Michael Sieburg

I arrived in Saigon late last night but didn’t really feel like I was here until I walked out of the airport and into the thick humid air that is the summer rainy season. The smell of roasting corn hung heavy in the air, a second reminder that I was back in Vietnam. I stayed up long enough to enjoy the fresh air on my bedroom balcony and then drifted into sleep, awaiting the morning sound of women’s voices selling breakfast from bicycles in the alleyway below.

Up and out of the house, my first destination was a cafe to get my morning iced coffee and tea. At a small coffee stall, I leaned back in a little plastic chair and watched the traffic roll by, still many more motorbikes than cars. From coffee to breakfast, I walked into the first noodleshop I encountered, a small food stall selling Bun Bo Hue. The first sip of broth consisted of some of the most intense flavors I’ve tasted since I was last in Southeast Asia. Pungent and thick, with chunks of beef and pork, it was a delicious re-introduction to the food of Saigon.

After breakfast, not wanting to return home to feel the effects of jet lag, I walked through the streets, with no particular destination in mind. I picked up a copy of the magazine, Vietnam Financial Review, as well as some 333 for the house. I noticed at least four new tall buildings and several more in construction. The fact that construction is ongoing and the projects haven’t stalled is certainly an encouraging sign.

I think I forgot how prevalent cafes are here. You can drink coffee everywhere from a little plastic chair on the sidewalk to massive megacafes that are almost too intimidating to enter to Highlands Coffee, a chain that seems to have bought up the best cafe real estate in the city. Despite the persistent rumors, there are still no Starbucks but I did see a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

View from my morning coffee: