Last November me and my homies were going for a trip to Ho Chi Minh. I had no idea why (even until now) we didn’t plan anything and just booked an airbnb in HCM for a week. Hence, though we hadn’t fully explored the city yet, we got bored. We felt like we needed to see the beach.
After scrolling past tiktok posts we finally decided to take a day trip to Vung Tau by fast boat. The reception was pretty bad, and I kinda worried since I hadn't purchased the tickets back to HCM. To our rescue, some college students who were doing some studies on Vietnam’s tourism just so happened to be on the boat that time and day. I broke off of my introverted personality and started a conversation with them. What a great feeling that was when it turned out they weren’t mean. Lol. They even shared a web link which the locals used to book a shuttlebus, and it was cheaper.
As we arrived on the mainland it hit us how we were gonna get by while we were there. Because the reception was completely gone. We were using an internet provider from home and turned out it couldn’t reach this small island. Duh?
After idling away on the deck eating the complimentary snacks we got from filling in some questionnaires, while fending off people who offer to rent their bike, we ordered a grab ride using free wifi. Anxious how we were gonna survive next as the free wifi bidding us adieu…
We arrived at the banh khot restaurant. And. they. Have. Wifi!!!! <3
The aunties were so nice and all smiley, and banh khot were so goood that I started considering this place on my retirement plan. And the free flow of tra da was just <3 vietnamese and their hospitality <3
After savoring all that we had to brainstorm again on how we’re gonna go to the next destination. We tried looking for any cell store that might sell sim cards but found nothing, so we walked back to the banh khot place for free wifi… to book a cab to another tourist attraction up the hill… everything’s fine (for a while) we were taking all the island view in and took some photos despite the strong wind that could swap me away anytime. Then another crisis hit when it's time to move to another destination. I asked a middle aged man who seemed to be the security guard if there was wifi in the building but he said there wasn't any but he let me use his wifi and shared its password. In tears I kept thanking him and he asked if I came from Thailand. I said I was from Malaysia. I wonder if I might be a pathological liar.
We went to a cafe by the seaside. Sipping a coconut coffee and watching people went about their day. The sun was slowly dipping down the horizon and we decided to have seafood for dinner. Again, another delicacy that made us say stuff like, I found myself in Vietnam.
We bought some non-alcoholic beers and walked along the seashore like drunkards until we found another place with wifi. But I had to find a pharmacy first because the blister on my foot was getting unbearable. I was trying to buy a plaster but I didn't know how to say it in viet and we had no internet connection for a google translate, so I just lifted up my foot and showed her before we got lost too deep in translation.
We went to the travel agency, and our shuttle wasn't ready yet. We were still a bit full but what seemed to be a pho restaurant right next to it was truly tempting. Glad that we opted to dine in because we couldn't miss out on a bowl of happiness that felt like pho but also felt like our soto back home (in a really good way). Also the waitress was so kind and so pretty that made Boris blurt another I think I should live here whatsoever.
It took two hours to get into district one, and they stopped right in front of our airbnb. In the middle of the trip we stopped by a gift shop full of local made snacks. I swore the vibe was similar to being in a travel van from Jogja to Kudus. But with a much better and cooler and more advanced ride. And a driver whose driving didn’t make us recite syahadat the whole trip.
The thing is, there is this kind of excitement for traveling to a foreign place without a concrete plan. The kind people we met along the way, the help from strangers who don’t even speak our language. The unexpected hurdles were sure testing our friendship at the moment, but looking back it was really something to be laughed about and glad that it happened that way.
(For the next trip though let’s be wise and maybe have a plan)
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