My week has been in the east and the west. Variation is the keyword. Not a frantic, breakneck pace, but controlled and structured, with pauses and room for reflection.

My current everyday life consists of waking up on my own sometime in the morning. I pack my bag and head off. I’ve typically picked out a café, a street or a park that I move towards. It’s rarely a place I’ve been before. Along the way I can take all sorts of detours. Ho Chi Minh City has many good museums, a sea of small, fun shops, big malls and nice parks. Some days I never even get there, but just choose to spend the day somewhere I found along the way.

I can’t walk all day. My 25-30k steps a day are right on the edge of my legs still feeling tired the day after. So I typically sit down at a café, where the computer comes out, and I work on one of my projects. Thao Dien – district 2 in HCMC – is known as the digital nomad area, so wifi and charging are a given. That makes it fairly easy to just settle down somewhere and sit for an hour or two working.

Vietnamese cuisine is big and varied. Here in HCMC it’s only even broader, with many more international and fusion kitchens. I really appreciate the local dishes. Noodle soups, rice dishes, Banh mi. It’s easy, cheap and tasty.
Especially in HCMC, where the options are there, I also pop in and get something more ‘normal’ to eat. The Vietnamese are fairly good at sourdough pizza, and pasta dishes almost seem to be their favourite international dish. There’s also plenty of fish, both sushi, grilled and fried. I could go on, and after 2 months away, I’m still finding new flavours, variations and entirely new dishes.
It doesn’t all have to be new. The old familiar faces can also be a fun little visit, for example McDonald’s. Here you’ll get something you know, but maybe in a very different way. I got their best seller, pasta and fried chicken. Sure enough, the taste was there. I had no doubt that I was eating McD food.

The slow pace leaves room for small deep-dive projects. Here I’ve also started varying between all sorts of different things. Besides writing these stories, I’ve experimented with AI, done some game development, obtained a CVR number (Danish business registration number) and looked into freelance work opportunities. These are projects I enjoy tinkering with, and which help me in various ways to absorb and reflect on my journey. Over time, I hope one of my projects can grow into something bigger. But even if they don’t, they belong on this slightly strange, experimental journey.

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