Travel

What’s it Like Living in Saigon, Vietnam

When you tell people you’re moving to Vietnam, they look at you like you’re crazy. Aren’t you afraid of crime and stuff and won’t you miss living in the United States?

Fortunately for me, all of my friends already know I’m off the reservation and no one gave me any static about the move.

People are asking me, “What’s it like living in Vietnam?”

Vietnam is a geographically diverse country. Like California, you can go out to an exotic nightclub, enjoy great dining, or chill at the beach.

I’ve been visiting as many of Vietnam’s great towns and cities as possible, and even took a several hours motobike ride down the coast.

Thus far I’ve been to:

Phong Nha – a national park with Jurassic park like scenery.
Nha Trang (entry forthcoming) – a beach town with cool sea breezes and a chill vibe.
Hoi An (Motorbiking from Hue to Hoi An) – a beach town where you can also get custom suits made.
Hanoi – full of hippies and backpackers.
Saigon – I live here!

I’ve set up residence in Ho Chi Minh City (also called Saigon).

Saigon is a major metropolitan area with 8 million people. You can find anything in Saigon, as illustrated in a day in the life of Mike Cernovich.

Wake up in 3-story mansion in quiet, almost rural area.
Go to cafe with large tables, great coffee, great breakfast, and excellent wifi.
Get a massage. (Happy endings are less common than you’d think; those types of massage parlors are in the backpacker district, which I avoid.)
Hit the gym. (Vietnamese gyms are lacking in the heavy weight department, as dumb bells top off at 80 pounds. But the gyms are spacious and clean)
Grab a fresh-pressed beet-and-carrot juice for some post-workout recovery.
Stop by supermarket for food or anything else needed at home.

Nearly half of the 8 million people living in Saigon are under 35, giving the city a youthful vibe. (NY Times, “36 Hours in Ho Chi Minh City.”)

That energy is felt in the cafe scene, which runs deep. (James Clark, “The incredible cafe scene of Ho Chi Minh City – Vietnam.”)

This looks like a cozy living room. It’s actually Cucuta Coffee, one of Saigon’s incredible cafes.

An English breakfast in Vietnam.

Meet the chefs.

You can find street food to cook yourself.

Or you can enjoy some sashimi at an elegant Japanese fusion restaurant.

Which Cuban cigar would you like to enjoy after dinner?

Some call me a douchebag. I call myself a man who enjoys life.

I’ll be writing more about Saigon in the coming weeks.

This is a huge city with several different districts, each of which have their own character.

Feel free to post any questions or comments you have in the comments below.

P.S. If you like these travel pics, check out Mike Cernovich’s Instagram.

Exploring the Phong Nha Caves (With a stop in Dong Hoi, Vietnam)

By Mike Cernovich 4 Comments

After spending Tet in Hanoi, we hopped on Vietnam airlines to Dong Hoi. We had an overnight stay planned at a farmstay and then onward to Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, home of a massive cave system.

Vietnam Airlines is my new best friend.

(If you fly Vietnam airlines, keep these two pointers in mind: They will ask to see the credit card you booked the ticket with and they will check your luggage ticket before allowing you to leave the airport. In the U.S. I always threw away the baggage claim ticket. That’s a bad habit to break in Vietnam.)

Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park was, to use some overused words, spectacular, breathtaking, and awe-inspiring.

Taking a long hike is a great time to learn about local culture from your guides, who often grew up in the surrounding areas.

I learned the nearby farmers eat cows but treat their buffalo like members of the family. When thebuffalo dies, they even hold a proper burial for the animal.

Motobikes are the horses of Vietnam.

There is farmland in the surrounding areas, and we heard a funny story about “civilization.”

Our guide explained that before the caves were discovered, the women worked the corn and peanut farms. The men, having nothing to do, would sit around drinking all day.

The civilizers explained to the men they could go work in factories. For some strange reason the men left. Having never worked in a factory, they clearly had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

The moral of the story, from my point of view, is one should be careful before choosing to be civilized.

Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park looked like the setting in A Land Before Time.

We hiked for several kilometers into the caves.

I had already been caving in Puerto Rico. Once you’ve seen one set of caves, you’ve seen them all.

The inside of the caves aren’t that cool. The walk and scenery before, during, and after being in the caves was incredible.

We were in the Tu Lan caves.

The hike was rigorous. The mountain path was steep and muddy. The rocks were jagged. Unless you’re really into hiking, you may want to think twice before taking this cave expedition.

Thick jungle and big rocks.

The guides, who were total professionals, made us an awesome lunch.

After lunch some swam and while others enjoyed the waterfalls.

It was a long day, but worth the adventure.

If you’re going to check on the Phong Nha Caves, be prepared for a lengthy hike. If a long hike isn’t for you, pass.

If you’re OK with a long hike, enjoy the view!

Motobiking from Huế to Hội An, Vietnam

By Mike Cernovich 13 Comments

Vietnam reminds me of my former home state, California. Both are a single state/country and yet each offers rich geographical and lifestyle diversity. In Saigon you can smoke Cuban cigars from an elegant rooftop bar on Monday night and then hop a short flight to explore the caves of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng.

With some friends in town, my girl and I flew from Saigon to Hanoi and gradually worked our way South, back to Saigon. While in Huế, located centrally in Vietnam, we all decided to rent motobikes to take the trek further south to a relaxing beach town – Hội An.

We got a guide, which I’d recommend. Navigating through Vietnamese streets can be a bit daunting at first. Also, the guide handles the logistics of setting you up with a motobike and he will know how to keep you out of too much trouble.

The drive itself could take you two hours (if you sped) or six hours (if you stopped to smell the roses).

The map from Huế to Hội An.

The guide arrived to the hotel with motobikes and took us on our way.

I would look cooler on a full-sized motorcycle, but these motos’ get you around swiftly while in ‘Nam.

Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world, and there’s no California Clean Air Act here. The air inside denser areas like Huế and Saigon can be nasty, which is why we look like bank robbers in this pic below.

Face masks are a necessity.

Once outside the city, the air was clean.

As we drove up the mountainside, we were greeted with views like this.

After a long ride, we arrived safely in Hội An.

I hid out in the shade.

Others enjoyed the sun.

Do you enjoy these travel updates? If so, I’ll keep posting them. I’m keeping a travel journal, anyhow, so I can share it with you all or keep it to myself. Either way I’ll be writing.

(For more travel pics, check out my Facebook and Instagram.)

Happy Tết 2015 from Hanoi!

By Mike Cernovich 11 Comments

Although the Vietnamese work long hours (a full day’s work is often 12 hours or longer), they also take their holidays seriously. Tết, the Vietnamese new year, is a major holiday. Saigon practically shuts down during Tết, as people return home to be with family.

We decided to leave Saigon to enjoy the new year in Hanoi.

Hanoi had a Haight-Ashbury feel to it. The scenery was cool, but there were a lot of backpackers and other tourists in the city.

We stayed in the the Old Quarter area, which was centrally located and also a place tourists tend to stay.

People assumed a man out walking alone was looking for some, shall we say, “recreation.”

My attempt to take a long walk in the cool evening was frustrated. My thoughts were interrupted by locals asking me, “Want marijuana? Want massage?”

No drugs or boom-boom for me. I want to take in a view of the lake.

Hanoi was packed, as everyone wanted to see the fireworks display.

The fireworks display was spectacular.

After the show we smelled paper burning. There were fires everywhere. The fires contain paper money.

The Vietnamese practice a form of ancestor worship.

The burning money symbolizes prosperity in the afterlife.

Persians jump over a fire during the celebration of the Persian New Year, so one of my fellow travelers joined the fun.

Persians in Hanoi and they’re going gorillas.

Hanoi has a nightlife scene. I went out just long enough to capture some photographs for you.

Hair of the Dog bar in Hanoi is where people to go for that YOLO.

Trustafarians have been spotted in their natural habitat.

After a solid night’s sleep, we took in the view of Hoàn Kiếm Lake.

Lý Thái Tổ moved the capital of Vietnam to Hanoi.

We were unable to take in an opera, but we did enjoy the beauty from the outside.

Happy 2015!