Good morning, Vietnam!
Seeing Vietnam in a new era
Doesn’t everyone just want to post this caption and exclaim these words when they first arrive in Vietnam? “Good morning, Vietnam!” I mean, how can you not?
Maybe you’ll be a traveler who will shout this while dodging traffic to find your first Banh Mi of the day. Or maybe you’ll say it when sitting at a street front cafe enjoying a Ca Phe Sua, so ice-cold and sugary sweet that just a few sips of it is worth the trip alone. The little stool that you’re sitting on is barely 1-foot from the ground and facing a busy street, where you’re practically swallowing the exhaust fumes from the nearby motorbikes as you open your mouth to sip your coffee—that’s the way most coffee shops are here in these parts and none of us would have it any other way.
And suddenly—your Banh Mi finished and the coffee buzzing through your veins—you realize that you are in fact, in Vietnam. A country that’s a highlight for so many traveling through Southeast Asia. A country so iconic. A country that’s fought hard and that’s pushing forward. Upon arrival, you either have the plan to travel north to south or south to north. Or of heading even more north and looping back to Hanoi. You have a vague itinerary, perhaps a travel companion or perhaps not (I prefer the latter) and a few million Vietnamese dong to start your adventure. Welcome to Vietnam.
My story with Vietnam began in early 2018. I arrived at the Ho Chi Minh City International Airport late at night on the first day of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. This is often the only time of the year when Vietnamese have the chance to leave the city to visit their families in their hometown. With the cities half-empty and most shops closed, these slow days of Tet feel like a complete shift for a country that’s always on-the-go.
It was about an hour before midnight when I hopped in a taxi to my hostel just a couple of blocks from Bui Vien, a pedestrian-only street and a notorious party block that’s typically swarming with people every night of the week. But during those days of Tet it was a ghost town.
The next day I posted a picture of my breakfast that I enjoyed on the hostel rooftop to my Instagram page with the caption “Good morning, Vietnam”, the Bitexco Financial Tower (one of the only skyscrapers in the city at the time) lingering in the background on this sunny late morning in Saigon. I ended up calling this hostel home for three weeks as I found my grounding in this part of the world. I relished in the late nights on this rooftop chatting with other travelers, the breeze cooling us down a little after a long day in the heat. We were all happy to end our nights with a couple of $1 Saigon Beers instead of getting lost in the haze of Bui Vien.
*For reference, Saigon is the former name of what’s now Ho Chi Minh City. Many still use the old city name, both locals and tourists alike.
The city of Ho Chi Minh—and Vietnam as a whole—is a place staunchly on the move, busy rebuilding and remaking. Venturing beyond the bucket list, I wandered through parts of the city with vibes of Old Saigon, where you can picture a time before the war. A time when the city pressed on, just trying to break free from the colonial powers of France, which ended up being a short era of catching its breathe before the bombs came.
I forgot how family-oriented people are in Vietnam. Even amongst the bustle, there’s always time for a long mid-day catch-up at a cafe, or family dinner on the street corner where siblings and cousins will slurp bowls of pho from a broth that’s been brewing all day. Mom and Dad might be tending to their shop but the the kids are happy playing nearby on the curb, dashing up and down the block amidst the people and motorbike traffic.
Last month, I returned to Ho Chi Minh City for the first time in over 6 years. I arrived in the early evening, at the bus station on the outskirts of town. I’d spent the day traveling by bus from Kampot, Cambodia, including a two-hour stop at the border to do the visa process.
With my two backpacks in tow, I rushed past the busy-ness of the station and walked a few blocks. I found a little cafe that was pretty much the main floor of the home of a young Vietnamese family (in Vietnam, lots of the old attached street houses are narrow and 4-5 storeys tall). Upon entering, I was pretty sure that they were closed but they took me in anyways. I sat down and ordered a Ca Phe Sua and soaked up the strong, sweet taste and aroma. There was a broken grandfather clock in the corner in the middle of the dusty walls and dim lighting. I sat for a bit to take it all in, before asking for the WiFi to see where I was, and then called a Grab taxi to get to my rental for the night.
My rental was in a huge, old apartment block from 1970s Saigon in District 1. Inside it was cozy, and I instantly felt at ease being in a real apartment (I welcomed the emotion, after a month or so in hostels and guesthouses in Cambodia). It was a small loft and reminded me of one my apartments in Busan. I put some clothes in the wash in the laundry room adjacent to the living room, which was facing the street from 100-feet above. As I hung my t-shirts and sundresses, I listened to the sounds of a Saigon Friday night. There were more buildings and more LED lights everywhere compared to my last visit. The new Landmark 81 skyscraper sparkled in the distance, and the sounds of the honking motorbikes were drowned out by electronic and r&b music coming from the rooftops of D1s financial center. I know they say that New York’s the city that never sleeps, but I think she’s got some competition.
The city really is found in its little alleyways. That’s the charm of Saigon. Lots of soul (and a wonderful drink) is always waiting for you through a narrow entrance way, where you then have to walk up a small flight of stairs that seem to lead to nowhere at first, but instead you discover a secret little universe. Sit on the 2nd or 3rd floor patio of this little cafe and look out at one tiny street but you’ll see a whole world. Sipping the day away in Vietnam is a national pastime. Cafes are made to meet—they’re a place to sit with the city and not hide from your comrades.
Amidst my exploring, I returned to the more hipster version of the iconic Cafe Apartments, which has become an attraction on pretty much every HCMC bucket list. The alternative spot is different than the Cafe Apartments and, okay, I like to think that I single-handedly discovered this place when I stumbled upon it back in 2018. After a morning of writing at a coffee shop by my hostel, I made the walk to the center of town and was happy to find the few cafes that hid inside this near-abandoned building just 8 blocks from the Bitexco Tower. I picked a spot and sat all afternoon with a mojito, and was the only tourist around. I wandered back here during this trip to find that it had transformed to the Instagram spot of Saigon for young locals. With the dim concrete stairwell and stickers and posters that adorned the walls, it had definitely still kept its hipster vibe. There were more vintage shops, more speakeasy-type bars, more cafes selling third-wave coffee. Spots like these are great examples of how the younger generation are taking abandoned places across the city and making them anew.
Over that weekend, I moved to another rental on the other side of District 1. Of course, it was hidden along a tiny alleyway and of course it was cozy and cute. My host was so lovely and gracious that I’m actually going to link the listing here (something I never do) for anyone who might stumble upon this post and happen to have a trip to Vietnam already planned or in the dreaming stage. My little studio had a separate entrance to the main building, and every day she’d leave me a different snack. One day it was a whole fresh coconut and another it was Chuoi chien, a local street food of fried ripe bananas.
Just down that one alleyway and one block over, I found a local veggie spot that served up different types of vegan Banh Mi, some popular tourist-y type restaurants, a coffee shop that doubled as a co-working space by day and wine and jazz bar by night, just to name a few. Then I’d walk a couple more blocks and find fruit smoothie stands, more humble vegan eateries, cool cafes and vintage clothing shops hidden down more alleyways. Let’s say that if I hadn’t ever checked out of that rental and didn’t even bother to venture beyond this little corner of D1, I would have been well fed and always entertained. It’s hard for the senses to get bored in a city like Saigon.
My last evening in town, a friend and I had dinner at a little chay (vegetarian) bistro two blocks from my rental followed by iced teas at Turtle Lake. This is probably my favorite spot in Saigon—it’s more like a pond, and it’s perfectly placed a block from the cathedral. Amongst the chaos and ongoing traffic, Turtle Lake stands as a roundabout which splits up the speed of the city. And with so many restaurants and cafes all around it, you have no choice but to slow down. Turtle Lake gets busy at sunset and it’s no surprise, because you can just sit here with a friend and take it all in. I love that how even in the middle of a muggy evening any day of the week, Saigoners find a way to gather here and recluse.
Returning to a place is always gratifying, if I give it a chance. It allows me to remember who I was, what I did (and didn’t do) in between, and get a sense of where I’m going next.
From what I witnessed, Saigon is stable and moving up. While there’s more flashing lights and skyscrapers, there’s still the kindness of people. The street Banh Mi is still crunchy and there’s even more hot takes on a Coconut Coffee (and Egg Coffee, too!). Even though I only got a short week in the city this time ‘round, I cultivated a little daily routine that I loved. I got to revisit the South-Vietnamese Women’s Museum, which had been closed down for a few years. It’s now reopened and remodeled, bigger and better. While the history remains the same, with this remodel I think more people will learn about these lesser-known stories of the war.
And even with so much to do and see in this city of almost 10 million people, some of the best moments here are found in the in-between, when you are sitting down and watching that traffic, as mundane as that might seem. That’s what makes a place and its people great.
Have you been to Vietnam? Or simply dreaming about it? Either way, I want to know :)
Vietnam and Cambodia have been high on my list for years. I actually had a motorbike trip booked the from north to south back in 2017, then surprise, I found out I was pregnant, so cancelled. 😞
Still dreaming of spending time there someday. Your writing totally reignited that spark. And Vietnamese food? Easily one of my all-time favorites!
"Gooood morning, Vietnam!"
I've been there 4x and have said every time. 🇻🇳😆