Bình Hưng Hòa

What I was always curious about during my stay in Vietnam (and which I am now comfortable writing about since I left the country (yes, I write these with a delay (and yes, that delay has increased so much that these posts are basically only vague recollections at this point) sue me, I'm lawyered up)) is the fact that it's a communist country. Other than the hammer and sickle that are scattered around the country, it's hard to see signs of that. The best example of this is Saigon. If you walk through downtown Saigon, you're going to see expensive stores such as Prada, Chanel, Enzo Millot, Louis Vuitton, Chabot, Lamborghini, or Gucci. Now, I may not know a lot about communism. There is no but. I probably just don't know a lot about communism. Having these stores in a communist country just seems odd to me.

Saigon is different from the other big towns in Vietnam, including Hanoi. While Hanoi has an Old Town with more traditional houses, Saigon is filled with skyscrapers. That's probably due to Vietnam’s history during the war. The Americans and the French had the South under control, and where America and France are in control, there will be consumption of luxury brands—even decades later.

Beyond luxury clothes, you also have fast food like McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC everywhere. My first night in Saigon, I went to McDonald's, I must admit. Partly because it was late and it was one of the few spots that were open, and partly also because I was curious about what a Big Mac in a communist country tastes like. The answer: the same as everywhere. But the burgers weren't as messy as back home and actually looked similar to the pictures in the advertisements. That gave me a better conscience.

Aside from all the consumptionism, here is another episode of random connections I made during this trip: I had the pleasure of meeting Bente. We had a brief conversation that quickly evolved into a talk about our wildest dreams. Bente wants to fly in a hot air balloon. She also presented me with a plan of how to do it without spending money: she would get an internship at a hot air balloon company and be paid in hot air balloon rides. Bente is a delightful person with original dreams and even more original ideas on how to reach them. Every time I see a hot air balloon from now on, I will think about her.

And then there is Mimi. Mimi is the aunt of Adam. Adam is a guy who approached me while I was sitting on a bench in Saigon. During the conversation, he asked about my name three times. After learning that I’m German (he only asked that twice), he introduced me to his family, who were sitting on the bench next to us. Since their daughter was about to go to Germany to become a caretaker, they asked if they could have my number for questions. I agreed. Mimi took my number. Mimi has texted me at least twice every day: "Good morning!", "Good evening!", "Good afternoon!" I stopped replying after one day. I wouldn’t even reply to that if she were my mom (who only texts once per day usually—thanks, Mom!).

My original plan to go to the island of Phu Quoc failed since I waited too long and the tickets became too expensive. That something in Vietnam could become expensive almost offended me. But then again I was in Saigon. In my irritation and my longing for the sun and a body of water, I decided to go to Mui Ne, which is a town by the ocean about 3 hours from Saigon. Can you guess what happened to me there?Read more