I’ve enjoyed Japan, but I feel I owe it to say that I’m happy to be back in Vietnam. It’s really a country that has grown on me. From chaotic unrest and busyness, to now feeling almost familiar. It’s a country that rewards you for being attentive, curious, and open-minded. Honestly, I don’t think I would have liked Vietnam if I’d only had 2 weeks here. Trying to squeeze every possible sightseeing spot, guided tour, and restaurant visit into an already busy and unstructured environment would have stressed me out no end. But I’ve given myself time to settle into the rhythm, to the point where it’s become natural to wander right out into the traffic, haggle over prices at the market, and ask the locals for help. I can honestly say it was a breath of fresh air, pollution notwithstanding, to land in Saigon again.

The heat

As I’ve written about a few times, my default is to walk around. That principle gets put to the test when we hit 35 degrees in the shade. My daily rhythm is quietly mutating into something entirely new. I get up early. 6-7. Sunlight usually wakes me. I just leave the curtains slightly open.
Up until around 10.30 I do something out in the city. I point at something and go for it. In the middle of the day I seek shelter. 11.00 to 15.00 is about maximising indoor time. Preferably with aircon. Museums, shopping centres, cafés. If I need to move from one activity to another, I try to make sure I’m outside for a maximum of 15 minutes at a time. That’s roughly how long it takes before the sweat starts running down me. There was one restaurant that got a visit from me, not because I was hungry, but because I wanted to pay for just a seat in their air conditioning.

Money perspective

My trip doesn’t have a completely fixed end date. I’ve promised to be home for Christmas, but what happens after that, I haven’t decided. That’s why spending takes up a fair amount of headspace for me. But here two different sides of me meet.

I walk around doing constant conversions from VND to DKK to get a sense of things. Coffee can be had cheaply from small stalls for 5 kr., or from cafés for 15 kr. At the really lavishly nice cafés, a drink costs up to 25 kr. It should be stressed that you pretty much have to walk into a café that looks like a palace before the price gets all the way up to 25 kr. Taxis cost 5 kr. per km. Scooters cost 2 kr. per km. And so on. All the small amounts add up, of course. But even on my tight budget, I get a long way on the krone.

At the same time, I can’t get around the fact that my perspective on what’s cheap and what’s expensive is completely skewed relative to this country. There are several places I’ve walked past that feel like they were made for the ultra-rich. But then I see the price and just have to admit that, in Vietnam, I’m part of that group.

I’ve been stopped a few times on the street, by beggars or collectors for charitable causes. If I give them 50,000 vnd – 13 kr., they become overjoyed. If I try to give them 100,000 vnd, they won’t take it. That’s too much money to donate. The difference feels grotesque to me.

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