Ant Egg Soup by Natacha Du Pont de Bie5/19/2023 ![]() ![]() There is a new sense of optimism in Saigon and all the Vietnamese I talked to spoke of it. ![]() When I tried to give a beggar money this time, he berated me as he crushed some postcards into my hand, "No. Now, things have really changed the roads buzz noisily with mopeds and taxis, while the people have a bounce in their step and smile at you. I'd paid him well for several journeys, but when I refused to give in to his demands for an even bigger tip than the last three he screamed at me, "One dollar! One dollar! To you it is nothing! NOTHING!" His distorted face is ingrained in my memory along with the conflicting feelings of guilt and anger he left with me. I remember being chased by a rickshaw driver who had hounded me for days. The city has transformed since my last visit, when the streets were filled with bicycles, rickshaws and the reek of resentment. Saigon is the name the locals still give to the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, which is so vast that it's more like a province. And so it was that both of us and our 16-month-old daughter stepped out of the airport into the humid air of Ho Chi Minh City for what was to be a long weekend of feasting. ![]() News of my planned return trip to Vietnam was greeted with unbounded enthusiasm by my partner. ![]()
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