"They say you come to Vietnam and you understand a lot in a few minutes, but the rest has got to be lived. The smell: that's the first thing that hits you, promising everything in exchange for your soul. And the heat. Your shirt is straightaway a rag. You can hardly remember your name, or what you came to escape from. But at night, there's a breeze. The river is beautiful."
These words have stuck with me. They were true 50 years ago and they are still true today.
I'm spending two weeks in Saigon with my boyfriend before heading back to London via New Delhi. It's day number three and my mind is full of new impressions.
In a way, Vietnam is still how I remember it from previous visits - it's hot, it's loud, it's chaotic, but the energy the country exudes is mesmerising. Almost every house has been turned into a shopfront, an eatery or some other kind of business.
On the other hand I realise that a lot is very foreign to me. I don't speak the language. Half of the dishes we've tried so far I've never seen before. I don't understand how the traffic works. I feel sorry for how animals are treated here. I feel even more sorry for the old and the weak people who have to sell lottery tickets to get by.
Society seems to be full of contradictions: Vietnamese family values are conservative and it's unusual for a couple to live together before marriage. On the other hand, most girls and younger women dress extremely provocatively. Hot pants and see through shirts are the norm.
Women tend to be educated and financially secure. Yet, the society is still very patriarchic and men are designing the rules.
Rich and poor happily co-exist. A food stall may charge 50p for a meal, a beer in a downtown tourist bar may cost 35 USD.
Will I be able to reconcile these contradictions in my mind? We'll see. I've got 10 more days!
