The Long Road Back

Yesterday was our last day in the field, and for some reason it feels like it’s been more than a day since we rolled back into HCMC. We had some more roads to see in the morning, then it was just a matter of heading back to the city. It was nice to stop going in loops and swirls through rural roads that may or may not have actually been there. In some places there is going to be extensive resettlement work to do, which should keep things interesting. It feels in some ways like I’ve floated through this first week a little, so I’m looking forward to earning my keep next week, when the major work starts. Of course, I’m also really looking forward to the facial that I’ve booked for tomorrow. It’s all about balance, I suppose…

There were two peculiar things about these places we were driving through in the delta the past few days. One was that almost every house or store, whether the roof was made of palm leaves, corrugated metal, or ceramic tiles, had a television set, with people sitting in the floor in front of it, totally absorbed by whatever they happened to be tuned to. The other was that every place that looked remotely like it might qualify as a being big enough to be called a “village” seemed to have a dress shop in it, with a mannequin dressed in some elaborate, hoop-skirted or crinolined confection, sealed up in a plexiglass box, with a row of more hanging in the back. Clearly, people everywhere need clothes. But in places of tremendous poverty, I suppose I was just very surprised to see places to buy formal wear among the palm leaf huts.

We ran a ton of errands today – I’ve never had to set up an office before, so it’s been kind of interesting to have to think about all the little things that go into it. After that, I decided to take some time and do a little more wandering, picture taking, etc. In the middle of all this, the daily thunderstorm hit, and it was quite the event. I ducked into a nearby hotel for a beverage while the storm passed. Two (allegedly) decaf cappuccinos, a tomato and mozzarella salad, and a bottle of mineral water later, the storm had still not passed, although at least the torrent had slowed to a mild sprinkle and I could “walk between the raindrops”, as my grandmother used to say. It’s funny to see the effect that extreme humidity has on me, more specifically on my hair – it’s a mass of corkscrew curls these days, which is kind of fun. Who needs a curling iron when I can just head for a tropical climate?

I went back to Ben Thanh, the massive indoor market, today with a couple of specific goals in mind, which is helpful in a place like that. After taking a couple of pictures, because you have to see this place to believe it, I set about actually finding what I was looking for. A travel book that I read accurately said that it brings to mind the legendary slogan of US country stores: if they don’t have it, you don’t need it. I’ve found that I have been getting much better at bargaining. Much to my surprise, when people would tell me the price of what I was looking at, and I would smile sweetly and tell them what I wanted to pay, after a smidge of back-and-forth, it actually worked! But I shouldn’t get too used to it – as my mom said, when she returned to the US, she had to remind herself that the people at Hecht’s wouldn’t really be receptive to any attempt to haggle – took a bit of reprogramming. In some ways it feels like I’ve been in Vietnam longer than I actually have, but mostly it just feels like I’ve been away from home for a really long time.

I went to a great Indian restaurant last night, which was very good to find, since I love Indian food, and I knew what things were on the menu! I realize that it’s a little odd to come to Vietnam from Pakistan and get Indian food, but…well, I’m a little odd, too. If I end up coming back here, I’m definitely keeping the place in mind, I have a feeling that I could become a regular. That’s actually something nice about being in such a big city – you can find something that’s familiar if you just look for it. Maybe I’m missing the point of traveling, looking for familiarity. It’s not that I haven’t been trying plenty of new things, because a lot of the past six or seven weeks have been nothing but new things. Maybe it just comes back to balance.