Many people have asked me how it felt to return to Vietnam after being away for one year. The answer is not a simple one, so I decided it was a good reason to write a blog after having not done so for so long. As with previous blogs, it has taken me almost a month to get up the energy to write! But it was one of my goals in 2019 to begin writing again, so here it goes. Better late than never, right?
We left Vietnam in August of 2018. After Huy received his green card in June of 2019, we began planning our return. Our friend who was house-sitting our place in Hoi An told me she was leaving in mid-August, so it was her departure that led to our decision to go back. We needed to decide what to do with the house - either sell it, or convert the downstairs living space into a second Airbnb rental. We have been renting out the second floor on Airbnb since we bought the house in September of 2017.
Turning the downstairs space into an Airbnb would require some renovations in addition to finding a manager. Both projects were a little daunting because the renovations we did upstairs practically ended our relationship! And finding a reliable manager in Vietnam is not easy. We were not prepared to sell the house because we both love it, and also property sales had slowed in Hoi An. They wouldn’t pick up again until after the new year.
So after twenty-eight hours of flying from Portland, Maine to Ho Chi Minh City, we arrived back in country. Returning to Vietnam in August wouldn’t have been my month of choice since we both knew it would be hot, and we were not disappointed. Also, since Huy was away so long, we had to return bearing gifts. This entailed packing two suitcases with clothes, and four suitcases with gifts, including an entire carry-on filled with fresh cherries and grapes. Traveling with six bags and two people is not an easy feat.
We arrived at 11 PM and were greeted by Huy’s young nieces and nephews. It was great to see their smiling faces after being away so long. It was even better to finally get back to his house, hug his sisters, and eat our first bowl of delicious pho. As hard as we try living in the USA, we cannot find pho as good as what you get in Vietnam. I’m not sure if it’s the water, the quality of meat, or the amount of time and effort it takes, but pho in Saigon is sublime and those who have only had pho made in the USA do not know how good it can taste.
Returning to Saigon didn’t feel that strange to us. It just felt as if we had been away longer than usual. Since it was the rainy season, even the temperature wasn’t that bad. Yes, temps can reach as high as 90 degrees, but during the rainy season, it usually rains hard in the afternoon, and drops the temperatures down to the seventies. The few days we spent in Saigon were spent visiting with family and friends, eating favorite foods, and recovering from jet lag!
It was when we arrived to Hoi An that things felt strange. To begin, the speed in which businesses can change, or buildings can be built, is unbelievable. We knew that when we left a year ago the landscape would alter considerably, so we were not surprised by the number of buildings that had been added along the beachfront from Danang to Hoi An. Within Hoi An itself, things hadn’t changed as much, but restaurants I used to love had closed or moved, business had changed hands, new coffee shops had been built.
What felt the most weird, though, was returning home. We entered our house, a place we had lived for two years, and it felt both familiar and foreign. Part of it had to do with things not being where we had left them, but another part had to do with establishing another home in the USA and that new place feeling more like home than something we had left a year before. In addition, we arrived in the midst of several things happening at once. Vivian, our house sitter, was leaving within the hour, guests for the upstairs Airbnb were checking in and I had to show them around.; and Cuong, our handyman and contractor, arrived to begin discussing renovations. All happening within a one-hour time frame. Everything was happening so fast, it was disorientating.
We barely had time to unpack, before we raced off to meet a good friend who was only in town for the weekend. But first we stopped off at the restaurant to say hello to the staff and to pass out some gifts that we brought them. Of course they were happy to see us, and it was great to see the restaurant. A few quick hugs, exchanges of gifts, and we were back on the motorbike to meet friends at a new beer pub that had opened.
You know good friends when you can just pick up your friendship where you left off. Several large beers and appetizers later, we rushed off to the beach to finally see our friend and co-owner, Helen. She was there with a large group of ladies who were celebrating their friends 50th birthday. When we arrived, everyone was wearing white, drinking heavily, and eating a lot of food. The weather wasn’t very good that night, but the Shore House, one of our favorite places in Hoi An, hadn’t changed that much, and it was great to finally eat a real meal, catch up with friends, and enjoy the sound of the waves on the shore.
The next day was spent getting the house back in order, especially the garden. The banana plants had suffered from a very hot summer, and many of the other plants were either over-grown or dead. Once the garden was trimmed, the house put back to the way we liked it, and the luggage unpacked and stored, the strangeness of being back began to fade. After a couple of days it felt wonderful to be back home. I had forgotten how much I missed our house.
Soon after, the renovations began, and life in the house was completely disrupted. We decided to replace our front door with a window instead. The front door of the house faced the street, and a feng shui expert told us this was very bad luck. That’s why Huy wanted to fix it. I agreed because our living room was difficult to decorate with so many doors. Having a wall to put furniture against helped to balance out the room.
All the French doors leading to the courtyard had to be re-varnished. The easiest and fastest way to accomplish this goal was to remove all the doors and windows. This left the entire downstairs open to heat, elements, and bugs! It stayed this way for five days. Fortunately our bedroom was self-contained and we could lock the doors from inside and turn on the a/c.
We also had to renovate the master bathroom. Our master bathroom is unique - the shower is in the middle of the room. Next to the shower is a sunken bath tub that was too deep to ever be useful. There is also a strange sink in which water falls into it like a waterfall. But the sink isn’t deep enough, so the water splashes out and soaks your clothes. All of this had to be changed.
We decided to save money and not fill in the bathtub. What we did was relocate the shower head over the tub, and added a set of steps down into the tub. We sealed up the drain where the original shower was, and patched it with some tiles. We tore out the pretty, but non-functional sink and added two pedestal sinks, a mirror, and side sconces. All of this construction was loud, messy, and took a long time. Fortunately, we had a smaller second bathroom that we could use.
One night, while Huy was working at the restaurant, I took a shower in the other bathroom, and walked into the bedroom. It was dark so I went to turn on the light. The light switch was hanging off the wall, and I had turn it off and on before without any trouble. This time, though, my hands were wet and when I touched the light, electric current shot through my body. Of course I couldn’t let go. The only way I was saved was when my legs gave out and I fell on the floor. It was a terrifying experience. Fortunately I suffered no ill effects.
After ten days, much of the construction was done! Things happen very fast in Vietnam. Around this point, we asked ourselves why are we leaving so soon? We didn’t have jobs at home, and the cost of living in Vietnam is much cheaper than the USA, so we decided to extend our stay by a couple of weeks. Yes, there was a change fee, but as I said to Huy, the cost of changing the flights was about the cost of living in Portland for one week!
I’m not going to bore you with a description of every day we were in Vietnam, but there were a couple of highlights (and one lowlight). While in Hoi An, Huy’s cousin from Saigon came to visit. When you have visitors, you feel obligated to take them around. This gave us a chance to see things we had already seen, and to appreciate them all over again. We went up to see the Lady Buddha in Danang. She towers over the bay of Danang and the views were spectacular. We also went to BaNa Hills.
Now both Huy and I spent the night in BaNa Hills before and said we didn’t really need to go back. But since our last visit, they had built the Golden Hand Bridge - a new bridge overlooking the valley. When our guests offered to pay for our entrance fee, we readily agreed!
Our second trip up the cable car was much better than our first since the weather was amazing. When we first went up it was cloudy (and cold!). This time, the weather was spectacular. The difference in temperature between the bottom of the mountain and the top is dramatic. Down below it was upper nineties. At the top, the temps drop down to the 70s. As soon as we reached the summit, we went searching for the Golden Hand bridge. Like most of BaNa Hills, the bridge is made to look old, but is really just cement, foam, and paint. Still, the design was beautiful and the views stunning.
Some things that hadn’t changed about BaNa Hills were the crowds and the quality of food. As with most theme parks, large tour groups dominate the scene. Visitors from mainland China make up the largest group, but also people from Hanoi. As for the food, your choices are limited to buffet tables that serve over-cooked, under-seasoned dishes that really don’t taste very good. Still, you can find areas of beauty and peace up on the mountain. Some of the gardens are truly beautiful, and amidst the narrow streets of the French Village you can find small coffee shops where you can enjoy a quiet beverage.
We spent the day up on the mountain, but all the stairs and walking gets tiring, and so we were happy to take the cable car back down.
With the construction done on the house, the rest of our time in Hoi An was spent visiting friends, working at the restaurant, and going to the beach. It made us both remember how much we loved living there. On the nights Huy worked, I would stroll through the Old Town. The Old Town has lost some of its allure due to over-tourism, but if you time it right, you can still have the streets to yourself and the place remains magical.
Unfortunately, our time in Hoi An quickly came to an end. The farewell parties began. We found a property manager, and I finally finished listing the downstairs apartment on Airbnb. Our last task was to re-do some of our gardens. Two gardens were overgrown and not very interesting. Our friend Steve, who owns a landscaping business in Australia, came over to help re-design a few plots. In one garden, we pulled up lots of plants and several rats jumped out at us! It was funny hearing three grown men scream. The new gardens were much more simple and easier to maintain.
With our final goodbyes made, we flew back to Saigon. Since we extended our trip, we decided to go to Phu Quoc Island to visit some of Huy’s friends. Huy and I met on Phu Quoc, and have been many times. It’s a quick 30 minute flight from Saigon. We landed and checked into our hotel with ease. After unpacking I began to feel achy. I asked Huy if I felt feverish. He said yes. Before you know it, I was in bed with a temperature of 102. This would be where I remained for the entire four days we were on the island. A trip to the hospital confirmed that I had dengue fever. Dengue is a mosquito-born disease similar to malaria. There isn’t any treatment for it other than fluids and tylenol. Fortunately we chose a hotel near our friends restaurant, and they were able to take care of me with ease. Huy enjoyed his stay while I just stayed in the hotel room.
When we flew back to Saigon, I was still sick. I felt better, but not by much. I continued to have night sweats and fever. Several more trips to the doctors confirmed that my red blood cells had dropped down to a dangerously low number. This drop was expected. What wasn’t expected was having to fly with such low platelets. The hospital recommended that we cancel our flight. So that’s what we did. We re-booked for a week later. During that week, I contracted some sort of viral infection that gave me the worst sore throat of my life. I could barely swallow water. I was miserable, and made Huy miserable as well. It was a very long week. Fortunately, by the time of our next flight came, I was well enough to fly.
After having been sick for over two weeks, I was ready to go home. I was tired of spending so much time in bed and inside air-conditioned rooms. I think the air-conditioners were responsible for whatever viral infection I had contracted. The flight home was just about as bad as the flight there, but it’s the price to pay when visiting Asia. One day I hope to be able to afford first class!
Overall, it was great seeing family, friends, and Hoi An. The sad part was not knowing when we would return. We both knew that work was going to take priority for the next few years. The bad thing about work is not having enough vacation time. I’m sure at some point in 2020 we will return to Vietnam, but I’m just not sure when.
Until then, it’s life in Maine. And winter.