Sài Gòn ơi. Sài Gòn ơi, Sài Gòn ơi!

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A couple of months ago, the first destination of my journey in Việt Nam was Sài Gòn, or TP Hồ Chí Minh, whichever you prefer calling it. My initial reactions then were completely different than they are now. One of the main reasons why my reactions differ is from the point of previous destination to Saigon. In July, I departed from Chicago, which I would say is quite a developed city. Unlike Chicago, Sài Gòn lacks a train system, towering buildings, and completely structured traffic. Thus, comparing Sài Gòn to Chicago, it is obviously not as developed. Coming to Sài Gòn this time around, I departed from Hà Nội. Hà Nội is much less developed. This can be seen either as positive or negative, whichever perspective one has. I would say Sài Gòn is ahead of Hà Nội perhaps by ten to fifteen years. Sài Gòn’s pollution does not to be as much as a problem as Hà Nội’s. The city streets are easier to follow and being in the city just feels more welcoming.

(no, I am not a communist.)

The feeling of welcome may have to do with my preference of Sài Gòn over Hà Nội, but another huge factor I take into consideration is the food. The food in Hà Nội after being there for so long has gotten bland and repetitive. Each day I hope to eat something delicious, but it is always short of even okay. Basically, I get by in Hanoi with eating the food, but I did not realize how unappetizing it is in Hà Nội is until I again returned to Sài Gòn. Everything and I mean everything when it comes to food defeats the food in the north. Yes, Chả Cá Lã Vọng is pretty damn good, but honestly, it would not be able to compete with any of the top dishes in the south. Every single meal I have eaten these past three days has been better than the hundreds of dishes I have consumed in the north. I must say, the food in the south is finger licking good.

Nightlife in Sài Gòn lasts much longer than it does in Hà Nội. Normally, the latest a place opens until is perhaps one in the AMs. Unlike the north, Sài Gòn’s nightlife lasts until dawn. The choices one has in Sài Gòn triple or even quadruple the amounts one has in Hà Nội. Kara, Hảo, and I, on our first night here, went to a place called Yoko, where Phương’s friend Trinh brought us. Live soft rock music played into what would be considered the ‘wee’ hours of the night in Hà Nội, around 11 PM. Afterwards, we headed over to this place called Lush Bar, which was a nice surprise. The EAP kids came the next day where we again went to these places. We met some eccentric, interesting people here in Sài Gòn, which I will probably see again in a little over a month.

Coming back to Sài Gòn also meant visiting family. Hảo and I visited Ông Lới’s family again. It has been four months since the last time we saw them, but it really does not seem as if four months has passed. Time here flies by extremely fast. We went to ăn nhẩu with the uncles. The final day, we invited them all to eat at Quán Ăn Ngon, which is also open in Hà Nội. It was nice spending time with them again, and hopefully next month I will get to see them before I leave.

In retrospect, I must say that the welcoming aura of Sài Gòn has changed my future plans next month. Instead of staying in Sài Gòn for only three days, it will now be a week.

Until next time.

Trần, Qúy-Hạc.

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