Việt Ever So Humble
In the hypothetical documentary retelling of our teaching careers, Southeast Asia is kinda patient zero for our life teaching abroad. Our decision to depart Tacoma all kinda unfolded over a fourteen day period in late July to early August of 2018.
We’ve told the story elsewhere: the public bus on the way to Ao Nang. Later the metro in Kuala Lumpur where Nate said “I think I want to live here.” Lastly, the moment of realization in Cambodia, while touring the site of the Khmer Rouge mass detention and torture center, S-21, that the News Tribune and civic class in Tacoma thought we should “shout less” when it comes to confronting neo-Nazis in region.
In fact that summer we talked about going to Vietnam but couldn’t be bothered with the visa process on the fly.
Since then we have returned to SE Asia on five occasions. Indonesia right before Covid, and Thailand and the Philippines twice each.
So in August when we finally got to Vietnam, we were stoked and she didn’t disappoint.
The Facts
Official name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Capital: Hanoi
Currency: Vietnamese đồng
Language: Vietnamese
Independence: 1954 from French colonial occupation
Reunification: 1976 as Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Borders: China (north), Laos (northwest), Cambodia (southwest)
System: One-party socialist republic, governed by the Communist Party of Vietnam
Top Exports: #1 in cashews and black pepper, #2 in coffee, and #3 in rice
Our Trip
Vietnam has three distinct regions: north, central, and south. Over the years, we’ve come to understand that a slow roll through an area is far more enjoyable than the “two days here and two days” there approach. We spent our two weeks meandering the streets of Ho Chi Minh City (south) and Hoi An (central). With just a few “I really want to do this” agenda items based on friend recommendations, blog posts, and movies, we built a simple itinerary—letting the smell of phở and fresh bánh mì guide our steps.
Ho Chi Minh feels like the convergence of Manila, Bangkok, and Phnom Penh but with a bajillion² more mopeds. We booked a flat situated atop a phở restaurant that only seemed open for lunch in the heart of Japantown. This meant that in addition to local cuisine, we had access to all sorts of sushi, curry, and Korean BBQ and a plethora of night clubs (that we’re way too old to go to). Our routine was straight-forward. Wake up. Eat bánh mì and sip cà phê sữa dà while perched on tiny red stools. Then, walk somewhere to learn more about the community then stop for another iced coffee.
Ho Chi Minh City, previously Saigon (honestly still mostly called Saigon), was our noisy, messy, history-filled first stop. We cranked out our usual summer 25,000 steps on arrival day and over the next several days, visiting a number of sites:
The HQ of the national postal service: for a largely rural and agrarian people at the time, the establishment of a national postal service was a legitimizing step by Ho Chi Minh, showing the Communist Party could literally deliver results for the people.
Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon: the ornate cathedral in the heart of District One was unfortunately under renovation and surrounded by scaffolding when we arrived. The cathedral is a part of a fascinating story of attempted christianization of the country by French colonial occupiers.
HCMC Book Street: just what it sounds like. A street lined with book stores, book kiosks, and adorable cafes with delicious salted coffee and fruit-forward iced teas. One of the by-products of communism that we never seem to note in the west is a commitment to public goods that lead to higher than the global average literacy rates and life expectancy.
Independence Palace: we thought we were going to the famous rooftop from which the last diplomats were evacuated after the fall of Saigon. You know that photo. But we realized the story of the photo is more complicated than we realized. It’s not the US Embassy in the photo; it was an apartment building where embassy employees lived (and the CIA operations were based but that’s a different story). The actual embassy was razed and turned into a park. Of note, Saigon has hella parks (back to the Communism). Instead, we visited Independence Palace where the doomed US backed government was based. It’s now a monument to Vietnamese independence and reunification.
The War Remnants Museum: a sprawling complex located at the site of the former US Department of Defense headquarters in the city. It has several permanent installations devoted to US and French atrocities in their wars of occupation: the philosophical justification for Vietnamese Independence and self defense, US war crimes, Vietnamese journalists killed in the war, and a shocking exhibit on the US use of Agent Orange. The final space on the ground floor is dedicated to telling the story of reunification of the state after the war and international opposition to the US war and occupation.
Vĩnh Tràng Temple
The first stop on our Mekong Delta tour
Mekong Delta Region: typically, Hope pops open Viator or Trip Advisor to find a tour that fits our attention span and sensibilities. Everyone kept telling us to visit the Cu Chi tunnels and Mekong Delta, but we decided that between claustrophobia and the simulated gunfire the tunnels were not for us. We opted just to visit the delta regions and on our tour our verbose guide, “Jack”, schooled us on Vietnamese history, culture, language, and evolution as we traversed “River of Nine Dragons”.
Other Highlights: One evening, we joined a moped street food tour. You haven’t experienced fear and delight until you’re hanging onto a 85lbs guide who is simultaneously pointing out the sites, steering with one hand, and talking on the phone. Yes, we wore helmets.
Our food tour also included stops at the historic Nguyen Thien Thuat Apartment Buildings, Ho Thi Ky Flower Market, the Cambodian nightmarket, and the site where Mahayana Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức self-immolated (you likely know this image from the self-title Rage Against the Machine album cover).
Most importantly we got to kick it with a former ACS colleague, Brian!
Hoi An & Danang
After departing Saigon, we flew to Da Nang and onto Hoi An. We spent as many days there as we did but the vibes were much slower. We traded museums and history for cà phê sữa dà and beaches. We have less to say about it, not because it was any less amazing but because we just did less.
Of note tho we did have phở for breakfast every morning, a dope cooking class with the grandma of the family watching over us from the side, and a bánh mì sandwich so good it brought tears to our eyes from Thom’s Sourdough Bakery & Coffee (yeah, we went back two more times).
There was also a harrowing three grown adults on one moped experience that tells better over dinner than in a blog.
This was a dope trip.
Whenever we travel we run places through a couple of mental check lists. One around affordability, which Vietnam passes with aplomb. The other checklist is more “could you see yourself living here?” The country, especially Hoi An and Da Nang earn flying colors on that test as well. We’re glad we went and look forward to returning sooner than later.
Sớm gặp lại nhé (see you soon)!
