.

Finally, the unique energy and ambiance this city possesses. When you arrive in Saigon, there is no middle ground; you are met with a multitude of extremes: The traffic has the ferocity of a starved predator; cars and motorbikes veer around pedestrians and one another with only millimeters of room to play with. Stray dogs run amiss beneath your feet. The ears fill with the yelling of merchants, attempting to sell or barter whatever it is they have. Live caged chickens await slaughter only footsteps away from luxury hotels. Street children with tattered clothes beg on the sidewalk while unfazed onlookers stuff their faces with food. Multimillion-dollar construction projects tower over dirty and decayed apartment buildings.

A true city of contrasts and intensity; it isn’t for the faint of heart.

Growing pains are inevitable for someplace developing this rapidly. Saigon is changing; this much is evident when one simply sets eyes on the city. While confronting extreme poverty here is still impossible to avoid, there is also money flowing, and opportunity. The Vietnamese have fought incredibly hard to get to this place, and they now have a chance to progress — they have hope for the future.

It is uncertain what the Vietnam of tomorrow will look like. But what is certain is the character and strength of its people. They have put aside their unimaginably difficult past — through pure grit, tenacity, and forgiveness, they have resurrected their homeland into the Vietnam of today. With that, it also will be their duty to confront and overcome the new challenges they will inevitably face, shaping their country’s future. And if history tells us anything, it’s that they will prevail.

If there’s one thing we can learn from Vietnam, it’s to never look back. Leave it all in the rearview.

Motorbike cruising, leaving District 4 [8/21/23]

Saigon, until we meet again…

Day 4: Saigon — The Motorbike

“Saigon traffic is Vietnamese life, a continuous charade of posturing, bluffing, fast moves, tenacity and surrenders.” — Andrew X. Pham

Me cruising on the back of a motorbike in Saigon’s District 1 [8/22/23]

The overwhelmingly preferred way to navigate Saigon is by motorbike. There are around 8.9 million people residing in Saigon, and while the reported number varies, statistics on motorbike ownership by Saigon’s Department of Transportation reveal that there are over 7.6 million of them roaming the streets.

Impossible to escape, the rushing flurry of the never-ending traffic in this city provides it with a distinctive feature. It’s a type of (semi-) controlled chaos that one must embrace. For barely one US dollar, you’ll be whizzed off around town in any direction you please. If you ever find yourself in Saigon, I urge you to hitch a ride on the back of someone’s motorbike and allow yourself to submit to the exhilarating adventure that will inevitably ensue.

Top view of rushing motorbikes in Saigon’s District 4 [8/22/2023]

Zipping, zooming, zigging, zagging, (and every other conceivable action interjection that exists), you are now part of a world where, as a mere passenger, you have no control. You will be met with an array of tumultuous scenarios that range from close calls to death-defying. With little regard for safety (or life for that matter), the courageous drivers (some as young as twelve it seems) all participate in a synchronous dance of sorts, one that is largely conducted by the constant whaling of their horns. They use them as if they were a free money button; the constant blares surround you in every feasible direction, practically morphing into a language of its own.

And indeed, all the drivers seem to be fluent in this vehicular dialect, as they traverse Saigon’s vast labyrinth of streets and alleyways with impressive ease.

Another stunning feature of the motorbike operators is their ability to carry along with them any object(s) or amount of people that one can imagine. I haven’t even been here a full week, but I’ve seen some pretty incredible stuff. A giant metal gas tank? No problem! An antique dresser made almost entirely of glass? Sure! Cinderblocks and tiles tied down with ratchet straps that look as if they’re moments away from snapping? Child’s play. And speaking of kids, the Saigonese somehow manage to spectacularly include their entire household on one of these things, complete with a toddler nestled in right up front. Talk about a family bonding experience…

Scenes of motorbikes from Saigon’s streets

While participating in this spectacle of mayhem can certainly be downright terrifying, there is also a feeling of invincibility, freedom, and blissful carelessness that comes with it. Perhaps this array of emotions is conjured up by constantly teetering on the edge of meeting one’s fate.

However, the motorbikes of Saigon are synonymous with life here; they serve as the veins of the city, each one acting as an essential cell, pumping it with the hopes, desires, and dreams of its millions of people.

Motorbike scene with District 1 in the distance [8/21/2023]

Day 1: Saigon — Vibrant, Unpretentious, and Delicious

“A day of traveling will bring a basketful of learning.” — Vietnamese Proverb

View overlooking Saigon’s District 1 [8/18/2023]

I arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport rather disoriented and disheveled. After over 30 hours of continuous travel, I was ready to hit the ground running. I went through customs and quickly found the public transport bus to make my way towards the city center.

There is an interesting sense of informality and lawlessness here, especially when it comes to traffic patterns. The constant beeping and zooming of the vehicles all around me was impossible to ignore. While chugging along in the public bus likely from the 90s, I could already feel the electric buzz of this Southeast Asian mega-city — it was almost palpable. I was now at the mercy of Saigon.

And oh, the mopeds. They are everywhere here. And I mean everywhere. There is an endless sea of them, looking out onto the asphalt, they never stop coming; no matter the time of day. Think you can take refuge on the sidewalk? Think again, that “pedestrian” area is free game for them as well. I learned this all too quickly after not glancing over my shoulder before I stepped onto one… close call.

I also noticed almost immediately the sheer size and importance of the informal economy here. Drivers pull to the side of the street in busy traffic to have a chat with the street merchants, or to buy up whatever it is they happen to be selling. And people are selling everything here. From clothes, scrap metal, souvenirs, magazines, the daily newspaper, shoes, hats, literally about anything you can imagine can be bought off the side of the road. Street vendors are the true heartbeat of this city.

Also, the food. My god is it everywhere. I’m like a kid in a candy store here. Except the candy store spans farther than the eyes can see and has candy varieties whose names I can’t pronounce. Down every alley, every street, every last crevasse of the city, you will see a vendor selling something delicious.

Another thing that sticks out is the kindness and hospitality of the Vietnamese people. Now, I know about three words in Vietnamese, but this didn’t stop me from trying my hand at ordering something when I first landed. You would be surprised how far you can get by body language and pointing alone; I’m making due. And my taste buds have thanked me greatly for it so far.

For my first dinner, I decided to enjoy some nem nướng cuon (grilled pork spring rolls).

The way this dish works is, they give you all the ingredients (rice paper, meat, various herbs/greens, and a plethora of sauces) and it’s up to you to construct the roll. The older woman in charge of the restaurant was watching in concern and suspense and I attempted to assemble my first roll. And I have to admit, I was a bit intimidated. After witnessing my struggle, she soon came over to lend a helping hand and kindly showed me a more efficient method.

When I finally made one in success, I could tell both she and my waiter were elated. They expressed genuine joy that I was able to now fully experience the meal in its purest form. I think there was something beautiful about this moment, and it speaks volumes about the Vietnamese people. They are extremely proud of their food culture and love to share it with others. I won’t forget this brief instant of shared happiness. What we couldn’t communicate with words was made up by the connection of simply being human.

Don’t be afraid to look like an idiot, it’s how experts begin.

Saigon’s District 4 on a Friday night [8/18/2023]

Prelude: Why Do We Travel?

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” ― Mark Twain

~30,000 feet over America’s Heartland 8/17/2023

When I was a young child, my parents put an enormous map of the world on my wall. They would often point to each landmass and have me recite the names of the various countries that make up our planet. Even as a child, I was overwhelmed and mystified by how vast the world was. I quickly realized that I was only existing in a small sliver of it. From early on, I found myself completely enveloped in trying to make sense of the world around me. This small exercise helped to ignite my innate curiosity and interest in traveling.

It feels nice to be comfortable. In control of your environment and those around you. Basic things like ease of communication are taken for granted at home. There is also comfort in predictability and familiarity, we often prefer to be in the driver’s seat. There is nothing inherently wrong with this; it’s part of human nature. However, I’d like to argue that there is such a thing as becoming too comfortable. And that there is enormous value in making yourself uncomfortable and exploring an entirely new environment that challenges you to your core.

Travel has an ability to make you experience this distinct uncomfortableness, especially when it’s to a place which is vastly different from what we are familiar with. A place where many contrasts can be encountered: language, food, culture, norms, customs, religion, architecture, etc. Everything must be relearned, our known rules no longer apply. You feel like a toddler again, discovering how to successfully navigate this new environment you’ve been thrust into. Caught up in our daily routines, we often forget that there is a world outside of ours; many, many, worlds. Each with entirely distinct features and attributes that make it unique and beautiful.

While this feeling of being out of place can be extremely stressful, I challenge you to change your perspective during these situations. Not being in control, and being vulnerable, can open your mind to entirely new perspectives on the world and the people that make it up. While it can certainly be frightening to not know the local language, for example, it can also be reframed into an exciting mental exercise. Making you work and learn to do things that are entirely seamless in your world.

Doha, Qatar International Airport 8/17/2023

So then, to address our question at hand: Why do we travel? Of course, this question can bring many different answers, and there are no right or wrong ones. There are many different types of situations that call for different types of travel. But most often I think we look to travel as a relaxing escape. Where we don’t have to think much or make difficult decisions. Where we may be waited on hand and foot. Visiting a fantasyland that is procured to put us at ease as we’re treated like some kind of God because we bought the deluxe premium package.

Now, I’m not completely knocking this style, and we all do need to travel simply to relax and recharge. But I argue that we need to explore the other side of travel as well. The side that pushes you into unfamiliar territories with unfamiliar people doing unfamiliar things. You are certainly capable of having an experience like this and overcoming the various difficulties that come with it. Watch as you emerge from the other side as a more complete person, with a newfound perspective, a heightened sense of empathy, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be human.

This is a prelude to my month-long journey and may help to explain why I am embarking on it. And why I feel that everyone reading should try their hand at something similar.

Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. The Exotic East: Each Asian nation offers something entirely unique. I will be completely out of my element in each. I intend not to show you only the glitz and glam side of each country, but also the real, raw, and unfiltered version. Join me along the way as I seek to uncover and share the various intricacies and realities of each society I find myself in.

Saigon, Vietnam 8/18/2023