Vietnam 2016

Hello friends!

Seeing that November is flying by pretty quickly and the end of 2016 is near, I thought it was finally time for me to make a post about my summer trip to Vietnam. 

This past August I traveled to Vietnam with my parents. This was our first vacation, with just us three, in a few years. It had been a good 6 or 7 years since I last visited Vietnam and so I was very excited to experience Vietnam at an older age. The last time I visited Vietnam I was still just a teenager and I totally did not appreciate the county as much as I should have. This time, I was really able to appreciate the culture, the food, and the quality time I got with my parents. 

We stayed primarily in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and spent some time at a resort in Phu Quoc. We also spent a few short days in my father's home town, Ha Tien. In Saigon, we ate a lot. I spent a lot of time eating noodles and going to meat grilling BQQ joints. We also visited many of the malls. Vietnam really has developed over time and the Vietnam that I remember wasn't really there anymore. There are a lot of Japanese and Korean businesses that have opened up and all the new malls were Japanese owned. They are very big and luxurious. The Vietnam I remembered was hot, dirty, and not really fun. However, all the new and modern buildings and cafes made my experience more enjoyable. I didn't necessarily buy anything though. The malls in Vietnam tend to up the prices of foreign products, as many other Asian countries do. Thus, even if I liked something, I just reminded myself that I could definitely buy that in America for much cheaper. We pretty much just visited all the malls to be in air conditioning. We also visited my favorite market in Saigon, Chợ Tân Bình. This was one of the places that I really wanted to visit again. My favorite memories from my previous trips have been at this market. The market is very busy and full of people at all times of the day. It opens super early in the morning and closes late at night after the night market. Many tourists visit this market because it is one of the largest markets in Saigon and they are famous for selling souvenirs and delicious foods. Saigon has many different “districts” and we stayed in district 1. We were right by the river and we would often time take walks together at night. Saigon’s night life is really lively and full of young people. Young people were everywhere on the streets hanging out, drinking, and eating. It was very busy and full of excitement. Overall I want to stress that Saigon is just as modern, lively, and full of culture as any other "hot vacation destination."

My family and I also got a chance to spend some time at a resort called Vin Pearl in Phu Quoc. (They also have another resort in Nga Trang) It was very relaxing there and it was a very relaxing stay. Phu Quoc is a popular island vacation destination for Vietnamese citizens and other foreign travelers. The beaches are known for blue waters and white sand. Unfortunately for us, we went during typhoon season. The water was a little darker, and the skies weren't always sunny. However, it didn’t actually rain while we were there; it was just gloomy. My father and I spent a lot of time at the pool. We were fed three times a day with a full Vietnamese buffet and everything was delicious. I ate so many tropical fruits I can’t even count how many coconuts I had on this trip. The resort was very clean and beautifully designed. Nearby was also a little amusement park that you can take a golf cart to, but we just decided to rest and chill at the main resort. So pretty much we just went to the pool, ate, and relaxed. 

On the way back to Saigon from Phu Quoc, we took a ferry to my dad’s hometown, Ha Tien. Unfortunately, the city name is not the same as my last name; there are different accents on both the names. This is my second time ever visiting my dad’s hometown and this experience was very different from my first visit. My dad still has a few cousins and high school friends living there so every night we were out with his cousins and friends, eating and drinking. My dad’s cousins were so gracious to us and always went out of their way to make our trip memorable and fun. They went out and got us fresh seafood every day and I even got to ride on a motorcycle with my second cousin! (My mom doesn’t allow me to ride motorcycles in Saigon because there are too many people) I had a lot of fun on this trip because I saw my dad smile often. Being in his hometown, drinking with his old friends, and being able to show me and my mom where he grew up really made him happy. The town is quite small and not famous, but it still was a great cultural experience.

Thinking back on this vacation, three months later, it really was a great trip. It probably will be a little while longer before my parents and I go on another vacation together, but I am looking forward to the next trip we go on. As I get older, I start to realize that my time with my parents is very special and is kind of limited. I do not live in the same city as them anymore and I don’t actually get to go home that often. I want to be able to see them more, but I can’t always control my work or school schedule. That is why the time that I do have with them is so important and special. I want to make it a priority in my life to make sure I spend quality time with my parents. I want to take them to cool places all around the world and show them different cultures and foods. I hope my parents can live their life to the very fullest because for the past 20 something years, they have always put me first. They should finally start to do things that they want to do without having to worry about me. It’s time for me to start taking care of them and showing them the world. 

 from Jackie