We're often asked about our everyday life here in Vietnam.
Materially speaking, it's not too radically different. Culturally,
it's world's apart.
Taxis
Right now, we're getting around mostly on taxis. There are several
taxi companies to choose from, as well as a variety of taxis. They
range from old beat-up Kias to brand new, seven passenger Toyotas.
Prices are all the same regardless of what kind of taxi. They are
all air-conditioned, and flag-down starts at a little less than $1.00
(12,000 to 15,000 dong) depending on the cab company. From our
house, we typically call the cab by phone and usually have one at the
door within 5 to 10 minutes. Downtown, it's very easy to hail one
down. They're safe and - like taxis all over the world - some meters
run faster than others. Typically, however, we've never really had a
problem.
Groceries
A lot of our grocery shopping is done by our cook at the market.
However, there are also Western-style groceries here. One we often
go to is the An Phu Supermarket, about a block away from our house.
Although you won't confuse it with a Safeway, it stocks most of the
everyday items we need. It has shopping carts, regular check-out
lines with cashiers, and they even take credit cards. Across the
street is a little gourmet shop called "Gourmet Shop." That's where
we can find more specialized things like maple syrup, imported
snacks, etc. Further down the main street off our compound are a
number of bakeries, and Sonia often buys croissants (regular and
chocolate!) from one of them. If they're out of stock, they'll even
deliver once the stock comes in!
Downtown
Downtown Saigon is very fast-paced, and much like any Southeast Asian
city, though in a much smaller scale. It is certainly much busier
than downtown San Jose, though keep in mind this is not exactly a
fair comparison since it is also Vietnam's biggest and busiest city.
There are a number of high-rise and very exclusive hotels, including
the Park Hyatt, the Sheraton and the Sofitel. They are beginning to
build an Inter-Continental across from the consulate. Restaurants
are plentiful and range from street food, to very modern and
contemporary settings. Of course, you never forget that you're NOT
in San Jose: the guys peeing along the sidewalk, motor scooters
zooming by - on the sidewalk, the density of it all...it's really
lots of fun!
