Vietnam: Day 14 (Last Day!)

Bridge at a tourist village in Saigon

April 14, 2019

Today was the last full day in Vietnam. The prior day was our last day in Cam Ranh, after which we took a short flight to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. We got in during mid-morning and drove around downtown, stopping at a post office with Ho Chi Minh's portrait. The Notre Dame cathedral in Saigon was nearby but too flooded with people to visit *disappointed sigh*.

There was a McDonald's next to the post office where we ate some lunch.
Besides the fact that they didn't serve fries, it somehow didn't feel the same.
(This is Gim, my grandcousin's baby)

A bit further down the block was an alley dedicated to books, with book stores on either side and book buses down the middle.

 

Afterwards, we went to a tourist village with lovely foliage and water scenes.

 

 

 

 

 

After eating some more food here at the village, we went back to the hotel we stayed at in the beginning of the trip, when our 10-hour flight to Seoul was set the next morning.

While in Seoul, I realized I still had a few shots to take in my film camera. After getting to our gate, I took some time to fill it up, at the expense of any shots with my digital camera. We'll have to wait until I get the film developed before we see what I took in South Korea.

After landing in Seattle ten hours later, we needed to go through customs and immigration before we could find our gate to Salt Lake. Thankfully, because we requested wheelchair assistance for every flight, we had help passing through the lines and getting through the process as painlessly as possible.

As it turns out, our flight back ended up being delayed for 6 hours, due to mechanical problems with the original plane. So I got some time to take pictures, but none outside the airport (I didn't want to have to go through security again.)

After waiting in the airport and eating knock-off phở for dinner, we finally got on the plane back to Salt Lake; most people on the flight got re-routed to other flights except us and like two other people. We nevertheless landed down around 1 AM, catching a Lyft to take us home, and unpacking a decent amount before the massive jet lag finally put me to sleep the entire next day.

All in all, I'm so thankful to have had this experience, as my first overseas trip to mainland Asia. I'm so happy I'm familiar with my grandma's family, and how accepting they are of me even if I didn't know the language. I can't wait until I get to go back and see the country again. I heard that people can rent motorbikes and just ride through the entire country (from Saigon all the way to Hanoi), which is something I think I'd love to do, once I figure out how to speak Viet properly.

If anyone gets a chance to go overseas and experience a completely different cultural lifestyle (one that might involve cold showers and risk of malaria), I think it would be worth it if you prepare and have things planned to do. Travelling in general I think is a privilege that we should all enjoy at some point in our lives, because it can give us appreciation for both other cultures and our own culture, and have stories to tell in the future.