Final Week in Vietnam
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost three months since we landed in Vietnam. It went by so quickly, and I can tell already how much I’m going to miss it.
And of course, it’s just in the past few weeks that we’ve begun meeting people to hang out with and who I wish we’d met earlier so that we could have gotten to know them better. But perhaps we just need to push ourselves a bit more to start doing this earlier in future places…….
Or perhaps we just need to come back to Saigon.
I got such a good feeling from this city the moment we landed, and I feel more at home here the longer we stay. The energy feels relaxed and ambitious at the same time, and the people we have met are so friendly once you get to know them a little bit, even if they are not quite as full of smiles up-front as in Thailand. And the city just feels expansive to me……..I thought I would miss the Vancouver mountains, but I don’t find that’s the case, and I love the open horizon and how the city seems to go on from district to district, connected by a never-ending flow of scooters.
I could definitely see myself coming back here to stay for much longer……..
It has been a struggle for me more recently to feel at peace with not knowing what I want to do career-wise in the future if we continue to travel long-term, but I am practicing sitting with this discomfort and having faith that things will work out as they should and that answers will come when they are meant to, which was part of what this trip was for for me in the first place. It’s funny how my brain can forget that, and become frustrated that I don’t have a plan already…… So I am trying to live in the moment more and worry less, and of course there is no shortage of new experiences and sights in Asia for me to practice this with.
We are off to China next! Shanghai for two weeks, and then we are still deciding on the next city……..
I am sad to be leaving Vietnam just as it’s starting to feel more like home, but I am excited to explore China. And Saigon will be here if we ever decide to come back……..
Sunny view from a mall food court.
Walking into town not far from our apartment. The volume of goods carried on scooters or pushed by hand never fails to amaze me.
Walking around town at night, looking for dinner. It wasn’t the most walkable area, with scooters often coming uncomfortably close on either side. This is quite common though. We rarely see people walking.
I love the common use of hammocks, and the many places people find to put them.
Walking along one of the rivers in town. It was really nice to have the walking path and flowers, and we did see some people using the exercise equipment.
The river at dusk. It was really nice sitting at a cafe overlooking it.
One of our favourite parts of town, Turtle Lake, and one of its many cafes.
The War Remnants Museum. A mix of horrifying, heartbreaking, and then heartwarming to see how much has been forgiven and repaired, in the country and between people, since then.
District 7, Koreatown. Such cute (and quiet) streets, stationery stores and cafes.
On the two-hour drive to our Mekong Delta tour. Our driver stopped to see if we wanted to buy snakes or rats from these young boys to eat later.
Our Mekong Delta boat tour! We were with Spanish, Swiss, and Vietnamese tourists. It was a wonderful day.
The Cai Be floating market. We arrived too late in the morning to see its busyness, but it was neat seeing the boats and the people who live and sell in them.
In a row-boat (sampan) to navigate the shallower waters on our way to lunch.
The women rowers looked so elegant in their matching purple tops, and their balance and strength amazed me.
John and I took bikes around a small island in the Delta. It was so neat seeing the small huts and gardens, and wonderful having quiet paths with no scooters in sight.
These railing-less bridges into people’s gardens were everywhere on the island, and people would ride bikes and scooters over them! I was amazed at first, but then considering the traffic the scooters and bikes are able to navigate in the city, it made sense.
At a cafe playing games to help evaluate a team-building event organized by one of our new friends, an entrepreneur from the States but of Vietnamese descent. We had a lot of fun talking to his employees and finding out more about Saigon. One of many moments I will miss.