The Heat is On in Saigon

I’m in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam this week! Formerly known as Saigon, HCMC is a beautiful place with a ton of history (and food!) that I’m excited to explore over the next few days.

I don’t have much to report yet, since I’m still getting used to the area (including how to cross the road, which is like real life high speed Frogger). But this is my first solo international trip in 8 (!) years, so I had some feelings and anxieties while preparing that I wanted to share.

Having the ability to travel is an enormous privilege.

I’ve had a blog post about this on the proverbial back burner for the better part of a year, but this trip reminded me of some of those reasons. I am able to easily and freely travel almost anywhere around the world, in combination because of my national language (English), my nationality (American), my race (white), my sexual orientation and marital status (straight and married to my partner), my country of residence (Taiwan), and, of course, my finances (my spouse and I have a stable income, and I can do almost all of my paid work remotely). I’m able-bodied and in fairly good physical health.

All of this means that traveling is an activity that is much easier to do because of factors I did nothing to earn. And that’s something expats and “seasoned” travelers don’t talk about enough.

I’m way less badass than MANY of the people I’ve met at home and abroad.

Being a boring vegetarian means I don’t eat as much crazy food. I’m a bit introverted, so I hesitate asking questions of strangers. I also didn’t live in a van in New Zealand for 6 months, and I don’t usually bring camping gear with me when I travel. These are all things I can explain in more detail in future posts.

I’ve changed a lot since my first solo travels, and that’s a good thing. And a bad thing.

Good ways: I’m smarter, more self-reliant, more experienced. I think I’m more interesting because I have more stuff to talk about. Living abroad makes me feel less inhibited in some ways (especially when it comes to potential personal embarrassment!)

Not-so-good ways: I cut my hair and got a job. I’m more jaded by other expats and people who try to talk to me. I sometimes don’t take advantage of opportunities to travel because I have a husband and a cat I’m worried I’ll miss. Also I’m almost 30! Jesus.

I need to read the (not so) fine print on my airline confirmations better.

Like a dummy, I didn’t weigh my backpack before I got to the airport. The max weight was 7kg; my pack clocked in around 9. Luckily it was first thing in the morning and I was overly friendly to the desk agent, so she let me off and told me to make sure I paid for my extra weight allowance for my return trip.

I’m excited to have more fun stuff to report back on soon! For now, here are a few teaser pics: