BY: CHRISTOPHER BROWN

 

 

Wandr is a series dedicated to my international adventures, and to kick things off, I’m taking you on a multi-part journey through all of my trips to Vietnam, starting in 2016. Back then, I documented my travels through Facebook posts… and let’s just say they weren’t exactly my best work. Recently, I dug through the archives and decided to breathe new life into them, adding richer details, fresh insights, and the perspective I’ve gained since.

 

 

If you haven’t read Part One yet, I highly recommend starting there!

 

 

Just one year after my first trip in 2016, I was back on a plane to Vietnam for the second time. Venus had left a week earlier than I did so she could spend a little more time with her parents, so this time, I was making the long journey by myself.

 

After meeting her parents last year, my primary goal for this trip was to ask her parents for permission to marry their daughter and to propose to her during the trip. I had the engagement ring in my backpack under my seat on the plane. Once the 13-hour flight took off, I immediately ordered an Asahi (Japanese beer) and developed a system to keep them coming until I passed out for the flight. In fear that the flight attendants would cut me off, I made sure to order each beer from a different attendant. My plan worked and I woke up in Narita, Japan.

 

At Narita Airport, my first stop was my favorite sushi restaurant which I mentioned in part one. I had sushi and sashimi with another Asahi. Afterward, I stopped by a Japanese gift shop to get more Royce chocolate to bring as a gift. Before boarding my final flight to Vietnam, I made sure to use one of those fancy Japanese bidets, even if I didn’t need to use the restroom.

 

 

Six hours later, I landed in Ho Chi Minh City. Clearing Vietnamese customs was a smooth process as always. I picked up my bags from baggage claim and headed to the exit. I was greeted not only by Venus and her family but also by that familiar, thick, and humid bathtub air. It wrapped around me like a warm embrace, as if the very atmosphere was whispering, “Welcome back”.

 

Day 1: December 25th, 2017 – Ho Chi Minh City

 

 

Today was my first day back in Vietnam. Last year was my first time in a new country and my first time being thrown into a different culture. This year is different for me. I’m more relaxed and comfortable. Everything is familiar and it feels like coming home after a long vacation.

 

 

Vietnam is ever-evolving and transforming into an even more dynamic and modern version of itself. The country is experiencing rapid economic growth, with new construction, businesses, and innovations at an impressive pace.

 

 

I’ve heard many misconceptions that Vietnam is a poor country. While it remains a young nation, its progress is undeniable. Take District One, for example— it has towering high-rise malls featuring global brands like H&M, Zara, and Levi’s, alongside luxury retailers such as Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, and Rolex. On the streets, the swarm of motorcycles weaves alongside Bentleys, Ferraris, and Porsches, reflecting the country’s diversity and growing wealth. Of course, like any major city, Vietnam has areas of poverty, but to label it as a poor country couldn’t be further from the truth. Having just visited a year ago, I couldn’t help but notice the growth and positive changes.

 

 

 

There are, however, some things here that will never change. For example, the coffee is still dark, thick, and strong like motor oil. The people are still as friendly as ever. The traffic is still like 5 o’clock rush hour at all times with nearly no regard to traffic laws. The food is still enchantingly aromatic and delicious. There’s still tax-free and cash-only commerce happening on every street. There are 40¢ draft beers, 50¢ coffees, and $2 bowls of phở (soup).

 

 

Different classes of people, from those less fortunate to the suit-wearing wealthy, gather on the sidewalks to sit on small, plastic stools to eat and drink together. That’s one of the things that I love about Vietnam. It’s a fast-growing country still finding its identity, but most importantly, they’re doing it together.

 

 

 

 

Day 2: December 26th, 2017 – Ho Chi Minh City

 

 

Jet lag is the worst. I tried my best to avoid it. I slept the final eight hours before arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, hoping to be on schedule for the 12-hour time difference, but I was wrong. On the second day, I developed a fever and migraine on top of the jet lag. I took maximum doses of Tylenol and Ibuprofen and went into a 15-hour-long coma. I woke up yesterday feeling like a zombie that rose from the dead. I’m still not sure if it was the timezone change, climate change, or a combination of both, but regardless, I was alive and well again. We had Chinese dim sum for breakfast to start the day.

 

 

I was able to set up a proper meeting with Venus’s parents to ask for permission to marry their daughter. Her parents don’t speak English, so her older brother, Victor, joined the meeting as the translator. Spoiler alert, it went well and I received their blessing. I just had to find the perfect place to propose.

 

We took it easy and traveled to District 1 (Saigon) to shop and eat. If there’s one thing I learned from my last visit to Vietnam, it’s that I shouldn’t eat until I’m full every time. There are so many different dishes to try here in the city, so I’ve been pacing myself so that I can try a bit of everything. Every street corner hosts a street food vendor selling something different than the last, from Vietnamese coffee and sugar cane juice to banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) and banh khot (a bite-sized rice pancake topped with shrimp, fresh herbs, and tangy pickled vegetables, wrapped in a crisp lettuce leaf, and finished with a savory fish sauce dip).

 

 

 

When it comes to Vietnamese restaurants, refills aren’t free, beer is served in a warm can with a cup of tube-shaped ice, tips are not necessary (it’s not a thing here), and they don’t offer napkins. Each restaurant provides a tiny packet of “Wet-Ones”, but the catch is that if you open them, they charge you. Granted, they’re only 10¢ but the Vietnamese hustle game is strong.

 

A little elderly lady, at least 80 years old, caught my attention. She was pushing a cart of bananas and some other fruit. This lady wakes up early in the morning and pushes her cart around the streets of Ho Chi Minh City all day to sell her fruit to make around 5$ profit per day. I’m always running into people similar to this lady who are trying so hard to sell you their products, whether it’s fruit, lottery tickets, or forcing you to take a menu so hopefully you’ll eat at their restaurant. Despite their income, most of these locals can live sustainable, and more importantly, happy and comfortable lives.

 

Not the 80-year-old lady, but another street vendor

 

 

Days 3-4: December 27th, 2017 – December 28th, 2017 – Ha Long Bay

 

 

This morning we took a flight to the northern region of Vietnam. The weather is the polar opposite of Ho Chi Minh City. It’s sweater weather, about 20-30 degrees colder, ranging from 59 to 71 degrees. Our first stop was in Ha Long, where we took a cable car to the top of the Yen Tu Mountain, which at its peak, has a very zen atmosphere with beautiful temples, pagodas, and  a stunning view of the surrounding area. I was still fighting off some sort of sickness, so when we returned to Ha Long, I tried to find a pharmacy to get medicine but had no luck. I was just going to have to tough it out.

 

 

 

The day after, we took a boat and explored the beautiful Ha Long Bay, a body of water that has 1,969 tiny islands randomly dispersed around it. Ha Long Bay translates to “Bay of the Descending Dragon”. The local legend is that during an ancient war, while the Vietnamese were trying to declare independence, they were extremely vulnerable to naval attacks. The Gods took pity on the Vietnamese and sent dragons to defend the invaders by incinerating enemy ships and breathing out giant pieces of jade and emeralds. These jewels created barriers and obstacles for the enemy and those remnants are now these many islands. In modern history, it was also a popular site for naval battles during the Vietnam War.

 

 

The bay is breathtaking. It was the perfect place to propose. I had kept the ring hidden with me this entire trip so far. We were on a tour boat with a large group of people. We went to the top deck to take photos but the entire group of people came up there as well. My anxiety peaked and I chickened out.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 5: December 29th, 2017 – Ninh Binh & Hanoi

 

 

We traveled to Ninh Binh, a small and rural town, where the movie “Kong” was filmed. We took a Vietnamese raft on the river with a tour guide and paddled around the mountains and through nine different caves. The water here is crystal clear. The fog-laced, lush, and green mountains are gorgeous. The area is well maintained to preserve its natural beauty. I asked if I could get out of the raft and swim but was told that it wasn’t allowed and was part of the preservation effort. It rained the entire time, but that didn’t hurt the experience at all. It made the experience even better. Afterward, we took a bus to Hanoi.

 

 

Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam and is only slightly smaller than Ho Chi Minh City. The city is older, so it feels more established and organized. It’s also less chaotic. People appear to follow the traffic rules a little more and the layout of the city is better planned. The French seemed to have had their way in Hanoi, as their architectural influence is apparent, but it gives the city a quaint touch. While here, we tried our best to hit up the best spots in the city during our two-day stay.

 

 

 

 

I was still fighting the ick, so the first stop was a pharmacy to buy meds. In Vietnam, you can purchase medications that are typically prescription-only in many pharmacies without needing a prescription. You can walk in and request a specific medication without questions and pay a very low price for it.

 

 

 

Afterward, we visited Hoan Kiem Lake, also known as Turtle Lake, which is a large lake in the center of the city with an area that turns into a walking district on the weekends. The streets become blocked off and people come out to socialize, eat, and watch street performances. On this night, there was an amazing, super-talented, five-piece band of younger artists that stunned me. They played instrumental covers of popular songs. The leader of the band was a female violinist and their guitar player could shred. To this day, I’ve still been unable to find out who they were.

 

While there, we met up with my old friend, Linh Nguyen. Linh was my college roommate and was the person who initially introduced me to Vietnamese culture. He was the reason that I met my wife a couple of years later through mutual friends.

 

 

After college, Linh went back to his home in Hanoi, so I hadn’t seen him in seven years. He’s one of those friends who you can go for ages without talking to, yet it always feels like no time has passed at all. Linh and his wife took us around the city to have some of the best dishes in Hanoi.

 

First, we had Bun Cha, a Hanoi-based dish consisting of cold noodle soup, with a sweet/rich broth, served with rice noodles, herbs, and grilled pork, at the same restaurant that Obama and Anthony Bourdain visited on CNN’s show, Parts Unknown. I ordered the same meal and drink that Obama did. The restaurant had created a combo called the “Combo Obama”, which comes with bun cha, a crab spring roll, and a bottle of Hanoi beer.

 

 

Afterward, we went to Cafe Giang, the birthplace of egg coffee. Egg coffee? What on earth is that? Hear me out for a minute. I thought that using condensed milk to balance out the dark-roasted Vietnamese coffee was the pinnacle of the Vietnamese coffee culture but egg coffee takes it to another level. It’s the same dark roasted motor oil-like coffee, but topped with a thick, frothy egg whites and condensed milk mixture. It creates a very sweet but perfectly balanced coffee experience that tastes like coffee and marshmallows while leaving a guaranteed frothy mustache.

 

 

 

We went to another walking district called “Pho Co”, situated in the Old Quarter area of Hanoi. The streets in this area are also blocked off for walking traffic only. This area is a hot spot for Westerners, which is another term for Americans or anyone from the west of Vietnam. Pho Co has plenty of bars, clubs, more bars, food, non-Vietnamese restaurants serving burgers and steaks, and more bars. The bars play their music at maximum volume.

 

 

You can find draft beer for 25¢ a cup and balloons pre-filled with nitrous ready to be inhaled. This is the premier party destination in town. There are so many different people from different cultures here. A unique blend of Vietnamese, Americans, Australians, Germans, French, Russian, and more. The deeper you go into Pho Co, the more crowded it gets. There are so many people that it’s impossible to walk without making contact with another person and at one point it becomes difficult to even move.

 

 

Unfortunately, when you get into the heart of the area, it starts to smell like piss. I imagine that this is due to all of the drunk people who don’t bother to find a bathroom. Regardless of the smell, the atmosphere is awesome and energetic. It can also be overstimulating. I grabbed a 25-cent beer, and we leisurely strolled straight through Pho Co, taking in the sights, sounds, and occasionally unpleasant smells, fully immersing ourselves in the vibrant atmosphere as we explored. Ho Chi Minh City also has an area like this called “Bui Vien”, which I’ll cover in the future.

 

 

We went back home for the night and met up the next morning for breakfast with Linh and his wife before flying back to Ho Chi Minh City. We had northern pho, which differs from southern pho in a few ways. The broth in northern pho is more subtle and delicate, with a lighter, less rich flavor compared to the southern version. The protein typically consists of either chicken or minced beef, and it’s served with wide, flat noodles and crispy fried dough sticks on the side.

 

 

Before going back to the airport, we visited the northern Presidental Palace. On these grounds is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese revolutionary leader and the founding father of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, later known as North Vietnam. When he died in 1969, his body was embalmed by Soviet scientists and the mausoleum is now the resting place for Ho Chi Minh’s body. It is open to the public for tours where you can see his body, which is enclosed in a transparent glass case. The mausoleum is protected by gun-wielding Vietnamese soldiers and no photos are allowed.

 

 

Nearby are the grounds of his Stilt House, where he lived from 1958 until his death. Regardless of your views on Ho Chi Minh, it was surreal to see his preserved body and the place where he lived, both of which played a significant role in shaping the Vietnam War. It was time to fly back to the south. I still hadn’t proposed, but our time in the north was unforgettable.

 

 

 

Day 7: December 31st, 2017 – Ho Chi Minh City

 

Two nights ago, we returned to Ho Chi Minh City right in time for the New Year countdown. We went to District One again for the festivities. Just like last year, the crowd was insane. It has to give New York Times Square a run for its money, considering the population of this city is 8.4 million. Due to the crowd, this also wasn’t a good place to propose.

 

This year, the city brought Black Eyed Peas member, apl.de.ap (the one with the mohawk), to bring in the New Year. The night ended with another huge fireworks display. This year, instead of taking taxis to District One, we rode motorcycles. We tried to leave about halfway through the fireworks to beat the traffic but it was a lost cause. To this day, it is still the worst traffic that I’ve ever experienced in Vietnam.

 

 

 

 

Day 8: January 1st, 2018 – Ho Chi Minh City

 

 

We all know that sad feeling that you get when your vacation is coming to an end. That slightly depressing feeling, similar to a Sunday evening, when you try your best to appreciate every minute, hoping time will go by more slowly. It’s one of the unfortunate realities of travel. With only five days left in Vietnam, I was determined to make the most of every single moment.

 

 

To celebrate the New Year, Venus’s parents had reserved for us to go on a five-star dinner cruise in District One. The boat was massive, resembling a modernized Viking ship, adorned with LED lights that gave it a striking, futuristic feel. All guests had to be there before the departure time and we were seated at our table, lit by cozy outdoor lights. The ship cruised along the Mekong River while we had an incredible dinner.

 

 

Day 11: January 4th, 2018 – Ho Chi Minh City

 

 

I had been planning on proposing since I arrived in Vietnam. I carried the ring with me to northern Vietnam and back. I had pre-planned where I was going to propose, Ha Long Bay, but nothing seemed to go as planned. We were either surrounded by way too many tourists, the locations I chose would be closed, or Venus would decide to eat spicy mangos at the wrong time. I finally decided that it didn’t matter where I proposed because any location was perfect as long as I was with her.  We traveled to District Seven to see the Starlight Bridge, a beautiful bridge featuring LED waterfalls and starlights embedded into the walking path. Guess what. It was closed for maintenance. So we traveled to District One to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Surely this was the last romantic spot left standing and it would be the perfect place to propose. Not quite.

 

 

At the time, the Cathedral was under construction and was adorned with plywood. There was a mobile street food vendor nearby advertising their product on a loudspeaker repeating “bap xao day”, which means “fried corn here”. To make matters worse, Venus had just spotted another street food vendor selling fresh mango slices topped with chili pepper and she couldn’t resist. Her older brother, Victor, had been carrying the ring in his pocket the entire evening. It was time, regardless of the circumstances. I had Victor give me the ring and knelt on one knee and asked her to marry me, with spicy mango in her hands and “bap xao day” ringing in the background. Luckily she said yes. A weight had been lifted. We went to Bui Vien, Ho Chi Minh’s version of the crazy walking district in Hanoi, and had some drinks to celebrate.

 

 

 

Day 12: January 5th, 2018 – January 6th, 2018 – Ho Chi Minh City

 

 

We spent the remainder of our time trying to cram everything that we could into our last couple of days.

 

 

I continued to follow Anthony Bourdain around Vietnam by visiting “The Lunch Lady”. Anthony featured her on his Discovery Channel show, No Reservations. The Lunch Lady only serves lunch (hence her name), and she has a weekly rotating menu, serving only one item from that menu each day. She happened to be serving “banh canh” (udon noodle soup with pork) the day that we visited her. The hype was real and I finished every last bite, completely cleaning my bowl. We had driven about 40 minutes on a motorcycle to find her. Ho Chi Minh City is huge. In light traffic, it takes about 30 minutes to travel halfway across the city.

 

 

Vietnamese SIM cards wouldn’t work on my iPhone, so my phone had been on airplane mode and I had been relying heavily on WiFi the entire trip.  So after taking a photo of the Lunch Lady’s stand, my phone died, and unfortunately, so did Venus’. We had no idea what district we were in and we were pretty far from home. Being lost on a motorcycle with no communication in a city this big was a little unnerving. We survived though and managed to navigate our way back to District One with the help of some locals. I learned two lessons on this day: make sure my phone is always charged and download an offline map of Ho Chi Minh City so I can always find my way home.

 

 

 

 

At night, we went to an area in District One called “Pho Di Bo”. This translates to “walking district”. This area is just like the “pho co” area in Hanoi. The streets are closed off, transforming the area into a vibrant hub filled with street food vendors, live performances, and people just hanging out. One of my favorite spots is a food stall where a particular lady serves banh trang nuong—grilled rice paper topped with quail eggs, ground pork, cheese, green onions, and a savory sauce. It’s an incredibly tasty snack. Keep her in mind, as I’ll mention her again in a future article.

 

Day 13: January 6th, 2018 – Ho Chi Minh City

 

 

For breakfast, we had one of my favorite dishes, com tam —a flavorful plate of broken rice topped with grilled pork ribs, sunny-side-up eggs, and pickled carrots, all drizzled with fish sauce.

 

 

 

In the past year or so, Ho Chi Minh City’s craft beer scene has exploded, growing from just 4 breweries to nearly 30 – the growth is incredible. Most of these breweries are in District One. East West Brewing Co. quickly became one of my favorites, offering fantastic beers and a sleek, modern taproom. Winking Seal stood out with its cute, cozy theme and a small yet well-curated menu. BiaCraft, a craft beer bar, offers a diverse selection of brews from local Vietnamese breweries and others across Southeast Asia, like Thailand. Rooster Beers in Bui Vien has a quirky vibe but serves up great beers, while Belgo focuses on Belgian-style brews. LAC Brewing crafted the best mango IPA I’ve ever had, though sadly, they were only around for a year.

 

I had to make one last visit to my all-time favorite before leaving Vietnam, Pasteur Street Brewing, one of my favorite places on Earth. We’d already been a few times during the trip, but I couldn’t leave without giving it a proper farewell. On this night, they had live music. Kevin Falkenberg, a Canadian expat, was performing. He played covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, and more. Sipping craft Vietnamese beers in the humid air on the upper patio of Pasteur Street Brewing, bathed in the warm glow of Edison bulbs, and listening to the sound of Americana classics would become one of my fondest memories of Vietnam.

 

 

 

 

We also visited Ben Thanh Market again, which was one of the most uncomfortable experiences that I’ve ever had in Vietnam. I mentioned it in Part One, but Ben Thanh Market is ultimately a huge indoor flea market with hundreds of vendors selling anything you want/need. It also has a food court area. It’s normal in Vietnam for restaurant employees to try to hand you a menu as you walk by in hopes that you’ll eat at their business, but Ben Thanh Market was a nightmare when it came to this. Upon walking into the food court area, we were immediately bombarded with so many vendors trying to force us to eat at their restaurant by shoving menus in our faces and pulling on our arms to sit at their tables.

 

This was an absolute nightmare for me. I understand that they’re surrounded by competition and that the daily struggle to make money is real, but it was a bit too much. In the future, we will make many more trips to Ben Thanh Market, as it has the best deals for clothing, shoes, and souvenirs, but to this day, I always avoid the food court.

 

 

Vietnam is constantly introducing me to something new that always surprises me. Part of me thinks that Vietnam thrives on innovation because the city is so massive and there’s so much competition that drives it forward. This time, it was cheese tea. We met up with some of Victor’s friends for tea at a place called “Heekcaa”. They sell cold teas topped with whipped cream cheese on top. Heekcaa insists that you take off the lid to drink their tea so you can intentionally give yourself a white cheese mustache. The cream cheese and tea mixture is surprisingly amazing. It’s a game-changer in the tea game.

 

 

 

 

I’ll admit, during the last ten days, there were moments when I missed the comfort of American cuisine. So, I took the opportunity to visit a few American food chains just to compare and contrast. Even the big franchises are adapting and doing things differently to stay competitive. For example, there’s a Buffalo Wild Wings here, but Vietnamese marketing legitimately calls it “B-Dubs”. It has a gaming section in the restaurant where you can play Xbox or Playstation while you eat your wings.

 

 

There’s a big tournament board on the wall for gaming tournaments and it’s free to play. There is no option for boneless wings and instead of getting celery with your wings, you get cucumbers. They even have those little “Wet-Ones” packets personalized for B-Dubs. Most of the food-chain restaurants here have modified their menus to match the preferences of consumers in the region. For example, McDonald’s in Vietnam includes teriyaki burgers, green tea desserts, and rice on their menu. KFC has a sriracha sauce dispenser right beside the ketchup and they have egg tarts on the dessert menu.

 

 

I didn’t visit them, but some other American franchises in Vietnam are: Popeyes, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and more. This city has everything. There are countless 7-Eleven and Circle K locations throughout Ho Chi Minh City, and they far outshine any convenience store in the U.S. They have a huge variety of both American and Asian snacks and soft drinks. I enjoy popping into one of these stores to grab a single can of Vietnamese beer and stroll around, as there are no laws prohibiting public drinking.

 

 

In Vietnam, public spaces like malls often feature karaoke boxes. They’re similar to photo booths and are small, soundproof glass enclosures equipped with two stools, two microphones, two pairs of headphones, and a computer screen. For $1.50, you get 10 minutes to choose any song and sing karaoke. These are such brilliant ideas—so much fun—and I’m sure Americans would love them. Vietnamese people love karaoke though. At night, people set up a loudspeaker and microphone on the side of the street and play some classic Vietnamese instrumentals to sing karaoke, eat, and drink together. It’s just pure, organic fun.

 

 

 

 

The true heart and soul of Vietnam is on the side of the street on a humid, 80-degree night—smelling the aroma of locals cooking and selling street food, with the sound of hundreds of motorcycles and karaoke echoing from the street corner. There’s no better way to eat than right in the midst of it all, sitting on a tiny plastic stool. I know it may sound odd, but it’s such an authentic experience, and my soul feels content just enjoying a meal on that little stool. For our last night in Vietnam, it’s become a new tradition to go with Venus’ family to have com ga, which means “chicken rice”. It’s my new comfort food that partially cures the depression of having to leave Vietnam.

 

 

Day 14: January 7th, 2018 – Ho Chi Minh City

 

 

As I write this, I’m on my way home. I’ve grown accustomed to the 90-degree weather, picked up a partial sun tan in January, become a chopstick pro, and completely flipped my sleep schedule upside down. Right now, I’m sitting on a 13-hour flight from Tokyo, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. Soon, I’ll land in Chicago, and then fly back to West Virginia. Going home is always bittersweet and difficult, but this time it seems a bit easier. I’ve simply just left one home to go to my other.

 

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About the Author:

 

 

 

 

– Christopher Brown is a freelance writer for Digital Wax. He grew up in West Virginia and works primarily as a dental hygienist in Charleston. His wife tells him that he has too many hobbies; a musician, hip-hop head, football fanatic, beer brewer, frequent traveler, & master home chef.