Ho Chi Minh City: Days 6 to 8

November 09, 2023

Ho Chi Minh City: Days 6 to 8

The day after touring the Mekong Delta with Chris, I was so tired that I took a rest day. However, Tam texted me and wanted to meet for a second date that night, so I went to meet her at the Wrap&Roll restaurant in the basement of Vincom Center not far from the Pedestrian Plaza. After the meal, we walked in the plaza. Tam and I sat on the fifth floor balcony of a cafe building that overlooked the plaza and had some drinks. I felt that we have a good connection as friends, not sure if we match romantically. We will stay in touch since she likes to play the question game, where we ask each other a question each day to learn more about each other.

On day 7, I went to two dates at night. One was with a Vietnamese girl named Emily at the Katinet Cafe. She's a teaching assistant at a learning center. We only chatted for about an hour. I realized that most of my dates want to settle down, get married, have kids. I find that life to be very typical and may not be for me. The second date was with a girl named Hoa. We only chatted for about 10 minutes before deciding to meet. I met her at her hotel, which right by the Pedestrian Plaza, and we walked and talked at the plaza over some drinks. From talking to Hoa, and a few previous girls, I learned that it's very common for Vietnamese girls to date foreigners, but in the end they break up due to the long distance. With my situation as a traveler looking to meet my life partner, it'll be hard to overcome the long distance part of a relationship since my plan is to look for a remote job when I get back to the US. Then I'll be able to work anywhere and stay in Asia longer.

On my last day of staying in HCMC, Chris and I went to get some egg coffee at Little Hanoi cafe. Then we had lunch with Bib at the same restaurant we went to before when I first met Bib. After lunch, we went to a cafe again to hang out. Bib had to go to work and Chris wanted to go back to his hostel to do some work. I ended up meeting one last date at a cafe. Her name is Kim and we had a great chat before meeting. During the date, it occurred to me that if I want to have a relationship with a Vietnamese girl then I should stay in Vietnam longer. However, both Hanoi and HCMC are very hot even at this time of the year. HCMC is 32 degrees Celsius, with the humidity it's about 40 C. Too hot and humid for me. There is only two seasons in HCMC, dry or wet. Hanoi has four seasons. But I prefer to live in HCMC if given the choice. I think my future plan might involve getting a teaching English job in Vietnam after reaching financial independence working in the US.

I took a Grab bike, which I'm now used to, to Bib's apartment after the date and met up with Chris, who already arrived there beforehand. Bib had to work again so Chris and I had our last meal in Vietnam at a street food stall nearby. We each had two plates of meat and rice. Bib came back to the apartment shortly before Chris and I had to leave. We were able to bid our farewell with Bib.

The flight to Cebu, Philippines, was at 1:25 AM with a layover at Manila. It would take a total of 10 hours of travel to get to the hostel in Cebu. I would never do a late night flight again, especially with a layover.