Just weeks after beginning the new semester at school Chuseok weekend was upon us, and that meant the perfect reason to travel. Chuseok is essentially Korean Thanksgiving, and it allowed us a full five days off of work. While last year some friends and I headed to a small island in Korea, this year I decided to take those five days and embark on my first solo adventure to Vietnam.
After a take-off delay, my flight left on Wednesday evening which meant I finally made it into Ho Chi Minh City very late in the night with just enough energy to crawl into my fluffy hotel bed. However, the following morning I was wide awake and ready to get up and start exploring this new city.
The morning started with a walk alongside the Saigon River and a shopping trip to the Binh Tay Market. I’d done a lot of research on the various markets in HCMC as markets tend to be my favorite travel experiences regardless of the city. I’d heard a lot about the Ben Thanh market and that it could be a bit touristy where as Binh Tay was where the locals shopped. I had plans to visit both, but Binh Tay would be first.
Being dropped off by the cab at the entrance to the Binh Tay market was an experience in and of itself. It seemed as if there were hundreds of people; many on motorbikes dodging around all of the people walking and weaving between cars dropping people off or picking people up.
Once I made it inside the market I was greeted by two floors of a seemingly endless number of stalls with floor to ceiling merchandise including almost anything you could imagine. I spent hours walking from end to end and in between the countless stalls.
After leaving the market my plan was to walk to a couple of temples that I had researched before hand. That said, I picked up a cup of their famous Vietnamese coffee and started strolling through the streets of HCMC in awe of the architecture of the city. Following about 14 wrong turns, I finally found both the Phuoc An Hoi Quan Pagoda and the Thien Hau Temple Pagoda.
Since living in Korea I’ve visited dozens of temples in a handful or so of countries, yet I never tire of them, and these two were no exception. I love the insight into the culture of the country that they offer. I was visiting in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday and yet they were still bustling with people.
When I left the pagodas I decided to wander the streets for a bit, slowly gaining confidence in my ability to navigate the city. It wasn’t long before I stumbled upon yet another pagoda. I have no idea what the name of this one was, but it seemed to be next to an elementary school of some sort because outside in the courtyard there were about 50 school kids playing different games in their uniforms. It was oddly refreshing to see so many kids playing outside after school compared to seeing hundreds of sleepy children shuffling between various educational academies in Korea each day.
I toured this unexpected pagoda for another hour and then ventured back out to the street where I found a little side street market. Up until finding this street I’d been somewhat surprised about what Ho Chi Minh looked like. Of course, I’d seen pictures of the European style buildings, but being in Vietnam I still expected to see hundreds of older women wearing conical hats which seemed to be non-existent. Until I found this market that is.
Turning around a street corner I suddenly seemed to be in an Instagram photo of what anyone dreams of Vietnam to be. There were colorful fruit stands, rice shops, and vendors selling banh mi from little sandwich carts. I bought a sandwich and an apple and then after an afternoon of exploring decided to hop in a cab and go back to the hotel for some R&R.
My first day in Ho Chi Minh was slightly overwhelming as it was my first day of solo-travel. However, it was also incredible to be able to see so many nooks and crannies of such a unique city. Once back at the hotel I was ready for a really good night of sleep more adventuring the next day.
On our last day in Thailand we wanted to check out a market. After doing some research we found one that was supposed to be relatively obscure so we could get more of an authentic feel for the city. We packed our day bags and made our way to the bus depot to try to catch a shuttle to the Amphawa floating market.
I have to say my favorite part of the day was this cruise. Not because of the sunset or the fireflies, but because the boat took us down a part of the water that backed up to people’s homes. It was beyond fascinating to see what local people were doing in this tiny little Thai town on a Saturday night. We saw families having dinner outside, a man working on his river boat, people watching tv, women cleaning, men sitting on their docks with a beer. It was so interesting, and I’ll admit a bit creepy, to have a glimpse in on what these people who live here were doing, and to see the similarities and also stark differences to life in the U.S.
We ended our night with one last run to the “food aisle” of the market to grab some snacks for the hotel and then made our way to catch the last bus and head back Bangkok. I love a market, and with our flight leaving early the next morning, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience to close out our incredible trip.
bbm travels 