Documenting a new place

It had been six years since I’d been in Vietnam, and my visit to Ho Chi Minh City marked the first time I’d been to a new place in a while. I found myself having to remember how to experience and document a place.

Historically, I’d spend hours pouring over resources, prioritizing places I wanted to visit and plotting the most efficient map to do so. I’d also been in the habit of sending photos to my family, but I’d never really resolved whether to send pictures that documented landmarks or my experiences.

In the case of landmarks, there may have been places they’d never seen. Sometimes it was buildings or landscapes I’d not seen anywhere else, but often the pictures begged for some type of narrative. Perhaps it’s why I started writing to begin with, to give answers to the questions some of my images might provoke.

Ho Chi Minh or Saigon

Ho Chi Minh city was the one place I’d not visited on my previous trip for a few reasons, most notably time. I’d also gotten reports from people at my hostel in Hanoi that it was a chaotic and dangerous city. One person shared that his friend got stabbed during a robbery.

Having only experienced the charm and simplicity of Northern Vietnam, I decided to take the southern capital off of my itinerary. In the years since, I’ve grown more interested in fast paced Asian cities and also found that you can get stabbed anywhere, so I decided to start this trip in the south and work my way to Hoi An, the charming town where I’d terminated my last trip.

Within an hour of my arrival, I connected with a local. I’d been trying to be respectful to the ruling Communist party by calling the place Ho Chi Minh City, but I learned that that was only a name you saw written. Everyone there calls it Saigon. Besides the obvious reason that it’s more simple to say, it turns out that most people living there are descendants of the south Vietnamese. So whether it’s done out of habit or defiance, everyone there calls it Saigon.

I’d grouped together things I wanted to see in different parts of this huge city, which is made up of districts. Whenever you talk to someone about where you live or where you want to meet in Saigon, you always define it in terms of district. Naturally, everything of significance is in District 1: Tourist hotels, historic sights, and nice restaurants. It is also the most expensive district in terms of housing.

I chose an AirBnB in a condo in District 4, which is just south of district one. This made it easy to get to district one without paying its premium price. Getting around is relatively simple with the aid of scooters. Scooters dominate the streets in Vietnam and, in Saigon, you can use an app called Grab, which is the Asian equivalent of Uber. When you are making your vehicle selection, however, there is the choice of scooter.

The best way to get around Saigon is by scooter

Without question, it’s a risky choice, but all Grab scooter drivers carry a helmet for their passengers. Knowing I had traveler’s insurance made me feel a little bit more comfortable with my choice, but there’s really no comparing the experience of riding on the back of a scooter to being insulated inside an automobile.

There were a couple times when I realized I pushed it too far, like when I caught a Grab scooter back from District 2 after having two 2 for 1 cocktails. To get to my condo from District 2 involved driving through a tunnel beneath the Saigon river. Fortunately, the tunnel was divided into two sides, one for cars and one for scooters, but I was still a little nervous careening through the dark with a bit of a buzz.

The most fun I had on the back of a scooter was a food tour I took with Vespa Adventures. Saigon is known for its street food, and there are several companies that advertise food tours by scooter. To be honest, there is really no other practical way to do it as you must weave your way through narrow streets filled with people in order to get to the food markets.

The tour begins with your scooter driver arriving at your accommodation and fitting your helmet to your head. I was driven around by Tuan, a college student majoring in Hospitality Management. What better way to gain experience than by guiding nightly tours through Saigon.

We met up with other Vespa Adventure tourists along the way, and it was fun to get to know other travelers while sampling food. The lead driver warned us not to eat too much at any one stop, no matter how much we liked it, as we would be traveling to at least 10 different food vendors. By the end of the tour, I was stuffed and as likely to fall off the bike as I was the night before due to my food coma!

Sitting around in Saigon

Just as interesting as the scooter phenomenon is the spectator phenomenon. At the end of the work day, Saigon residents gather in chairs throughout the city. You’ll find them in parks, along the river, on overpasses, and crowding every sidewalk around the city. I really didn’t know what to make of it the first time I saw it. It appeared as if everyone had gathered for a night parade.

And a parade there was. Thousands of scooters crossing through an intersection is a pretty engrossing activity. The chairs are typically set out by vendors who serve any kind of food or drink to the spectators. My first night I stopped by a collection of chairs to have some dinner and ordered something called “Evil Chicken”. I should have known better than to order something I didn’t know, but I was so caught up in the spectacle of scooter voyeurism, that I just wanted to participate.

What arrived in front of me was a completely black chicken that looked as if it’d been cooked in squid ink. Since this was Asia, it was served with all parts intact, including a head that dangled off the edge of the plate. I guess I looked a little overwhelmed at what to do with it, so my server came back with a pair of scissors and cut the whole thing into pieces I could manage.

To be honest, it tasted just like chicken. No kidding. You wouldn’t have known it was black if you’d had a blindfold on. I came to learn later that there is a variety of chicken with black skin known as a Silkie, and that’s what I suspect I ate.

Vietnamese food is some of the best in the world

Vietnamese food is diverse and bursting with a complexity of flavors. Anthony Bourdain filmed eight episodes in Vietnam and claimed that it has some of the best food in the world. I can’t contradict that in the least. I had one dish, at the Ben Thanh market, which conjured up expletive after expletive in my head because I was so astounded at the variety of tastes and textures. It consisted of minced meat and vegetables wrapped in a rice noodle. It was bathed in fish sauce and topped with cilantro and candied nuts. The dish cost me less than $2.

While the Vespa food tour showcased local street foods, on my own, I visited some of the newer fusion restaurants and was no less amazed. Like elsewhere in the world, there had been an explosion of new dishes in Vietnam. Several of the places I’d scouted out served dishes like: crab stuffed squid and deep fried shrimp tacos.

Every night offered the chance to try something new, and that I did. Not only was I treated to a variety of foods but a variety of ambiance. One place was a narrow multi-story building with a mural painted up the entire four floor staircase to the roof top. From the top, you could look out over the modern city. Another felt more like a farm stand. It was clear that one week would not be enough time to see all the changes that had happened since my last visit.

Finally getting to my to do list for Saigon

On the last day, I finally got to the “to do” list I’d prepared for my first visit to the city. I opted for a boat ride along the river. There was a new ferry that ran to some of the other districts. Like me, other people had figured out that you could get a 2 hour tourist boat ride for the price of a local ferry. To be honest, there wasn’t much to see after the first 30 minutes, but it was nice to know you could get around town without getting stuck in traffic.

I also figured I should check out some of the sites, that were such a significant part of the city’s history, before I left. I went to the zoo, the People’s Committee Building and the former Presidential Palace. The zoo wasn’t particularly modern, but I was impressed with the variety of animals showcased there.

The highlight of my tourist activities had to be the former Presidential Palace. If you’re old enough, you’ll remember seeing the Viet Cong tank bursting through the metal fence surrounding the compound. It marked the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam war. Since then, everything has been frozen in time. As you walk the hallways, it’s like browsing a vintage furniture store. The rooms offer a snapshot of what were the most modern versions of household items of that time, from TV sets to bidets. Everything is so perfectly preserved that it’s easy to imagine how its last inhabitants spent their days.

It’s not often the palace of a former ruler is so well preserved by the incoming order, and Vietnam is fortunate that the North Vietnamese ignored the building and occupied instead the People’s Committee building as their new government offices.

On my return home, I stopped by for a iced cold chai tea, something I do daily when I’m in Asia to try to re-hydrate myself. For dinner, I returned to my favorite fusion restaurants. I ordered the same thing, and it was just as amazing as I’d remembered. The next day, I would fly to Hoi An, a town I love and remember well from my last trip. I am glad that I gave Saigon a chance and will surely include it on any future visits. It was also nice to confirm that ignoring your plans can make room for plenty of other rich experiences.