The turtle in the pond

There’s a story about a turtle in a pond. He grew up in this pond, thinking his entire world was the pond. He had a routine, he had his friends, his family, his favorite places. He knew when to eat, when to sleep, when the sun rises and set. He was content and thought he knew everything there was to know.

One day, an eagle came and swooped down and snatched him in her talons. Flying higher and higher the turtle saw his beloved pond growing ever smaller and smaller into a tiny blue and green dot. Then he saw other blue and green dots, larger ones, much larger than his home. So many of them. Then he saw trees and large hills. What was all of this? How can this be? There was a whole other world out there!

Sudden he felt the eagle’s grip loosening and he started to fall, faster and faster until he splashed into warm water. Ahhhhh, he was finally back home.

But unbeknownst to him, the turtles he met in this new pond saw the world differently. These turtles moved faster and were always hungry. Their sun was more piercing and had her own rhythm. He was out of sorts, a visitor. He knew nothing he realized. Up was down and down was up in this new pond. He only knew one thing that held true, and that was he missed his friends and family.

He stood high until he spotted the eagle and braced her talons to bring him home. Ahhhhh, plop! Back in his pond, forever changed by his adventure.

So, to answer the question: are we in Vietnam? Yes, but the new Vietnam, the future Vietnam. The old Vietnam we left in 1983 is no more. She’s the sum of her parts, the sum of wars and famine, of brutal colonization by the Chinese(111 BC - 939 AD), French(1858–1954) and Japanese(1940-1945). The sum of every heart and soul of the Vietnamese people who are moving towards a modern technologically advanced world. The people here are hungry, you can feel it. It hums here like a bee hive.

As I write this in a coffee shop, 2 min walk from my birth home, while my sister is having her hair washed, a metro train zipped past above me! Who would ever have guessed that 42 years later, when once we were begging for rice that a metro train is zipping by my birth house? No one in my family that’s for sure.

This trip has been a crazy adventure. I had to turn my Canadian brain off and just be present to it all. You blink and you miss something. It’s really a lot. So much for the senses to process it all.

I’m ending this blog and thank you for following on this journey with my wonderful sisters Tina, Tu, Tam and Tina’s husband Richard(who just had hip surgery and is a trooper).

I look forward to the cold again, to my little pond…

Here is a photo and video cache. Enjoy….

Would I be delivering ice?

If my dad didn’t illegally leave on a little boat with 50 people, evading sea pirates, starvation and mutiny, would I be in Vietnam delivering ice?

After the Vietnam war, when the North won when the Americans pulled out in 1975, we being in the South had our world turned upside down. We had a washing machine and a fridge, my mom ran a little store, my sisters worked embroidering flowers on dresses. There was food on the table.

Post war, my sister said they rounded up any one opposing the Northern Communist ideology or was part of the Southern government or military and sent them to reform camps where many became ill and perished. They took land and businesses away from people and reset everything according to Northern Communist regime. My sisters said they had to go asking for a cup of rice from neighbours. There was no food, no money. No hope.

I had no idea why I like dried salted fish and rice as an adult. I found out why on this trip. It was because we were so poor, everyone ate rice and as the youngest they gave me the fish.

Tina said she remembered the monks were setting themselves on fire. She would see their bodies in the street. She spoke like it was normal, which it was to her. The thought was too much for me. My sheltered little brain couldn’t comprehend such a sight. She said they taught in schools to watch your neighbours and parents, and to report them for suspicious activities. The indoctrination permeated all society, and you were rewarded for serving the greater Communist good.

My sister Tu said we used to make and sold ice, my dad illegally ran an electrical wire from his work place at the Ba Son Marina to the house. She said it was her job to watch for any police or government officers who was coming our way and she had to go flip this switch. She said it was always too late, they would walk in, turn off the main power supply but our fan was still running! They knew right away we were smuggling electricity. She said she had to get money and bribe the officials. Apparently this happened often on her watch.

My sister Tam and I were sitting now listening to Tu’s story, laughing because it was hilarious. Tam who is 2 years younger than Tu absolutely had no memory of this and I wasn’t even born yet. It’s strange how each family member has their own stories and trauma. The only thing is to laugh and be grateful about it now because it was so painful and overwhelming then. You can not erase the past, but you can see where it has lead you.

What would my sisters be doing today?Would Tu run a fruit stand? Would Tam work in a hair salon? Would Tina run a noodle shop? We really wouldn’t know the answer to these questions. I certainly wouldn’t be typing these words on a travel blog for you to read. I wouldn’t have even met you…

Here are some photos of an ice making shop just a few homes from my birth home. Tu at a durian fruit stand. They ban durians in hotels because of the offensive odour. Tam is standing in her best friend’s hair salon near my birth home.

Also photos of Ba Son Marina, where my dad used to work. It’s no longer a little marina but a huge complex with its own Metro line. You can see the New Years festivity on full display.

Last photos are of downtown still filled with people 5 days after new years. Look at that elaborate stage. Tu and I were in awh!

Call your mom

There’s a saying. Before you come to Vietnam and try to cross the street, you better call your mom to say good bye. It may be the last time you talk to her. lol!

There’s truth to this, because you just pray you make it to the other side. Other rules to follow when crossing the street is: whatever you do keep moving and never ever stop. The cars and motorbikes fan around you, it’s like a stream of fish, circling forward around an object. Just keep at a constant pace, mind the cars and walk.

Street lines dividing lanes are “suggestions”. I’ve seen a bus, 2 cars, 6 motorbikes side by side in a two lane street. It’s like the Wild Wild West here. Grit and sheer will power determines who is turning when and where and who gets right of way when merging. Are you bigger and faster? Pushier? Want to do a u turn in the middle of the street with 30 motorbikes coming and 4 cars? Sure! Make that uturn(see the red car in that photo, which was actually our ride we were waiting for and was aghasted). Want to turn right when you are 3 lanes over on the left? Sure, just shoot a right and make the other 12 motor bikes and 4 cars slow down for you. Why not! It’s only Vietnam traffic! No room for the meek and weak hearted here.

It’s just incredible we haven’t seen one accident. It’s like a sea of fish and they just all know how the current flows. It’s orderly chaos.

I should also mention rush hour traffic makes our Alberta rush hour traffic seem like a race way. You literally sit in one spot forever. And when you think you are moving, the cop blocks the road and makes you go elsewhere. We made a mistake and rented a car to tour the city for an hour without thinking about the time. We booked 6-7 pm and made it 1.5 km, which equals to a 12 min walk. We payed to sit in a fancy car for an hour. Haha

I hope you enjoy these photos. There is one photo with 3 motorbikes. If you look closely there are 4 people sitting on each bike! It’s just wild.

Food and more food

It’s unbelievable how much food is everywhere here in Ho Chi Minh City. Little street stalls selling sticky rice in many different flavours and topping, pressed sugar cane juicers, small restaurants and coffee shops with anything you can imagine from banh mi( Vietnamese submarines) to boiled crabs and snails. And then you have the high end restaurants chattering to a completely different class of society from an array of world wide culinary choices. It’s a foodie’s Mecca.

No, I didn’t try the snails! Lol I actually have memories in my childhood loving snails. Get ready, this is a bit queasy, but we used to use the sharp end of a safety pin to yank the snails out of their shells, dipping them it in a sauce and popping them in our mouths. The thought now makes my stomach quiver.

This trip was very tamed. Our food choices now with google and reading reviews allowed us to scope our destination before hand. However some of the best food experience was just wandering around and crossing paths with a food stall packed with people and a curiously to try what the locals are having.

I did come with a bucket list of foods I absolutely had to eat on this trip. Foods that are available in Edmonton and Sherwood Park, but I wanted to eat it from the birth place. By people making the same dish for decades, food first cooked by the grandmother, now the mom, then eventually the daughter who is cleaning or taking orders.

Here is a photo cache of the food. It’s all been just incredible and utterly overwhelming. Truly a foodies paradise for 1/3 the cost. You can eat like a king here and not break the bank as they say.

Happy Lunar New Year!

You may find it confusing, why some Asian countries celebrate their new year on a different date. It is because their calendar follows the moon/lunar calendar while ours in North America and most of the world follows the Gregorian Solar calendar. Hence the saying Happy Lunar New Year.

New Year falls on the first new moon between Jan 21 and Feb 20, so the date changes from year to year. This year it falls on February 17. The calendar also consist of 12 zodiacs. This year of 2026 is the year of the horse and the element of Fire. It is a year full of passion, drive and momentum but can be impulsive and strong willed. It is a year to be aware of your temperament and yet to be open to your desires and dreams.

New years(also known as Tet in Vietnamese) is a time to be with family and to bring in good fortune and good health. There are special foods you eat such as the Bánh chưng, dressing in your best attire(traditionally in red, but we are seeing softer hues of pinks and blues), resting(people are off work for 1-4 weeks), cleaning and decorating the house, and listening to festive spring music.

I arrived on Feb 8th and Ho Chi Minh City was already in full swing. Streets were being blocked off to be decorated. People were practicing their choreography to dances and ceremonies holding Vietnamese flags. Thousands of flower pots lined the streets to be placed in their spot which would be later a scene or back drop of a statue. Each piece even the smallest marigold had a role in the grand play. It was all coming together like an orchestra tuning each string and reed before heaven unleashes her opus. I have never seen anything like it.

Was I still in Vietnam? This question was asked repeatedly by myself and my sisters? To answer that I will save for the last blog post and I will have an answer, but let’s get back to the grand play of Lunar New Year. Here are some photos, which does not capture the noise, the smells, the heat, the people, the buzzing atmosphere in the air. I really have no words, it feels like a surreal dream.

If you look closely, there is a photo of a horse in what appears to be tall grass. My sister Tu said it’s rice, that it was a rice paddy. I named my blog Rice Paddy because it was how I envisioned Vietnam with the rolling country sides and miles and miles of green rice paddies. The source of our nourishments. I was really captivated when I saw actual rice.

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve in Vietnam also known as Giao Thừa is a time to celebrate the coming of the new year and bidding farewell to the previous year. It consist of many rituals and is very significant for bringing prosperity and good health to the family, work and friends. Altars are set up with offerings to the ancestors filled with fruit, flowers, candy, candles, incense, and red envelopes. The city becomes alive like a buzzing hive full of people. You can feel the festivities in the air. It’s electric.

As a child, I do not have much memory of this very special time. However my sisters do and New Year’s Eve is the most sacred day in the entire year. Just imagine Christmas, ancestral worship, and New Years all rolled up in one. You spend the entire day cleaning the house to sweep away the bad luck. If you sweep on New Year’s Day or a few days after you are sweeping away your good luck and bringing bad luck.

My sisters decided to return to our birth home to experience these rituals. We arrived around 11 pm and the neighborhood was alive. People were in the streets chatting and setting up their altars in front of their homes with little metal tables. Loud music was played from the houses. Lights were strung up and flowers adored the steps to their doors. It was very nostalgic for my sisters and an eye opener for me seeing it with Canadian eyes.

Nearing midnight, you begin to see people praying and burning incense and paper money for their ancestors. They were praying facing their front entrance of their homes while others were facing outwards and in different directions. Some had large fires in metal tins while others were setting off fireworks and had huge bonfires of offerings. My uncle had a little metal table he mounted on his second floor balcony and was more discreet.

My sisters chatted with some neighborhood friends from the past while I wandered around completely culture shocked and took photos.

I hope you enjoy these pictures. It was like going back 40 years for us to experience a tradition that stay rooted and frozen in time. The one stark tradition we didn’t see and perhaps because it’s banned was the little red firecrackers. I remember the sulphur smell and the loud noise, still hidden in my subconscious. If you look at one of the photos, there is a man holding a large string of firecrackers. It’s electric and requires no lighting, but makes the exact piercing popping sound. There’s a little boy plugging his ear because it was deafening. So cute lol.

On the dock, under the boat

"TRÊN BẾN DƯỜI THUYỀN is translate to On the dock, under the boat. To celebrate Lunar New Years there is this special flower market in Ho Chi Minh City. Sellers from the country side would ship all their flowers and plants on boats, dock it and walk using planks to the street to sell. The street was a sea of red, yellow and orange. Just brimming with bougainvilleas, marigolds, and the New Years yellow apricot blossoms also called Hoa Mai or Mai Vàng.

Tu and Tina were in heaven, they grew up seeing these flowers for New Years. We were very poor then growing up in Vietnam in the post war 1970’s and couldn’t afford many celebratory plants. Tina joked and said she used to ride her bicycle to buy a mai flower plant on New Year’s Eve because then the plants would be half price and that’s when we could afford it. Well wouldn’t you know, it was New Year’s Eve today and here she is buying a half price plant. Lol

Also some photos of how they strap the plants on the motorbikes or hold on to them as they ride. I think we spent more time gawking at how they balanced everything on the bikes than plant gazing. It was pretty wild!

Only in Vietnam

Only in Vietnam would you see this…

Markets filled with tightly packed stalls selling everything you need plus things you had no idea you needed.

Did you know Vietnam is the largest exporter of cashews in the world? When my mom went to Vietnam for her yearly visits, cashews was the only thing I looked forward to eating when she returned from her trip. Vietnam cashews have a rich complex flavour. They are huge and sooo good! Then there is their weasel coffee. It’s coffee harvested from weasel excrements. Apparently the flavour is very special. We didn’t buy that. lol

Their famous red plastic stools you sit on to eat street food. This was at a well known noodle soup destination called Bún Riêu Gánh Chợ Bến Thành which served a crab and pork patty in really clean and delicious broth. My sisters said this place has been around for decades and has never changed their recipe.

When we sat down, we just had coffee and was waiting for the lunch restaurant to open so we only ordered one bowl to share. The lady took our order and yelled “one bowl, 3 people!!!!” to the cook. She wasn’t impressed we took up space and only ordered one bowl, you can hear it in her voice. It was just hilarious. So after seeing how amazing it was we ordered each a bowl, she yelled our order to the cook. And she was a lot happier with us after. Haha

Egg coffee. I didn’t know it was a thing, but it’s very popular. We went to a Vietnamese coffee chain called Legend. Very high end. It even had 2 grand pianos and a stage. Vietnamese people consume so much coffee here. It’s part of their culture and there are so many different ways to consume coffee.

Boiled chicken in a bag. It’s for ancestor worshipping on New Years. You put the chicken on the altar for prosperity and happiness for the new year. Tu and I both freaked out when we saw this. lol It’s just bags and bags of chicken dangling from a motorbike.

Dogs on a scooter. So adorable. The bottom dog was dancing in circles all around while completely balanced in that small space. I really miss Bobbi when I saw this.

Morning meditations around a tree and group massage. So very normal activities that you would never see in Canada.

Complimentary breakfast buffet

The street chaos(I will post a future post just for this! It’s insanity), the bustling scenes of everyday hustle of the people(also a future post) hits you hardest being in Vietnam. However there is one thing I totally forgot about from my last trip which was their breakfast. It’s not the complimentary breakfast you see in North American hotels, which provided the usual toast, cereals, pastries. If you are lucky they have bacon and eggs.

In Vietnam hotels, you come downstairs to their complimentary breakfast, usually served in their main restaurant and it’s a sprawling spread. I faced timed my dad just to show him the spread going through all the dishes, and it was a 5 minute FaceTime lol. Of course I got to talk to Bobbi real quick. She’s so unbelievably special, wagging her tail and looking into the camera. Such a precious soul.

So here are some photos of the complimentary breakfast at Pullman in Vung Tau. I didn’t show the salad bar section, cold cuts and pate area, nor the dim sum, congee station, western cereals, nor juice and coffee bar! So you can see how elaborate this was.

Vung Tau

Vung Tau is 2 hours west of Ho Chi Minh City with a population of roughly 500 000 million people. It is known for the Front and Back Beaches, the tallest Christ Statue in Asia and their famous Banh Knot food dish(see photo of the small crepe with shrimps, very yummy!).

My sister Tam has moved here from Canada in May 2025. She now runs a coffee shop and teaches English to students. She loves the heat, the people and freedom in Vietnam. Of course we all thought she was a bit crazy to leave Canada(lol) but seeing how happy she is here, going to the market, working in her coffee shop and darting around on her motorbike, it’s clear she’s found her new home.

Here are some photos of Vung Tau. The first set is the hotel Pullman where we stayed then the beaches( Front and Back beaches) then the Chon Khong Monastery. Lastly is the famous Vung Tau dish Banh Khot and Tam on her motorbike.

The Chon Khong Monastery was another world to enter. It was very sacred and the grounds were immaculate and well cared for. The deep serene sounds of the wind chimes could be heard as we approached the main building. There were many people dressed in traditional outfits celebrating Chinese New Years having their photos taken.

We spend 3 days in Vung Tau and headed back to Ho Chi Minh City where we will celebrate Chinese New Year.