Life on the Farm: Cu Chi

Hi Cuties. Sounding off from the Seoul/Incheon airport, waiting for my connection back to Seattle. I am both hella ready and absolutely not ready to go home. I'm looking forward to returning to bae, my friends, even my work! But I'm sad to leave this beautiful country behind and two of the most important people in my life with it. Well, I'm not leaving mom and dad behind for good, but I won't see them until December. As Ethan would say, "WAAAAAAH, Kimberly." I know :D. My last week in Vietnam was slow, but in the best way possible. I spent my time commandeering my dad's favorite hammock, gorging myself on fruit with my mama, ravenously reading my new favorite author, enjoying time with my parents and showing Ethan and Kellen around Saigon. And by showing them Saigon I mean dragging them around to all of my favorite shopping markets. I didn't even bother taking photos in Saigon, I was too intent on haggling. However, I wanted to share some quick snaps with you guys from around my parent's house in Cu Chi, a little country town 45 minutes outside Saigon.

Sugar: The first thing I did upon arriving onto the compound was press myself a glass of sugar cane juice! My aunty has her own sugar cane stand that she runs out the front yard area that both our houses share. This stuff is basically liquid diabetes and I happily guzzled it down. Tastes great if you add a little lime to it!

Chores: Yup, in case you're wondering, that's a carousel of underwear :D :D :D A couple years ago, my parents FINALLY got a washing machine for the house (along with hot water for the shower, woo!), but we still hang our clothes out to dry. Ah guys, before this, we had to wash our clothes in a tub by hand. Super stupid first world problems but you bet I show my washer/dryer at home way more love after doing laundry by hand. Also... SO MANY SPORTS BRAS.

Morning Market: This is my FAVORITE market in Vietnam, it even beats out all of the clothes shopping that I love to do in Saigon. This open air farmer's market is up the street from my parent's house and is open from 7 - 11 AM everyday. It's absolute fucking chaos. People riding their bikes through crowded walkways, sellers yelling at you to buy whatever they're peddling, weird smells coming at you from every direction... it is AWESOME. My mom and I hit it every day, always biking home with a bounty of fruits and veggies. All the produce goes for $0.50 - $1.00 per kilogram. It's basically free. Imagine going to a free farmer's market every morning. Shit's amazing. Every time someone comments on how big I am, my mom proudly exclaims that I am a strong soccer play, raised on a vegetarian diet. And then all of the shopkeepers praise us for our spiritual enlightenment. Lol, same conversation, every time. Doesn't get old :)

Mom's Personal Chauffeur: Fun fact, I have my motorcycle endorsement! I've never used it to ride in the US, but I always ride bikes when I'm in Vietnam. If you youtube "Saigon motorbike", you'll get some CRAZY videos of a gazillion motorbike drivers riding every which without regard for traffic rules, or their own lives! Cu Chi is chill enough that I feel safe zooming around, carrying my mom to dinner or to the morning market. I love Ethan's pink motorcycle helmet :D

Until we meet again, Vietnam: I hesitate to say that this is the best trip to Vietnam ever, because each trip I've taken here has been special. I am extra grateful to my parents for hosting my friends and me, keeping us extremely well fed and safe on the streets! Thanks for reading along! All of my Vietnam posts can be found here. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any travel questions! We will return to our regularly scheduled fashion blogging in the next few days! The house is a wreck and I need to catch up on a whole bunch of work stuff!

To the Beach and Back, Nha Trang and Vung Tau

Hello, beautiful friends! Clocking in from the humble fields of Cu Chi, a 45 minute motorbike ride from Saigon. My grandfather owned a couple plots of land here and my parents built a house 9 years ago. I'm looking forward to sharing a couple snaps from around the compound, but first let me catch you up on the journey here from Phong Nha. After the beautiful caves and serene mountains, we were ready for some tropical beach fun! It took us 18 hours by car to get to Nha Trang, Vietnam's premier beach town. Quite the drive, but it was worth it!

Nha Trang is one of the most developed cities in Vietnam. Not developed in the horizon-littered-with-skyscrapers way, but the city carries a unique sophistication due to a long history of foreign influence by developed nations. It used to be a naval & air force base back in the day and was strategic to the south in the Vietnam War. Since then, Nha Trang has been enjoyed by many for it's crystal clear water, fine sand beaches and well run tourist attractions. Walking the streets, it's seems as if Nha Trang is populated by almost as many visiting foreigners as locals on any given day.

Make sure to put Nha Trang on your itinerary if you visit Vietnam. You can easily hop a flight from Ha Noi or Saigon, or you can take an overnight bus from Saigon for super cheap! We only had a day and a half in Nha Trang before we needed to send the boys off to Saigon to catch a tour to Angkor Wat, but here are my top three must-do's for Nha Trang!

1. No. 4 Boat Tour: There are a bajillion tour companies that run this tour, but my favorite is this one. A tour like this usually includes visits to neighboring islands, snorkeling, beach time with options for parasailing or banana boating, lunch and on the No. 4 Boat Tour, a boy band! Adventurous Kate does a lovely review. I love this tour especially because it's a great way to meet other backpackers.

2. Mud Baths: I'm not really a spa person in the states. Not because I don't like being pampered, but because I don't want to drop the money. Lol. Well, thank goodness for the mighty strength of the American dollar because for $25 you can enjoy your own private mud bath spa experience. Give yourself at least 3-4 hours, if not the whole day to fully enjoy the experience. On my last trip to Nha Trang, we met an amazing Australian couple (shoutout to Rob + Briana!) on the No. 4 boat tour. We all decided to hit up the mad baths together and had a grand time! Check out Trip advisor for a couple of recommendations.

3. Vinpearl Land: Ah yes, the pride and joy of Vietnam. This island-turned-theme-park was created by a Russian megamillionaire and it is fucking amazeballs. For $30 USD, you can enjoy a water park, amusement park, aquarium, disqoteche, arcade, and who knows what else! There's a giant shopping village and restaurants at every turn. Each time I return, they've added something awesome and I've never really had enough time to explore the entire park. It's better that way, leave something new to be discovered each time I come back :)

With our limited time, we only had time for 1 of my top 3, so I opted to take Ethan and Kellen to Vinpearl land. The journey starts with a cable car ride across the ocean!

We spent most of our time in the water park, riding death defying slides and and enjoying the private beach with imported white sand. I know water parks typically fall into the sounds-fun-totally-sucks category but this water park is A+! There are A TON of slides to choose from and you never have to wait too long for your turn. If slides aren't your thing, there's a lazy river, a wave pool, and a beautiful beach where you can float in the salty water or enjoy an ice cream or a fresh fruit smoothie.

I also get a kick out of the blatant copy right infringement littered throughout the park. I'm not even offended, just completely impressed by all the fucks they completely don't give. See evidence of me and my favorite agents below. This time, I also noticed that they were basically blasting a Disneyland playlist throughout the park, complete with songs from main street. Who can blame them for taking the lead from the happiest place on earth?

We enjoyed the night market, the yummy food and the super fun evening vibes of Nha Trang. And then, it was onto the next! We set the boys on an overnight bus to Saigon and continued at our own pace down south, stopping at another beach town, Vung Tau, along the way. We passed by some gorgeous coastal scenery and fields upon fields of dragon fruit trees. Lucky for me, they're currently in season! OM NOM NOM!

We spent one night in Vung Tau before heading home to Cu Chi. My dad attended military school here from the ages of 12 - 17. I mentioned in my previous post how much it means to me to get stories from my dad first hand while traveling. He took me on a motorbike ride along the beaches he used to frequent on his days off from school and took me to the top of beacon hill, a lighthouse built by the French that now features sweeping views of the city. I wish we had more time to spend in these beautiful beach towns, but I'm happy to be relaxing at the farm house. Can't wait to share a couple snaps from around the the compound in my next post! Thank you for reading!

Growing up Vietnamese-AMERICAN and Phong Nha-Ke Bang: The Caves of Wonders

Oh Harrow, dear friends. I am balls deep into this vietventure and have been absolutely hashtag-amazed with every stop we've made. My parents are both Vietnamese (well, they'd tell you they are Americans now :D) and have been spending their first 10 years of retirement exploring their motherland and all of Asia. My father is from the south, my mother from the north- both immigrating to the United States separately after the Vietnam War ended. They met at the University of Washington while they were both studying to become chemical engineers. They waited 20 years before returning to their native land and I feel so grateful to be able to come back with them regularly and learn about my culture.

Before my first trip to Vietnam in 2008, I actually didn't identify with the Vietnamese part of my Vietnamese-American heritage. My parents raised my brother and me to fully embrace America, as they did when they first came here. Each of my parents fully recognized the opportunities available to them in the states and believed in their potential to achieve them. They committed to rebuilding their lives here. Growing up, we spoke English at home and they raised us without typical traditional Vietnamese parenting values. The Vietnamese values that they did instill in us, they were thoughtful in how those values would translate to our American life. They considered themselves to be forward thinking folks :P Sure, they recounted stories of their motherland, but I felt the point of those stories were more to help us to feel grateful to be in America.

I started looking more closely at the Vietnamese part of my heritage after my first trip here. First, my dad is a completely different person in Vietnam. He is super outgoing and ridiculously friendly, striking up conversations with strangers literally everywhere we go. In America, he's a bit more of a homebody, satisfied enough with our nuclear family that he doesn't seek social activity outside of our house. He is also a fierce protector when we're here, making sure that we're always safe and weary of being cheated. He has always been a confident man, but he really kicks it up a whole bunch of notches when he is navigating (or rather, commanding) his motherland. Seeing my dad light up in Vietnam truly sparked my feelings of fondness for this country.

I am happy to be feel connected to my parents' motherland. For me, forging a bond with my Vietnamese heritage wasn't going to happen in America, it needed to happen here, fully immersed in the country's chaos and beauty. I suspect that I still don't typically identify with being Vietnamese the way others might, but I have a sincere appreciation for the place my parent's came from and I know their journey from Vietnam to America largely influenced my upbringing. I wish my Vietnamese was better, but I know enough to haggle :P and I know enough to make meaningful connections with folks that I meet. I am grateful to be here with my parents feel lucky to have the heritage that I have.

And with that, let me tell you a little bit about Phong Nha-Ke Bang, another UNESCO World Heritage site featuring larger than life caverns of stalagmites and stalactites.

My parents have been exploring Vietnam quite intensely for the past few years, but this trip was the FIRST time they had ever been to this national park. I love that Vietnam still offers these surprises, as small of a country as it is. I was so impressed with how well maintained the park is. Vietnam doesn't have a great reputation for taking care of their natural treasures. Beautiful landscapes are littered with trash and there seems to be no regard towards preserving fragile areas for future generations I am so pleased that they seemed to actually put thought into this park. In the Paradise caves, they built a wonderful walkway through these gigantic caverns creating a genuine experience that minimizes the disturbance of these sleeping rock giants.

The ride to the caves was hands down THE MOST BEAUTIFUL motorcycle ride I have ever been on. It is quite popular nowadays to buy a bike and explore the country from north to south or vice versa. If this is something you're considering doing, seriously put this national park on your list of stops. The surroundings felt UNREAL. I rode with my dad, which is always really fun! Kellen rode with Ethan but I couldn't resist a photo op with my favorite TA :D

Thanks for reading! Next up on my tour de Vietnam is a visit to my favorite beach town of all time, Nha Trang. Can't wait for some sun and sand :)