Back in Saigon for the New Year

It was January 2011, and I was back in Vietnam for the second time. My girlfriend was working in Ho Chi Minh City then, so this trip was also an opportunity to spend time together.

Looking back, what I remember most isn’t a particular attraction or landmark. It’s the time spent with friends, the New Year celebrations, and the places we visited along the way.

The photographs have helped bring back some of the details I had almost forgotten.

Saigon getting ready for Tết

We were there in the days leading up to Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.

My photographs show a city preparing for the celebrations. There were New Year banners, decorations and signs welcoming the Year of the Cat.

A city street at night strung with blue and white light decorations, with motorbike riders in helmets in the foreground and lit shop signs on either side. — New Year lights over a street in Ho Chi Minh City.

One evening, we went on a dinner cruise along the Saigon River. The photographs show the Tàu Sài Gòn, decorated for the New Year, and the city skyline illuminated across the water.

The Tàu Sài Gòn restaurant boat at night, its blue sign lit above two decks strung with lights, with hanging baskets of yellow chrysanthemums and red banners, one reading “Tết Tân Mão 2011”. — The Tàu Sài Gòn at its pier, decorated for Tết Tân Mão, the Year of the Cat.

Looking at those pictures now, I can recognize the Bitexco Financial Tower in the distance. It was still a relatively new addition to the skyline at the time.

I don’t remember much about the dinner itself, but I’m glad I took those photographs. They captured a part of Ho Chi Minh City that has undoubtedly changed since then.

A two-storey colonial building with a pediment and arched ground floor, floodlit orange against the night. — A colonial building lit up at night.

A platter of grilled prawns arranged in a fan on a metal dish. — A colonial building lit up at night.

Karaoke, drinks and a memorable hangover

One of the experiences I still remember clearly was a Lunar New Year gathering at a friend’s family home.

My friend’s father had a business, and the gathering included people from his staff. It was a celebration with food, drinks and karaoke.

A table crowded with dishes: a bowl of clear soup, a bowl of stew with carrots, prawn crackers, sliced baguette and cans of beer. — Food and drinks at a gathering in the days before Tết.

I remember the karaoke and, perhaps more vividly, how much we drank that night.

The following day was a complete write-off. I had such a bad hangover that I spent practically the whole day in the hotel recovering.

Not exactly a productive day of sightseeing, but certainly one of the memories that has stayed with me.

I can’t place the exact date of the gathering anymore. It was during the New Year season, though not necessarily on New Year’s Eve itself.

The Củ Chi Tunnels

Another experience I remember from this visit was going to the Củ Chi Tunnels.

The tunnels were part of the day trips we made based on recommendations from friends. I remember enjoying those excursions, even though many of the details have faded over the years.

Interestingly, there aren’t any photographs of the tunnels in this particular album.

I don’t want to pretend I remember exactly which sections we visited or what we saw inside. For now, it’s enough to record that Củ Chi was one of the places we went.

Perhaps one day I’ll find more photographs from that visit.

More than just the city

Ho Chi Minh City was only part of this trip.

We also travelled to Mũi Né, where the beach and sand dunes offered a very different setting, and took a day trip into the Mekong Delta.

Those experiences deserve their own stories, particularly because the photographs have helped identify places whose names I had forgotten.

Looking back after fifteen years, it’s interesting which details remain. I remember the New Year celebration, the karaoke and the terrible hangover more clearly than some of the actual sightseeing.

That’s part of what makes revisiting these old photographs worthwhile. They help fill in the places and moments that memory alone can no longer reconstruct.