On Location: Saigon

My first byline just ran on Refinery29, a trend setting web publication based in NY and LA. While I'm not trying to moonlight as a journo, I have to admit that it was a pleasure writing a roundup on my new hometown — and even more enjoyable when it gets published in your old hometown.

The pre-edited intro is below, but for the full story, take the jump.....

From Indochina to Indochic, Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 holds on to its colonial charm — for now.

There’s a palpable energy in the streets of Ho Chi Minh City (HCM City). The city formerly known as Saigon is the epicenter of Vietnam’s capitalist heartbeat, and since the enactment of economic reforms in the late 1980s, the country has been slowly transforming from rags to riches, with Saigon as its poster child for economic prosperity.

Trading in the cyclo in exchange for a future funded by foreign investors, Saigon is in the midst of a renovation, shedding its French colonial past with the welcoming of high-rises into the local vernacular. While the government has shifted its urbanization schemes to the development of satellite communities on the perimeter of the city, Saigon’s main appeal will always be the vibrant, history-laden streets of District 1. Designed by the French during their occupation (1885-1946), District 1 runs along the banks of the Saigon River and is characterized by wide boulevards that radiate from roundabouts with monumental obelisks. At night, these streets come alive with young Saigonese cruising aimlessly on their motorbikes, which have replaced bicycles as the preferred mode of transportation. Passing the time in parks and cafes, their conversations are foreign to older generations — the youth talk of business and amorous affairs, rather than war and heartache.

Lately, the city’s charming history is being mixed with innovations in architecture, fashion and entertainment. Visitors to HCM City will find a city under construction, a civilization being reborn. And as Saigon’s bright and shiny future casts a shadow on its colonial heritage, let’s hope the romance of its past remains.

The Dunes

I spent the birthday weekend in Mui Ne with the Gastronomer and Astronomer, who have some choice picks of the trip and me in a trucker hat -- they're still ahead of the trend in 'Nam. We went budget and stayed at at US$30 a night joint called Sunshine Resorts, which sits right on the beach. And besides a brief game of golf in between dips in the sea, the only thing we did was a mini-jaunt to see the Sand Dunes just north of the hotel strip. 

There are two sets of dunes near Mui Ne. The White and the Red. We chose to go to the latter in that they are the closer ones, only 10-minutes from the center of the hotel district. The white ones are slightly farther out, perhaps 50-minutes by car. Before you even get out of the car at the Red Dunes, you're met with a handful of kids, who are clamoring to escort you into the dunes and help you slide down them. The next thing you know, you're walking up the sandy slopes to the constant chatter of kids, who are so enthusiastic about getting your coin, you're never afforded an opportunity to enjoy the scenery -- which is stunning. 

The kids range from 5- to 13-years-old and most all of them have a relatively good handle on the english language. Their strategy is to team up on you, guide you into the dunes, prepare a sledding path and then convince you to go as many times cause they charge you per turn. We made one mistake: we failed to establish a price before sliding down the slopes but were first told that we could pay whatever we want. 

Now game theory tells us that these kids are going to be out of luck if they play by the "pay what you want" rules and even more so when you're only traveling with a couple of thousand Dong stuffed in your swim trunks. When it came time to settle up, we were 1) not willing to pay what they wanted (more than US$10) and 2) unable to pay because we didn't have the money on us in the first place. 

Things got ugly quickly, and our pack of waste-high guides starting picking on the one who was most vocal: The Gastronomer, who was being a pushy Asian broad that day. Rationalizing with kids just doesn't work, and in the end, we went running for the car. 

But as I look back at a great weekend bookended by a terrible experience, I see an opportunity here: someone should go in and organize these little rugrats to actually learn the tourism trade. They'd be damn good at it. Why? Well for starters, they speak English, which is absolutely necessary in the hospitality business, but more importantly, they're g-getters, who know how to turn a buck. 

Someone tell HR to get out there and talk with my girl Linh. She's gonna be a billionaire (Vietnamese Dong of course).