1. Ho Chi Minh City will challenge your sense of
adventure.
Ho Chi Minh City is not a place you go to for an easy, safe life. This is
the city where the population of people ranks barely above that of mosquitoes,
and personal items disappear at 35km/h.
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Today, modern day ninjas prefer plaid and surgical masks.
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And yet, despite these dangers, this city
will surprise you every time you walk out your door if you’re willing to
scratch beneath the surface. This is the city where you find three story
outdoor cafés with a waterfall and wooden tables lit by tea lights at the end
of alleys worthy of rape PSAs. This is the city where you can live out your
teenage dream of riding a motorcycle without looking like you’re desperately trying
to live out your teenage dream of riding a motorcycle. Speaking of motorcycles…
2. You finally have an excuse to get a
motorcycle.
…they’re the only way to get around this city. Taxis get
expensive after a while and buses are unreliable (if you can even find the
stops). To be completely honest, though,
why would you even want to take those? The only true way to see Vietnam is on
top of a motorcycle with the sun shining overhead and a man with his family of
four riding their motorcycle next to you.
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Clearly even these ducks are having the time of their lives!
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3. Vietnamese is one of the BEST languages...to
complain about things.
There’s just something about Vietnamese that makes it sound so…whiny. Maybe
it’s the variation of accents, or the fact that Vietnamese people seem to
complain a lot in general. I’ve heard people complain about stubbing their toe,
slow waiters, the weather being too hot, the weather being too cold, or
sneezing uncontrollably. Whatever the reason, hearing people complain in
Vietnamese always seems to make me laugh, even if I realize that they’re
complaining about me.
4. You have to know when you need to be fast,
and when you should be slow.
There's an interesting dichotomy that exists in Saigon: although this
city is industrializing rapidly, the people here seem to live life in the slow
lane. For example, it’s quite normal to spend hours at a café with friends nursing
a single drink. People also seem to always find time to nap in the middle of
the day. In fact, students sleep together in their classrooms and construction
workers can often be found sleeping on top of their motorcycles.
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What really amazes me is that they can even fall asleep amid the incessant honking and plumes of exhaust.
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At the end of the day, people almost always get together to “nhậu,” which is the Vietnamese word for going out with your friends to eat and drink, but mostly to drink. I can’t tell you how proud I was after I found out that my people developed a specific word for this sort of activity.
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These tourists have discovered the magic of my people. Also, if you haven't done the conversion yet, that sign says a glass of beer costs 20 cents!
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5. Vietnamese people really like their pop music.
Honestly, never before have I seen people shamelessly blast Taylor
Swift from their house. At eight in the morning. While loudly singing along…
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| This guy. Damn him. |
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