1 night in Saigon

1 night in Saigon-

I’ve touched on pieces of this night in a few different posts, but need to revisit it one more time because of recent developments. I have always used my arriving in Saigon as an example of why to stay in hostels. Specifically shared dorm rooms. Most times if a hostel offers private rooms they will be 2 or 3 times, or more, the cost of a bed in a dorm room. This hostel (the name escapes me, irrelevant anyway) had private rooms with bathroom for only $1 more than an 8 person shared dorm. It was by far the cheapest difference for a private room I’d ever seen and although it would have been undoubtedly more comfy I just arrived to Vietnam solo so it wasn’t much of a decision really, I went with the dorm room to meet other travelers. Not until now do I realize the full significance of that seemingly insignificant choice.

In my room were Arnold (The Noodle Man) from China, who is still to this day the most unique character I’ve met traveling. Two guys from the UK (Jake & Jamie), who introduced me to the amazing volunteer opportunity I did in Cambodia, and a fun couple from Dublin (Stephen & Maria). All of us went out to a backpacker area of town affectionately referred to as Beer Street where we met up with some other travelers: Canadian couple (Mike & Jess), solo Irish traveler (Emma), solo UK traveler (Sarah) and solo UK traveler (Max). Max and I ran into each other the following day in a park and decided to team up for the next 3 weeks and cruise the length of Vietnam together from Saigon (south) to Ha Long Bay (north). We kept in contact through Facebook and had an unexpected reunion last month in Canada. Also while traveling through Canada, I would meet up with Mike and Jess who I stayed with for a few days in Vancouver. Both of these encounters I talked about a few posts ago in the “Reconnections” entry. About a week ago on my last night in Berlin, I had yet another completely random and unexpected reunion from this 1 night on Saigon’s Beer Street. Emma (the solo Irish traveler) saw one of my Instagram posts and messaged me saying she just happened to be in Berlin as well. We got together for dinner then went bar hopping before I had to catch a train to the airport for my flight to Geneva. 1 drink leads to 2, that leads to 6 or 7 and before I know it we are hanging out with 2 local Berliners outside one of these bars till… Wait, what does my watch say!?… 4:00!… I miss the train and get stuck with a taxi to the airport that was almost the price of the flight. It was great to be reacquainted with Emma and so happy to have the chance to share memories of, among other things, our mutual acquaintance Arnold (The Noodle Man) from China.

But wait there’s more. After Berlin it was a week in France then onto Ireland for the bucket list event of St. Patricks Day in Dublin. Matt Pearson, The Dolpin and I wrecked absolute havoc on this globally imitated, but never quite duplicated public holiday. It was a spectacle to put it mildly and I’ll leave your imagination to the rest. 18 hours after swearing off booze forever I find an excuse for 1 last beer. Stephen and Maria (the couple from Dublin) met up with me making them the 5th and 6th people I’ve seen from that 1 special night in Saigon 8 months ago. The odds are astronomical. Although I don’t adhere to the ‘things happen for a reason’ philosophy I’ll say that the $1 I saved from not getting a private room my first night in Vietnam is one of my wisest investments, with the greatest return, to date. I hope to see The Noodle Man next.

Bob