My Favorite Things...

When we finally arrived in Ho Chi Minh my legs were tired and swollen.  I felt a bit bloated, gassy, and weak. 

We sat in our seats while the other passengers gathered their carry-ons and made for the exits.  Finally, the plane nearly empty, we pulled ourselves from our seats and grabbed our bags—the last two!—from the overhead compartment.  On our way out, the lovely Japanese stewardesses smiled and wished us happiness.  I did my best to return their good graces.  

Then, as I exited the plane’s atmosphere and entered the walkway which leads to the airport proper, I was struck by the heat, humidity, and vaguely smokey smell that marks Southeast Asia, especially the cities.  And while it is not, strictly speaking, a pleasant feeling or smell, it nevertheless fills me with a sense of otherness and anticipation which I would imagine is not unlike the buzz an addict gets with that first acrid lungful of crack cocaine.  

Having sprung for a taxi to the hotel, we each gazed from our windows at the passing city. Rebecca’s seatbelt clasp was hopelessly destroyed, looking as if it had been chewed on by a mechanical dog with chisel teeth.  One might expect anxiety from our young heroine, given the perilous nature of third world traffic, but no! She shrugged and accepted her lack of restraint with queenly equanimity.  When in Rome…

Rain fell in a gentle mist.  The time was somewhere around midnight, and people were out and about, eating and drinking.  On one quiet, dark stretch, I saw a fellow propped on his scooter seat beneath a steel umbrella meant for sheltering bus passengers.  He gazed out at the passing traffic, arms folded in apparent ease.  

After checking in to the hotel and figuring out the wi-fi password and air conditioning, I walked down to the local Circle-K convenience store and bought a few cans of cold beer and a couple liters of drinking water.  We showered, then sat in bed and felt the warm air start to cool as we sipped our beers and reflected on our last time in this city, when we stayed at the same hotel!  On that trip, we were well into a much longer journey, and fashioned ourselves seasoned adventurers. We each then popped a Benadryl to aid in sleep, tiredly made love, and passed out.

The following morning I went down the three flights of stairs to the entryway/dining room and ordered a bowl of Pho Bo and French drip coffee.  The Pho was served with a pile of greens and hot chiles, along with a swirl of chili sauce.  My God it was good.  

That night we sat on a second floor balcony of a local eatery and ate fresh spring rolls and drank cold Bia Saigon while watching and wondering about the people swirling through the street beneath us.  The food was not fantastic, but we were comfortable and happy.  Laughing at little things like the way people stretch their ponchos over the headlights of their motor scooters, creating a red or green glow at the front of the bike.  Wondering about the pretty young girls standing at the entry-way to a bar across the street, their lips painted bright red, their skirts short and revealing.  

Then, finally, one last stop for a bowl of Bunh Cha at a place listed highly by Trip Advisor.  But it was busy, with a line, and no outside seating.  I looked across the street, and there was a place busy with youngsters squatting on little plastic chairs eating small plates of grilled prawns, pork, and chicken feet.  Cold bottles of beer sweating next to the chaos of food.  We headed over, where the waiter (Rebecca claims he was a woman) made room for us and pulled some pork ribs and chicken feet from the icy display on the street before hurrying back to the grill and handing them off to the cook. I leaned back in my little plastic chair and watched the crazy energy of the street, full of people walking and laughing and shouting, people on scooters and bikes, bar girls teetering by on high heels, and I reflected.  

Twenty-four hours ago, we landed.  And now here we were, somehow having erased the intervening two and half years, feeling at home in this strange and lovely place.