Vietnam 2024 – Trip Report 14

Friday 27 September – Saturday 28 September – Can Tho (Green Village) – Saigon

Friday 27 September

Eyes open.  7.00am.

Good, still got 45 minutes.

Doze; time check; 7.44am.

Ha!, beat the alarm by one minute!

Alarm switched off before it has a chance to do its thing.

But for some reason, it still manages to do its thing.

I hate this alarm…..

Up for breakfast for the final time.

Damn lasts…..

Fried eggs with chanh dây (passionfruit juice), while taking in the view that I will never tire of.

Back to the room to complete the pack up, and then out to do the dreaded ‘goodbye’.

It’s hard.  As it always is.

Selfies with Thy, Oanh and Giang, and then a change of plan with how we’re getting to the bus, with it now being a Futa shuttle from the nearby village.

No problem!

One last hug, and then into the car with Giang at 9.00am.

Quickly into the village, and then to the car park, next the Purple House place.

Out of the car, and Giang refuses to leave us until we’re picked up.

We sit and watch the goings on, Giang even buying a small sweet snack, which according to the cart, is bánh bò sữa nướng, and shares it with us.

He’s just such a lovely guy.

Giang, patiently waiting with us.

Our shuttle bus arrives, Giang once again takes control, and after a hug and a handshake, we’re on our way by 9.20am.

Every time we come to Green Village, we meet more people who just make it so much more difficult to leave.

Away from the rural area, and into Can Tho, stopping occasionally to pick up several other fellow bus customers.

At the station by 9.45am, Thy’s note handed over, and 165 000 Dong tickets paid for.

A short wait, and then onto the bus, with footwear placed in supplied plastic bag.

As expected, it’s a ‘sleeper’ style.

Not so expected, is the top ‘bunks’ we’ve been allocated.

The climb, followed by the insertion, done in a far from elegant way, completed, we’re on the move by 10.00am.

Made it!

Through Can Tho, and then out on the highway, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness, while also being educated on how gravity works, every time we approach, and leave, a bridge.

It’s fun.

Sort of……

We reach the pitstop at 10.50am, and rather than ‘borrow’ the offered ‘one size does not fit all’ sandals, I take my own.

Into the big shed, a bánh mì each (25 000 Dong), but forgo the drink due to obvious reasons, and then back to the bus.

Our ride to Saigon.

Helpful tip – At rest stops, take a photo of your bus, showing the actual bus number on the side, or the numberplate, so you know which one is yours. They tend to all look the same.

My sandals removed, and I’m offered a plastic bag.

I try to explain I already have one, but he is adamant that I require the one he is thrusting upon me.

It’s too hard, so I meekly give in.

Inserted into our bunks once again, and on our way 20 minutes after we pulled up.

We slow to a crawl at one point, the bus doors open, a cà phê sữa đá suddenly appears, and 15 000 Dong is paid.

I’m pleased, as it should help our driver stay awake.

Some Tripadvisor, some Facebook, and a little dozing, interspersed with gazing out the window at the usual sights of rural Vietnam.

Rice fields, either full of rice, empty of rice, or in the process of being emptied of their rice, many with the countless tombs in amongst it all.

It’s one of my earliest memories of Vietnam, and it still always intrigues me when I see it.

The fields slowly give way to the city, and we finally reach the bus station at 12.45pm.

Extricated from our beds, my two plastic bags returned, and we’re off the bus and reunited with our bag.

Past all the taxi touts who seem to live here, who, for the most part, completely ignore us.

The advantage of not looking like a deer in the headlights, I guess.

Out of the bus station grounds, and to the same shaded spot we found last year.

Grab car booked (108 000 Dong), and within three minutes, we make a match on the numberplate.

On our way by 1.00pm, and we pull up at the LeBlanc just before 1.30pm.

Down the hem, some of it now newly concreted, and into our home for the next five nights.

Chau is at the desk, and as usual, it’s good to see her again.

A quick chat, and then upstairs to our old room.  It’s nice to be back.

Bags unpacked, and then out again.  Down Diagonal Street, a wave to our bún bò Huế guy, and then over to our old coffee shop, which was closed when we were last here, now almost four weeks ago.

Thinking, or more hoping, it was just closed for the national holiday, it appears that it may be no more, with it still all locked up.

I’m saddened by that thought.  He was a lovely guy, and we had some good times sitting out the front.

We make our way up to the alternative we found the day we arrived, and yep, they’re not there either.

This is going swimmingly…..

Back down the road a bit, and into one that we walked past earlier.

The guy is wearing an apron, which I think means he takes his coffee very seriously, and his face lights up when he sees us walk in.

He can’t organise a table quick enough, and fusses over us.

Two cà phê sữa đá’s (25 000 Dong each) quickly arrive, along with complimentary trà đá’s, and all is good with the world, once again.

We sit, watch the goings on in the street outside, while also taking in his fishtank collection.

He has a few, and seems to have a thing for them, but he could do with a few more of the things that swim in them.

If only I’d known, I could have got some for him from the fish place in Hue!

Coffees done; firmly of the belief that we have found a replacement café; we head off.

Up to Dien Bien Phu, and then up to the big roundabout.

Wait for a small break in traffic, and as we step out, an old local guy decides we need help, and assists us in our endeavours to cross.

It was funny, and he really wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

Into the Viettel store we stood in 26 days ago, and the question, using Google Translate, is asked about extending my sim card by a week, seeing as it will run out in three days’ time.

The short answer appears to be no problem, but we’ll need to come back on the 30th.

Back outside, and down to our not so close VIB ATM.  Five million extracted after selecting ‘other’.

The wide streets are becoming painful, not to mention boring, so we disappear off into the hems.

A juice place, which is more of a tea place, is found, not too far from the one we sat at earlier in the month, and with the heat starting to become a problem, the easy decision is made.

Two pineapple tea things (26 000 Dong) are ordered, arriving with complimentary trà đá, and a little surprisingly, they’re actually really good!

We get talking to the owner, whose English is excellent, and it turns out that she’s spent a bit of time in Australia.

Drinks done, Lisa is dropped back at the LeBlanc, and I head up to reacquaint myself with my beer place.

Over the busy one way street that is Dien Bien Phu, but never ever assuming that all traffic is following the one way rule, and then a few strange looks as I head in.

But not for long, as the Cambodian girl walks in after me, yelling to the others, “Saigon Beer!”, while giving me a big smile.

I love it, and I love how she looks after me.

Sit inside, before moving outside, once they’ve cleared some of the bikes that have been parked on the footpath, with that bike parking appearing to be a bit of a side business.

The usual sights, the familiar faces.  The rubbish guys, like clockwork, the beer delivery guys, who in my opinion, are some of the most important people in the world.

Always happy to see them!

It’s good to be back, although there is some disappointment that we’ve now reached the final leg of the Vietnam component.

I’m trying not to look too far forward, but this is just what I do……

More sitting, more watching, with the young Cambodian girl giving me a huge smile every time she walks past.

She’s even got one of the other young guys, going out of his way to make sure I’m looked after.

It’s nice, and I love that they care, but I am just a little embarrassed by the attention.

Beers (24 000 Dong each) done, I head off with a hẹn gặp lại, and make my way back towards the LeBlanc, dropping in on my take away beer guy.

I get a big smile when he sees me, and again, it’s these little moments.  They’re like friends, even though I don’t know them, but their genuineness and kindness just blows me away.

12 000 Dong beers paid for, he even shakes my hand as he gives me my change.

I head off, once again ruing the fact that I still haven’t asked his name, and get back to the LeBlanc just after 6.00pm.

A shower, a beer, a few notes, and then out for dinner, with the desire being to find our dumpling couple from the last couple of years.

We looked for them on the day we arrived four weeks ago, but weren’t successful, thinking that they may have just had the night off.

Into Diagonal Street, and then up the hems, wracking my brain for which hem it actually was.

I can’t find them, so to get my bearings, we head back onto the more main road.

Up, down, then back up in the vicinity I know they were.

Nup, not there, and the realisation dawns that they too may have moved on.

If that’s the case, I’m devastated, as their food was very good, but better than that, they were just a lovely couple.

We give up, and take the easy option of phở bò, at the restaurant opposite the beer place, which we ended up at on the day we arrived.

It’s good, as are the beers, and the girls looking after it all are a lot of fun.

Bill fixed up (phở, 35 000 Dong, beer 20 000 Dong), and then over the road, once again receiving big smiles from the Cambodian girl.

The Bia Viet promotional girl, who was there this afternoon, is still there, and seeing as beer promotional products are a favourite of mine, I set about finding what needs to be done.

Drink four, spin wheel, win something, apparently, so Lisa is duly assigned to, before ultimately failing, the task at hand.

Bia Viet becomes my beer, and four are dispatched, while keeping the bottle tops for my collection back home.

Changing it up tonight.

The wheel, which is a virtual wheel on the Promo girl’s phone, is spun, and quite serendipitously, which is a word that I’ve never, ever, used, it’s three days worth of data from Viettel.

This could solve a problem, and cancel the need to walk back over to the Viettel shop, but my suspicion is that the three days will begin immediately, with it finishing the same day that my current sim card will run out.

Oh well, what will be, will be, and in the end, it was all a bit of fun.

Another beer, and having completed her shift, the Bia Viet girl begins to pack up the things, many of which would have been problematic in getting them home anyway, that I didn’t win.

But she’s not quite done, and as she walks past, she hands me a Bia Viet hat.  It’s red, which isn’t really my colour, but I love it.  And I love the fact that she cared enough to leave me a real ‘souvenir’.

Beers done, we head back to the LeBlanc around 9.30pm.  Our hem is all lit up, and judging by the presence of a truck or two, as well as the multiple lengths of concrete pump pipes laying about, it seems that the completion of the concreting of the hem will be happening tonight.

Onto the bed for the usual, as well as much contemplation.

Another moving day, a difficult goodbye, and then a reacquainting with an area that we’ve now seen a bit of.

In my mind, we were ‘just’ coming to Saigon today, and apart from knowing that that was signaling the beginning of the end of our time in Vietnam, I hadn’t really thought too much more about it.

But walking around this afternoon made me realise how much I love it here.  And how much I’ve missed it.

It’s a lot of things, but in the end it’s probably just one main thing.  And that’s the people.

Their kindness, and their genuineness, just makes it, and they make me feel like I’m almost a part of their little community.

Yep, I just love it here.

So, the plan tomorrow?

Well, after Lisa was able to work her magic on the darkness of the print, another attempt will finally be made at both printing it, and getting it framed.

And then tomorrow night, arrangements have been made to allow a catch up with that person I ‘met’ on Tripadvisor.  It will be nice to finally put a face to a screen name.

A couple more unneeded beers, and then pin pulled just before midnight.

Yeah, bit late, but the noise of concrete trucks outside isn’t terribly conducive to sleep.

Could be a long, and noisy, night…..

Saturday 28 September

Yep, the noise was a constant, with it finally coming to an end, just after the usual sounds of Saigon waking up, started.

Outside a bit after 9.00am, and a mere hours after it was poured, the brand new concrete already has the ubiquitous Vietnamese street rubbish on it, along with slopped render from the guy hanging off the outside of the building opposite.

Nothing stays new for long here…..

All back to normal…..

Over to the main-ish road to do something about a bag of dirty clothes I’ve found myself holding, and we end up at one we’ve not used before.

A sign tells us we have a choice; 10 000 Dong, 12 000 Dong, or 15 000 Dong.

For what, I have no idea, so on the belief that you get more if you pay more, we go the 15 000 Dong option.

Clothes are weighed; bang on 2 kgs; 30 000 Dong handed over.

Google Translate is used to ask the question, and yes, tomorrow morning, is the answer received.

A glance across at our café, and it continues to be a café that we used to frequent, with it still locked up.

Up the street, past yesterday’s café, and on to see what has become of our ‘Mom and Pop’ café from the day we arrived.

They’re there, but with a significantly smaller footprint than they had, with the reason for that appearing to be the presence of another coffee vendor, with an upmarket looking cart, on the other side of the lane.

The old couple, however, see us, and quickly arrange a table.

Two cà phê sữa đá’s (17 000 Dong each), and two complimentary trà đá’s promptly arrive, and the sitting and watching begins.

The coffees aren’t quite what I remembered, with them being a little too sweet, but I’m probably being hampered somewhat, by a slight feeling of unwellness.

It doesn’t feel food related, so I put it down to a slight hangover, or perhaps just a lack of sleep.

Due to one of us being ‘map challenged’, I study Google Maps for the location of the printing and frame place, that Lisa is of the opinion that can help.

It doesn’t look too difficult, although the intrepid one is sure to complain at some stage, so mental note is taken, and we head off.

Down Nguyen Dinh Chieu, and then off to the left.

The heat quickly becomes a thing, so we stick to the shadiest side of the street whenever we can.

Past a delivery driver and a girl on a bike, in heated discussion over who was to blame for a minor road infringement, and then onto a park area, with groups of guys playing what I will call badminton.

But it’s badminton using your feet, and without racquets.

The foot skills of the Vietnamese have always impressed me.

It’s a bit hard to see, but it looks like the ‘hacky sack’ type thing the guy with the white hat is about to kick, is above the head of the guy wearing the knee brace.

There’s just something about bikes and polystyrene….

Into motorbike muffler and exhaust street, which then becomes picture frame street.

Appearing to be close, the address is checked, street numbers perused, and business name found; we have success!

We head in, and not even remotely surprising, it’s going to be up to Google Translate to get this happening.

I leave it to Lisa, seeing as it’s her baby, and after some awkwardness and confusion, Lisa and the girl settle in to some sort of negotiation and discussion.

Realising it’s not going to be overly quick, I become aware that a toilet is required.

Fortunately it’s not a stomach issue, with it merely being time for my bladder and cà phê sữa đá to part company.

Google Maps tells me there’s one on the next street corner, so I leave Lisa to continue trying to get what she wants.

Back up to the corner, and as I go to enter a pretty ordinary looking ‘bathroom’, the group of three in charge of said bathroom, worry themselves over my ability to pay the fee.

Right now I’d happily give them triple for what I require, so I try and placate them by letting them know I’m good for it.

Past two very unfriendly dogs protecting the door, and relief is quickly, and joyfully, attained.

Back out again, 5000 Dong handed over, and off down to find Lisa again.

She has had success, well, apparent success, with it being promised that it will be ready later this afternoon.

With the problem now belonging to our print / framing girl, we retrace our steps, but only until the roundabout.

Seeing a park, which includes a shaded footpath running beside it, and having a feeling I actually know where we are, we follow the park.

The walk continues, in markedly cooler conditions than the majority of Saigon’s big wide streets provide, until we come across a trendy looking guy; trendy because he’s got long hair and is wearing a bandana thing; using implements that cut hair.

It reminds me of the fact that my hair is currently longer than my preferred length, so the decision is made to do something about that.

50 000 Dong is the answer to my question, and as Lisa heads off in a search for a couple of cold drinks, my guy begins the process.

There’s no mirror, which is both good and bad, but I get the feeling that the sides are being ‘trimmed’ to a length that is significantly shorter than they usually are.

I sit back, enjoying the short rest from our walk, while tolerating the occasional waft of urine, coming from somewhere not too far away.

Haircut done, he turns his attention to my facial hair, which is the result of my grooming laziness, over the last few days.

Job complete, 50 000 Dong handed over, and he shakes my hand as I head off.

My barber attending to his next client.

Lisa reappears, sporting two pineapple juices, along with a huge smile on her face.

She’s admiring my new haircut, and it’s clear to see she’s working very hard at not bursting out in laughter.

A quick feel of the sides confirms my earlier thoughts, with the top left a little longer than it usually is.

Oh well, they say there’s only a couple of weeks between a bad haircut and a good one…..

The end result.

Barber school training!  Which we found set up just down from my guy.

Back into the hems, the sides of my head now much cooler, but more prone to potential sunburn, and we find a market.

And that’s good, as it’s a market we’ve been to before, and it confirms my earlier belief of thinking I roughly knew where we were.

We walk the market, and even though many vendors are in the throes of packing up, it, as they usually are, is interesting.

Through the market, and then more hems, before crossing one of the bigger roads, and finding that really narrow alley, which feels a little like a secret entrance, to ‘our’ hems, which are only ‘ours’ because of my ineptness two years ago.

Back to the LeBlanc a bit after 12.00pm, and while we probably should do lunch, the bánh mì opla Lisa had earlier is still keeping her content, while I just can’t be bothered with the eating thing.

Up to the room, and onto the bed; I’m knackered.

Lay for a bit, but then become aware of a mild choking sensation. 

Into the bathroom, and a little dry retching ensues.  It’s not stomach related, with it being more throat, and everything remains where it should.

I’ve had this sensation, or something similar, a couple of times this trip, and the thought had crossed my mind that it may be due to pineapple juice.

No scientific reason for that, with it just being that the last time it happened, I hadn’t long finished a pineapple drink.

This episode now has me thinking that that may in fact be the cause.

Lay down for a little while, and it eventually diminishes.

Back outside just before 2.00pm, and over to our bánh mì girl for the usual cold meat variety 20 000 Dong), minus the mayonnaise and pate, and with only a very small amount of chilli.

The bánh mì is good, but then I cop a piece of that ‘very small amount’ chilli.  It’s brutal, and my lips, and the area around them, are now on fire.

A scouring of the remaining bánh mì reveals another two small pieces of the evil red stuff, and they are promptly discarded.

Around the hems, lips still on fire, and then on to the little café run by Nga, who we haven’t yet seen on this trip, after first meeting her last year.

Nga looks up as we approach, and a second later, her face lights up, as she recognises us.

She puts her hand out in anticipation of a handshake, but that’s never going to be enough, and instead, she receives a couple of hugs, much to the amusement of her other customers.

Room is made for us, and drinks of orange juice with passionfruit, not only enjoyed for its flavour, but also used to try and placate my still burning lips, which are now slightly swollen, as well as much redder in colour, than they normally are.

It is rather uncomfortable.

We chat with Nga using Google Translate, which is good but frustratingly slow, but I’m not complaining, as it’s well worth effort when you make these little connections as you go about the journey.

More sitting and savouring, my lips finally begin to feel like they normally do, and then our dumpling soup guy walks past, giving us a smile and a wave, as he heads to his house a little further down the hem.

Lisa follows him and finds out, using Google Translate, that yes, they are still doing their thing, and that yes, they are still in the same spot.

I’m not sure what we’ve been doing wrong, but it’s good to know that we can now rectify it.

Drinks done, 30 000 Dong paid, and a heartfelt cảm ơn given to Nga, as well as a definite hẹn gặp lại, and we head back to the room a bit before 2.00pm to cool down.

Where the slopped render, on the new concrete, is coming from.

A few notes, as well as some WhatsApp-ing, confirming a couple of catch-ups with two locals.

One being Thuy, who we haven’t seen for two years, along with her young son, who is not yet two years old.  She is also the reason for Lisa’s picture.

I’m looking forward to seeing her again, but at the same time, rather anxious about it.

The other catch up is with Duc, another person I’ve met through Tripadvisor, with a few beers planned for Monday afternoon.

A short rest, which comes to an abrupt end, when I rub my eye.

That damn chilli is still giving, as I race off to the bathroom uttering expletives, as I attempt to flush the pain inducing oil.

Never ever again…..

Back out just after 3.00pm, but this time going our separate ways.  Me to my beer place early, due to our ‘dinner date’, and Lisa back to the framing place to pick up the print.

Her plan is to use Grab Bike, and I mention the possible option of getting her driver to wait for her, rather than booking a second ride back.

Not completely convinced I’ll ever see Lisa again, I make my way up to the beer place.

Big smile from my Cambodian girl, table sorted, and beer quickly arrives.

The world is watched, and I get a smile from her every time she walks past me.

She’s lovely, and just so sweet.

With most of the parked bikes out the front now collected, tables are set up on the footpath, and with sitting outside always better than inside, I head out.

The usual sights, and then a sight I was really hoping to see.

My shoe cleaning guy from the last two years appears, and as soon as he sees, he gives me a big smile and shakes my hand.

Again, it’s these little interactions that just mean so much to me.

A brief Google Translate chat with him, made a little difficult due to his phone being of the ‘non-smart’ variety, and then he heads off to continue his work around the city.

Beers done, take away ones picked up from my guy down the street, and then back to the LeBlanc by 4.30pm.

Lisa has actually made it back, and the rather convoluted saga of printing and framing, carried out across the length of Vietnam, has now come to an end.

But it was worth the wait and the effort, as it is much improved.

And the solo Grab experience?

The fare was 20 000 Dong, and yes, he was more than happy to wait to earn another 20 000 Dong to bring her back ‘home’.

Quick shower, then out by 5.00pm.  Grab Bikes ordered (22 000 Dong x 2), with both turning up quickly, and we’re off for the short ride to a bar in Ngô Thời Nhiệm Street.

Off the bikes, and we’re immediately found by the person I’ve ‘spoken’ to, but never met.

It’s MsLuLu from Tripadvisor fame, along with her partner Tony.

Seats taken, the beers and chatting begin.

It’s great to finally be able to put a face to a name, and even better to find them both so friendly and so easy to talk to.

Lots of talking, and then the decision is made to do something about dinner.

After the French restaurant next door is aborted, we end up at another of the French variety, somewhere past the Re-unification Palace, and the still scaffold wearing Notre Dame Cathedral.

More drinks, with Lisa even getting the option of wine, which is a very rare thing indeed when we’re in Vietnam, along with a dish that is more Vietnamese than French.

While it’s a far more upmarket restaurant than we would normally seek, it really wasn’t about the food and the ambience, but more about who we were with.

And we must have got on incredibly well, with the night absolutely flying, as we talked pretty much Vietnam exclusively, which I always find very easy to do.

But the time arrives to make a move, so we bid farewell, in the hope that we will get another opportunity at some point to do it all again.

We go our separate ways, immediately lamenting the fact that we forgot to do photos, and our Grab Bikes (22 000 Dong again) quickly arrive.

My guy is in a hurry, and we’re whizzing through the now much cooler, but still very busy with traffic, streets of Saigon.

Past Tao Dan Park, and it’s a sea of red taillights, with some of those red taillights mounting the footpath to deal with the traffic jam.

I wonder if we will do the same, with the hope that we will, and it doesn’t take long to find out, as we follow suit.

I love it!

Red traffic lights are also no issue, with my guy being of the belief that they are merely recommendations, as opposed to an actual ‘order’.

Again, it’s just so much fun.

Back to the LeBlanc by 10.00pm, supplies purchased from the ordinary convenience store next door, and then it’s the usual on the bed.

Again, a day of not much, but also a day of just so much.

Every day life of haircuts, picture frame shopping, chilli learnings, reacquainting with ‘friends’, and then meeting new ones.

Yep, I love it.

Bed around 11.30am, with Lisa showing the signs of going a little too hard on that rare wine.

Could be interesting in the morning…..

Cheers,

Scott