2024 • Vietnam
November 24, 2024 to December 4, 2024
During Thanksgiving Break in 2024, I decided to join my family on a trip to Vietnam in what would be my first trip to Asia outside of the Middle East. Considering the recent history between the United States and Vietnam and the current Vietnamese government, I did not know what to expect. What I found was a vibrant country with welcoming people and a rich history.
Flying to Vietnam is often quite a chore, but I was lucky because the only non-stop flight between the United States and Vietnam just so happens to fly out of San Francisco. It was still, however, an extremely long flight, and once landing in Saigon, I needed to then get on a quick, 45-minute flight to Nha Trang to meet up with my family. While in Nha Trang, most of the time was spent relaxing and enjoying the scenery. We went to Vinpearl Island, which is, in many ways, like a Vietnamese Disneyland, and also visited other various islands dedicated to nature and, indeed, monkeys! Of course, knowing what I know about Vietnam, I wanted to visit the jungle! An hour outside of the city, the landscape gave way to lush greenery, and while there, we were able to explore using ATVs and went zip-lining. Back in Nha Trang, I also wanted to make sure to see a few sites of historical significance. In Nha Trang, we visited two temples; the first was Long Sơn Temple, a Buddhist temple that features one of the largest statues of the Buddha in all of Vietnam. The hill on which the statue sits also affords an excellent view of the city. After that, we visited the Po Nagar complex, which was founded around the year 781 CE by the rulers of the region who were, at the time, Hindu.
After spending time in Nha Trang, we then ventured to the largest city in Vietnam: Saigon. Saigon, officially named Ho Chi Minh City by the communist government after the end of the Vietnam War, once served as the capital of the Republic of Vietnam (more commonly known as South Vietnam). While in Saigon, we were able to explore Independence Palace, the residence of the former President of South Vietnam. It was here that North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates in 1976, bringing a conclusive end to the South Vietnamese government and the Vietnam War. Speaking of the Vietnam War, we also took some time to explore the Củ Chi tunnels around an hour outside of the city. The network of tunnels built by North Vietnamese forces made life constantly difficult for American and South Vietnamese forces during the war. Venturing down into the tunnels made one wonder how the North Vietnamese soldiers were able to endure such insane conditions while also understanding how difficult it was for American forces and their allies. On the last day, my family left earlier than I did (they were flying back to Los Angeles), so I spent some time exploring Saigon before needing to return to the airport and fly home! My flight left Saigon at around 6:30pm on December 4 and arrived in San Francisco at around 5:00pm on, um, December 4—time zones make fools of us all! The next day, I went to school and was quite tired, but somehow, I soldiered through it!
