HCMC Trip Lookback

After many travels to the far away land of Europe, I finally made it last month to the neighbourhood.

Ho Chi Minh city is a vibrant city in the South of Vietnam and one of the largest Vietnamese city. The pity is that I did not get to see the city like I wanted to. The stay was restricted in the main tourist district of District 1 and activities were down to mundane stuff like the Big Market meant for the locals to extend their hands into the pockets of rich tourists.

The highlight of this trip was no doubt Raymond's wedding. I am proud and honoured to be, in his words, the only friend who can attend his weddings to his Vietnamese bride three times.

The ride to Long Xuyen was long and bumpy. We passed by villages and towns filled with students on bicycles, more canals than there are in Venice and roads damaged by the seasonal flooding. In the bride's hometown, we tasted firsthand Vietnamese hospitality and food, witness Vietnamese customs and basically had a lot of fun.

In HCMC itself though, it wasn't that much fun. It was partly due to the travelling crowd. I had originally intended for this to be a small family trip with my parents. They having sponsored and supported my previous trips to faraway Europe. It was my way of treating them back; to show them how I travel and to let their hair down.

In the end it became a trip of six, with my aunt and her husband and my uncle as well. Not that it was not nice to have them along; more adults meant that it was easier on my pocket. However, it also meant that more accommodation was needed. Uncle Chun has high blood pressure and was a little big. This meant that we couldn't go very far. Aunt and her husband were more interested in shopping. Not to mention that he's difficult to please.

As a result I never got to see the whole city. I wanted to just walk around the city and explore the nooks and crannies. Sit down and have a coffee, or beer and just people-watch. Visit museums and take in the history and sights. All these were not possible.

At the end it felt like I never step foot on HCM. I just can't strike it off my list yet. I hope I'll get to go there again. Of course the next time, knowing some Vietnamese will help. I kept getting mistaken as a local anyway. I really have no idea why.