Day 233: Rest, Recovery…and Autonomy in Saigon
We needed a day like today.
With James sick, we took it very easy, taking turns exploring Saigon on our own, guide-free. Willa and I went first. We explored our neighborhood — District 2 — on foot, loving the freedom to walk down the street, chat by ourselves and pop into totally “uninteresting” places as we pleased, on our own time.
Case in point: We went into a Mini Mart and spent 20 minutes looking at Vietnamese school supplies and junk food snacks. I know it’s not a temple, but honestly the stuff in these aisles was new and different and interesting for Willa and me!
She and I rode our hotel’s little motorboat across the Saigon River over to Downtown, aka District 1. This is where all the tourist sights are (Notre Dame Cathedral, Gustav Eiffel’s Post Office building, the rooftop of the last chopper out of Saigon, the War Remnants Museum) and all the hotels.
The boat ride was delightful. Not so hot, wind in our hair, buzzing along river banks that are clearly still very much in transition from sleepy fishing village/wetlands to developed Italianate McMansion subdivisions for the rich.
I was so proud of us because once we got to downtown, Willa and I managed to cross many major streets, some six lanes across both ways, with no crosswalk or light.
We didn’t run or find a gap in the traffic — we did the very Vietnamese move of just …stepping out into the sea of cars, trucks and bikes and moving steadily forward, arm raised in the air. Takes a lot of instinct-fighting to not dash. Sure enough, the traffic just sort of pools around you as you go. The very definition of going with the flow.
Willa was giving me odd looks as we crossed because I was 100% talking out loud to myself as we did this: “Okay, okay, can we go? Ok let’s go, here we go, we’re going, oh my god, ok, keep walking, nice and easy, here we go, almost there, oh jesus, okay, does that guy see us, eeeek, almost there,” etc.
One thing we’ve all noticed in general: People don’t walk much here in Saigon. Obviously not a pedestrian-friendly place. We’ve heard that it’s because it’s just too damn hot. By the time you arrive anywhere, you’re soaked. Better to ride.
Willa and I meandered a little bit, and spent about 45 minutes in a bookstore. I have to say being around all those books made me look forward to getting back to having a library card and access to a local library. Kindle’s got pros of course, but nothing’s better for a budding book-lover than a free library card and the chance to take out any 50 paper books she wants…
Ultimately we made it to our destination, 42 Nguyen, a 1960s apartment building that over time has evolved to become an illegal but charming shopping and resident tower — all its apartment units are mom and pop shops and coffee hangouts.
It kind of reminded me of Iwan Baan’s TED Talk, and that abandoned office tower in Caracas, Venezuela (worth a watch).
We walked up all the stories, browsing and stopping for an iced tea. A cool thing to walk around.
By 2:30 we’d ridden the boat back over to our hotel to let Teddy have a chance out of the room.
James had had lunch and been energetic enough for a few rounds of cards. He hasn’t thrown up today which is good.
Personally I was a little relieved to be back at the room, as my own stomach wasn’t 100%…
For his part, Teddy took the same pleasant boat ride to District 1 and checked a few different sights off his list.
He also relaxed with a coffee and, later (after showing up too late to get in to the War museum), cocktails at the two hotels featured in our book, “The Lotus Eaters:” The Continental and the Caravelle.
(“The Lotus Eaters” is really good, btw — novel about combat photojournalists during the war.)
We haven’t done enough alone time this year, I don’t think. We do it so much in NYC — giving each other breaks without the kids. Admittedly I still do it more than Teddy out here on the road — so I was glad he took the evening to himself!
His pics from the boat ride home:
He brought back some dinner and the kids had a nice long bath. Everyone went to bed early — refreshed, re-energized, and feeling ready for the sightseeing tomorrow.
About all that feeling worn down by tourism stuff: Today we confirmed several big changes to Cambodia (our next stop)– removing layers of guides, several temples, and more. Feeling much better about everything.
