February 10, 2012
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Vietnam Part 16: Saigon.
We’re on the last leg of the trip, flying into Saigon in the morning. Saigon is where my mom grew up. While her family is originally from Hue, they moved to Saigon, and so her older siblings speak with a Hue (central) accent while my mom speaks with more of a Nam (southern) accent. We started the trip in the north in Hanoi, and with every new city, it’s become progressively hotter. While it didn’t rain as much in Saigon, the heat left me wishing it did. I generally tried to wear the lightest clothing to conceal my sweat. To rub salt in the wound, people in Saigon were walking around wearing slacks and long-sleeve clothing (I even saw a girl wearing a sweater) and NOT SWEATING. Every chance I got, I tried to duck into air conditioning to prevent more sweating.
Our hotel was much more modest here, but service was impeccable as usual.
Our first stop was to visit a family friend. During the fall of Saigon, all of my mom’s siblings fled in the middle of the night on one of the last ships departing from the city. Only the eldest daughter- a doctor- stayed behind to take care of my grandparents. Ong Giac was a family friend who helped my aunt and grandparents out immensely during those years to the point where my grandfather said to consider him as one of the family. Ong Giac is a kind old man and upon our arrival ordered a banquet just for lunch. He wouldn’t stop trying to feed us throughout the meal, offering well past us being full. He also made us fresh coconut water to which he added some whiskey.
The fruits out in Vietnam were amazing. I wasn’t a fan of papaya, but there were a lot of fruits out here which I’m not even sure have an english name. This one was particularly neat in that each of those bumps came off in sections and you ate the part underneath. My parents kept overbuying fruit at the market and we were forced to try to finish a ton before we left.
Their dog. It was a fat little thing that seemed a bit neurotic. Why are little dogs so neurotic the world over? Also, I think people fed dogs table scraps out there instead of things like Science Diet. At least from what I saw.
I like showing the interiors because I find houses in different countries interesting.
After lunch, we headed off to pay respects to my mom’s ancestors. My mom’s grandmother lived to 91 and grandfather lived until 85. Her side of the family has strong longevity genes.
Saigon is kind of like the New York of Vietnam- the most modern of the three cities with the hustle and bustle of a big city.
End day nine.
Comments (4)
I love the top pic, and billions of little fluffy clouds!
the bumpy fruit is sugar apple/custard apple … the closest fruit i’ve seen here is the cherimoya, but the taste doesn’t come close.
these pictures are stirring up wanderlust in me, thanks for the virtual/visual journey (:
@Femme003 - Yeah, I wish I sat next to the window more so I could take pics, but I chose the middle/aisle seats instead.
@rmx - Ah! Thanks for the clarification! My parents didn’t know what the english word was and we had never seen it before. I liked it because it was convenient to eat haha. And you’re welcome! I’d love to travel more, but unfortunately don’t have the time nor resources to explore the world as much as I’d like.