WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THAT SLORR EP. 12
Wow. We made it guys — it’s the final month. It’s Vietnam.
Cousteau is spending February in Saigon. And that’s not an American denial of losing the Vietnam War, that’s what Vietnamese people call it and then tell me to call it after I say Ho Chi Minh City.
We landed in Vietnam at the beginning of Tet, the Chinese New Year and the Lunar New Year, but more importantly, a national holiday that lasts a week. So the city was “dead,” but there were still so many scooters on the streets that peeps were overwhelmed. “Just wait,” I said. I’d been to Saigon before, in 2011, and knew what crossing the street would really be like.
Speaking of scooters, they are everywhere here. The sidewalks are more walkable than Phnom Penh, but they also have slanted curbs so scooters can easily drive up on to the sidewalks. It’s important to remember while traveling in Southeast Asia that a sidewalk will be a barber shop before it is a place where people can safely walk along the street. They also have Uber Moto here, which is Uber for scooters and it’s the fastest way to get around the city and the best way to see it. I highly recommend you use it if you visit.
I spent a week in Vietnam in February 2011 and I did not like Saigon the first time around. All of the typical tourist attractions and sights to see are giant reminders that the winners get to write history, and we lost the Vietnam war. The War Remnants Museum is particularly tough for a US citizen— to simultaneously think hey we’re not all awful and then see the atrocities performed by our armies… it’s rough.
But Saigon as a place to live… Wow, it has been great. The food is delicious, the cafes all feel like secrets you get to discover, and you really don’t feel like you’re in a big city. It’s so much more international than I remember.
We’re all pretty happy here, which is a testament to the city’s charm since it’s our last month and everyone seems to be in a full downward spiral. Stay tuned for how we really handle the end of Remote Year.
