• Home
  • About
  • Noodle Tutorials
  • Resources
    • Noodle Resources
    • Blogging Resources
    • Dubai Resources

Ginger and Scotch

Learn to Make Asian Noodles at Home. Create, Bond, Transform.

Dubai to Ho Chi Minh City

Sat, Apr 7, 2012 | 15 Comments

posted in: Asia, Travels | tagged as: Asia, vietnam

  • 4

Last week, with the arrival of my grandmother in Ho Chi Minh city (HCMC), just a few hours after my own arrival from Dubai, there were four generations of my family together: Wee Scotch, myself, my mom, and my grandmother.

My mom and I were born in HCMC and although she’s been back a few times to visit family, this was the first time I had stepped foot on Vietnamese soil since we fled Saigon as “boat people” (in the late 1970’s) when I was only one year old.

Growing up in New York City, I had no concept of what life was like in my place of birth except from the stories recounted by my parents and relatives. I was not taught the Vietnamese language as our ancestral tongue was Cantonese and back then, not many could foresee the importance of being multilingual. The only thing I knew about Vietnam was the food but even that was limited to what my mom could cook or what we would order at Vietnamese restaurants.

It was a dark and stormy evening when we arrived in HCMC last Saturday. I can only imagine how treacherous that weather would have been for us three decades ago when we were stranded at sea for months before being rescued and brought to a refugee camp in Malaysia where we would spend many months before being accepted by US immigration officials.

But that day last week, I was ecstatic to see rain after a particularly long dry spell in Dubai. More excited was Wee Scotch, who had been reading about rain, thunder and lightning in his little storybooks, and kept urging me to take him out from our sheltered location into the storm.

As in Dubai, the HCMC airport greeting area is al fresco and we found Auntie (my mon’s sister) fairly quickly. I am glad that Auntie and her husband were there to help us navigate the taxi process as there didn’t seem to be any orderly line and people just made a mad-dash-and-grab for any taxi that pulled up. There was a man with a clipboard but he didn’t do much except point at a taxi and scribble notes down with his pen.

As you can see from the video, the terminal lights were flickering on and off as if threatening to lose power completely. Palm fronds swayed back and forth tumultuously and I worried that the whole tree would topple over. Surely this weather is typical and the trees are strongly rooted?

Auntie later told me that by the time she returned to the airport, a few hours later to pick up my grandmother, many of the trees had been knocked down by the storm.

On the short cab ride to Auntie’s house, aka home-base for the next 4 weeks, I could hardly see anything except rain splashing onto the windows.

The weather in HCMC is the same as Dubai at the moment (highs of 90 F / 32 C) except more humid. I had been warned by my mom that there was no A/C in Auntie’s house except for the bedrooms.

Lucky for us, the rainstorm had brought about cooler weather and a respite from the hot and humid air. The night breeze was cooling and oh-so-refreshing after a long day’s travel (a 2 am flight is never any fun especially with a toddler).

When we finally arrived at Auntie’s three-story house, I carried a weary Wee Scotch up to our new room on the top floor. If heat, humidity, pollution and crazy traffic congestion was going to prevent me from exercising and running outside, at least I could achieve buns of steel from climbing those flights of stairs every day.

Travel bed

Wee Scotch’s Travel bed

With Wee Scotch settled into his travel bed, I was ready to start exploring the neighborhood but I knew that that was not an option until the storm had passed.

Exploring would have to wait for another day.

Scotch was supposed to join us on this trip but due to last minute work demands, we had to cancel his plane ticket. In the middle of Skyping with him to let him know that we had all arrived safely, the electricity went out.

I worried that we’d be without power for days as had happened to me in NY last summer with Hurricane Irene. But amazingly, power was restored within a few hours (thank god because my iPhone was down to 20% power and without it, I feel like my right arm has been cut off).

As I settled down to sleep, all I could hear was the wind howling, shutters banging, and the crashing of heavy rains on corrugated rooftops. We left the windows open and it was so nice to feel fresh air blow across my body.

Hoping that the storm would soon pass, I drifted off into a travel-weary sleep.

Quick Start Guide to Making Homemade Noodles

Download my FREE quick-start guide and enjoy fresh noodles for lunch or dinner today!

You'll also receive new tutorials, tips and tricks for making Asian noodles at home.


We hate spam and will never share your email.

About Sandy

I’m Sandy (aka “Ginger”), married to “Scotch” (not his real name).
 
I believe that it’s not just noodles we are creating, but memories, traditions, and a sense of pride.
  
I believe in slowing down, relishing time spent with our children and loved ones, and bonding through shared noodle-making experiences.  Read more...

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Scotch says

    Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 4:37 am

    Great post love. Wish I could be there with you.

    Reply
  2. LaMereCulinaire says

    Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 11:35 pm

    Interesting post!
    Hope you have a great time in Vietnam!

    Reply
    • ginger says

      Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 1:02 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Devina Divecha (FooDee) says

    Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 4:39 pm

    Wow, that’s an interesting history. I cannot begin to imagine what your family went through back then to make a better life for all. Eagerly awaiting more posts!

    Reply
    • ginger says

      Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 1:03 pm

      I cannot imagine myself either. And now that I have Wee Scotch, I find it even more incredible.

      Reply
  4. nmaha says

    Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 8:45 am

    Wow! your history is impressive. Hats off to your family for withstanding so much.

    I love the travel bed. Where is it from and is it available for all ages of children?

    Reply
    • ginger says

      Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 7:06 am

      There is a link in the post for the “Kidco Peapod” travel tent/bed or you can google it. There are two sizes – I have the larger size and I think it is rated to 3 years old. We use it on the beach and also when we travel in case the hotel can’t provide a crib. I like that it comes with an inflatable mattress for which I use the sheets from my son’s cot bed.

      Reply
  5. The UDG says

    Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 4:59 am

    Loved reading this post. Wee Scotch is too cute in his travel bed.

    Reply
    • ginger says

      Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 1:04 pm

      He loves the travel bed but if I don’t close the mesh door, he rolls out of it…but continues to sleep half-in and half-out!

      Reply
  6. Didi says

    Sun, Apr 8, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    That’s an interesting family history Sandy. Your family is truly brave to travel thousands of miles on a BOAT! What a feat!

    Looking forward to reading more of your Vietnam adventures 🙂

    Reply
    • ginger says

      Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 1:08 pm

      I’m not sure it was so much bravery as it was survival. I’m sure there are thousands out there with a similar story as mine. After Vietnam’s reunification in 1975, many Southern Vietnamese had to flee or be sent to “re-education” camps, or worse, for fighting on the American side of the war, as was the case for my dad.

      Reply
  7. Sally - My Custard Pie says

    Sun, Apr 8, 2012 at 8:08 am

    Eagerly waiting for the rest of the story. I was not aware of the recent history of your family and the significance of this trip. What an experience and so glad you are sharing it.
    P.S. The travel bed is super cute.

    Reply
    • ginger says

      Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 1:01 pm

      yes, lots of great experiences. hope I can document them all.

      Reply
  8. Radhina says

    Sat, Apr 7, 2012 at 2:19 pm

    I miss thunderstorms… there was a cyclone when I went to Vietnam too. Could hear the wind howling in Hanoi all night long and had to postpone my trip to Halong Bay by a couple of days because of it

    Reply
    • ginger says

      Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 12:59 pm

      I miss thunderstorms too! It hasn’t stormed since we arrived though. Very hot here and no A/C in most places.

      Reply

About Me

Homemade Chinese Noodles From ScratchI’m Sandy (aka “Ginger”), married to “Scotch” (yes, he’s Scottish).

I believe that it’s not just noodles we are creating, but memories, traditions, and a sense of pride.

I believe in slowing down, relishing time spent with our children and loved ones, and bonding through shared noodle-making experiences.  Read more…

Dowload my
FREE GUIDE

Quick Start Guide to Making Homemade Noodles

You'll also receive new tutorials, tips and tricks for making Asian noodles at home.

We hate spam and will never share your email.

5 Unique Gift Ideas for Pasta and Noodle Lovers


10 Best Books for Ramen Lovers


Amazon Prime UAE
 
 

Follow Ginger and Scotch:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe To Blog Updates

Quick Start Guide to Making Homemade Noodles

Subscribe and Get New Noodle Tutorials Delivered to Your Email

And you'll also receive my FREE quick-start guide: "5 Easy Steps to Homemade Noodles in Just 30 Minutes"

We hate spam and will never share your email.

Archives by Date

Archives by Category

Copyright © 2007-2021 · Ginger and Scotch · All rights reserved · RSS · Privacy Policy · Contact Us
Blog built with Genesis Framework | Theme by Restored 316 | Logo Art by Freepik

Copyright © 2021 · Tasteful Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

One Sec...Before You Go! 

Quick Start Guide to Making Homemade Noodles

Download my FREE quick-start guide:
"5 Easy Steps to Homemade Noodles in Just 30 Minutes" and enjoy fresh noodles for lunch or dinner today.

You'll also receive new tutorials, tips and tricks for making Asian noodles at home.

{We hate spam and will never share your email.}

x
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue, we'll assume that you are happy for us to use cookies for this purpose.Continue