By early February, I had lived in Hanoi for over a year altogether. I'd experienced every season, from the coldest days of winter to the most sweltering summer heat. I'd witnessed all the holidays, from International Women's Day and Teacher's Day to the Mid-Autumn Festival and the birthday of Ho Chi Minh. I'd experienced every holiday - that is, except for Tet. Most Americans hear the word "Tet" and immediately combine it with "Offensive."
Hanoi is a city of lakes, brought about over the centuries by the Red River's myriad floods, expansions, and diversions. The lakes invest the crowded neighborhoods with light and air and a sense of space that make quite livable what would otherwise be a fairly claustrophobic urban environment. I'd never seen a lake in Hanoi that wasn't necklaced by benches and circled by people out enjoying the view. People fished in them, swam in them, and waded out into them to harvest wild rau muong, a waterborne vegetable that could add a few extra vitamins to a bowl of rice.
HO CHI MINH CITY — At an elegant faux French villa that is the latest hot spot for this city's young and beautiful, the bewitching hour has passed but the night rages on. (Photo gallery: Luxe exotique Vietnam) Never mind that the country's "social evil" laws dictate that bars and restaurants close by midnight. Vietnamese hipsters in sunglasses groove to pulsing techno music. Expat businessmen refill their glasses of Hennessy cognac. And a waiter delivers something called an Illusion, garnished with a tiny American flag, to a table where locals are discussing plans for a movie. Unlike dozens of other films featuring Vietnam, theirs will be about love, not war.
After an exhausting bus trip from Phnom Penh, we arrived in Saigon and spent several hours looking for a place to stay. We found a really nice hotel and stayed there for nearly a week. All of us liked Saigon. It is a charming city with loads of nightlife, restaurants, book stores etc.
We staid in a little local hotel in Phan Thiet. Nobody spoke English so we had to learn our first Vietnamese words. I guess they hadn't seen many tourists. Most children and dogs (funny enough) were absolutely terriefied of me. They looked at me, the children started crying and the dogs ran off. I think it must have been the colour of my hair, surely I couldn't have turned into a scary beast within 4 months? Of course the others thought it was incredibly funny but I tried to smile at them and behave nicely - no success.
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