I ❤️ Vietnam

When Eric and I visited Saigon and the Mekong Delta in 2006, it left a bad taste in our mouths.  We were herded through tourist attraction factories, there were people begging Eric for money relentlessly, and we felt like we were constantly being ripped off.  For example, on our first trip, we were trying to buy a kilo of mangosteens and the vendor put her thumb on the scale and denied it when we called her out, and then tried to re-zero the scale to add weight.  On this trip, when we were buying a durian from a roadside vendor, he spent some time trying to locate a ripe one, cracked the bottom open slightly, took a sniff, decided it wasn't ripe enough, and sent us to a neighboring vendor to get a better one 🤯

On this trip, we took great care to try to curate something more "authentic" and "less touristy".  We picked a hotel outside the popular tourist spots and expat hub, went to the less visited section of the Cu Chi Tunnels, and stayed at an off the beaten track homestay that included lots of great tours.  Maybe that is why the 2025 experience was so much better than the 2006 version.  I mean, I love travelling with just Eric, but it has also been just awesome to experience this with Ava, Oren, and Iyla too :)  Their open mindedness, respect for a different culture, and willingness to taste and try new things makes traveling with these dudes so fun.

I think also that there is a larger middle class in Vietnam relative to 19 years ago, so people are less desperate, and therefore less inclined to feel the need to scam.  Another factor is that I've learned more about my family's life in Saigon since my first trip, so I feel a deeper connection to this place.

I'm grateful that the bad taste left in 2006 has been superseded by a delicious aftertaste in 2025!  Thank you, Vietnam,  my birthplace, for exceeding my expectations!