Goodbye, Saigon

Saigon, I love you, but you're bringing me down.

I have a love/hate relationship with Saigon. I love the energy and the overabundance of things to do and see. Everywhere I go, even if it is to simply sit at a coffee shop, there is always something interesting that pops into the corner of my eye--something new, something strange, something depressing. My favorite thing to do is to take a motorbike ride through the city, especially at night to take in the city lights and absorb the energy.

And the food…omg. Did I mention that Saigon has the best Vietnamese food anywhere around? There is good food to be found everywhere (my chubbier physique is evidence of this). Sometimes I past street vendors and a waft of delicious-smelling grilled chicken or steamed buns blows and I just get so delighted knowing that good Vietnamese food is so accessible, unlike back home, where I trip back to my parent’s house in San Jose is necessary.

Saigon is also home to my mom’s side of the family, all of whom are sociable and ridiculous (in their own unique way) like my mom. Spending time with them and listening to them engage in the usual family drama has been hands down, the best part of my stay here in Vietnam. Listening to my mom gossip with my Uncle Tai…hilarious. They also cater to me without me even asking them to, which is VERY NICE. Anywhere I want to go, they take me. Anything I want to eat, they buy for me. They are beyond good to me. Saigon is nothing without them.

But even despite all of these aspects, I still cannot stand staying in Saigon for more than a few days. 3 days is my breaking point. I just spent a week there and I was DYING to go back to the countryside. Why this is the case is because Saigon is just too polluted. Beyond the city center, trash is everywhere. The rivers are toxic and the smell is putrid. And the smog…the awful, awful smog. There is a reason why nearly everyone in Saigon walks around wearing a face mask (I do too). You can see the smog in the air—that grayish cloud that just floats over the city and only becomes thicker when the day’s heat is at its worst. The smog is so bad here that it has triggered allergies that I didn’t even know I had. I hack up a storm after each motorbike ride and the dirt from the air makes my skin itch and break out. No matter how many showers I take, I feel dirty as soon as I step outside.

Saigon’s pollution really beats me down. It makes me feel so tired and irritable. The never-ending noise from the street and the cramped space doesn’t help either. There is nowhere for me to run in the mornings, very little trees and natural landscape around, and even lesser open space to just...be.

As soon as I leave Saigon for the country, my mood immediately brightens from the fresh air and open space.I could run in the mornings and the only noise to disturb my sense of inner peace is the crowing of roosters and the occasional karaoke singing from the neighbors. My original plan was to spend most of my time in the city and on the weekends, come back to my grandma’s countryside in My Tho. However, that plan was immediately scrapped within the first few hours I spent in this city. The smog, dirt, and the pollution was just too much for me to handle. I've been happily finding refuge in the countryside for most of my time here.

No other city in Vietnam is as polluted as Saigon. Hanoi, Hue, Tay Ninh, Da Lat, My Tho...any other city I could stay in, but not Saigon. Even the exciting energy, the delicious food, and my awesome family is not enough to convince me to stay there. So, it's a long goodbye and honestly, I don't feel so bad leaving this city.