Vietnam: Days 1 and 2

My grandma tells me this is where my dad was born.

April 1, 2019

Earlier this year, my grandma (bà nội /bah'-noy/") and I have been talking about visiting her family in Vietnam. This week, we actually got that chance.

The plan is that we fly from Salt Lake to San Francisco, then from San Fran to Seoul, South Korea, then to Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon. The following pics are from those flights, lasting from 8 am on the 30th, to 10 pm on the 31st.

Us during the first flight of the day to San Fran
(Fun fact: I lost the hat on the last plane ride; RIP)

Not really sure what "Jeju water" was during our Korean flights,
but it was probably one of the most refreshing I've ever had.

Bruh, I'm trying to watch Into the Spider-Verse, if you don't mind.

The Korean Air flight from San Fran to Seoul was 13 hours; thankfully every seat had interactive screens,
and it gave information on when and where our next flight would be at once we landed. 

Right before we landed in Seoul, we got moved up to business class.
So much legroom!

AND, the screens had a feed from webcams that offered a view
from the front or the bottom of the plane, which was really cool to watch
during takeoff and landing.

Finally going to Vietnam right after hitting Seoul.

Not usually into fruity ice cream but this was pretty good for my taste.

Kiss me goodbye and write me while I'm gone! Goodbye my sweetheart; hello Vietnam!

Finally, after we landed in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, we met up with my grandma's nephew, Phuc, and her niece Mai, who picked us up and brought us to a hotel (Tan Son Nhat Hotel Saigon), where we stayed the night, planning to hop on one more plane that'll take us to our final destination: Cam Ranh.

The next morning, we had some extra time to eat at the breakfast buffet in the hotel, where I had a nice bowl of phở bò (beef phở, /fuh-baw'/) and some fried rice (cơm chiên /cuhm-jyen'/). Then we walked a bit outside of the hotel, where I got the first taste of a hustling and bustling Vietnamese city. One thing I noticed is that it's far more dangerous to cross the street here than in New York. At least the New York intersections have traffic lights.

I really enjoyed practicing panning shots that create really cool effects for moving objects.

It's not an exaggeration to say that mom and pop food stores are
often literally on every corner.

After hanging out on the streets, Mai and her husband picked us up again and went to drop us off at the smaller airport for the short 40 minute flight to Cam Ranh.

After landing in Cam Ranh, we were met with the rest of my grandma's family (sisters, brother, and other nephews/nieces) and driven down to her brother's home in the more wealthy parts of their neighborhood.

After making myself acquainted (thanks to my grandma translating for me), I realized I needed a new hat, so Phuc took me on his motorbike down to the market streets to pick it up, plus a new hat for grandma. I took my camera along the way, and we ended up going a bit further away back towards the airport to see the views of Cam Ranh Bay.

I'm so grateful that my grandma's family is so accommodating and happy that I'm here with my grandma, despite not knowing a decent lick of Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese, /tyang-vyet/). I'm excited to become more accustomed over the next two weeks to a more modest and developing lifestyle than what I'm used to back in the states.