Happy New Year in Saigon!

I spent most of my 2 days in Saigon on my own, which was fine because there was so much going on in the city it was cool to just wander around and take it all in. Both of my nights there were spent making my way through an insane sea of people and motorbikes, watching cheesy Vietnamese New Year celebrations and an impressive fireworks display. I got a few funny looks and people asking me if I understood what was going on, which of course, I didn't. But they always seemed happy that I was there watching anyway. I actually felt quite tall amongst the Vietnamese audience, and it was great that even from far back in the crowd I could always find a spot where I could see no problem.

During my day in the city, I tried to go to a restaurant that was recommended to me by the American couple that lives in Saigon for some traditional Vietnamese food. It was a bit out of the downtown core, so it made for a nice walk through the city to find it. Unfortunately, because it's off the tourist map, like many other businesses it was closed for the holiday. By this time I was quite hungry so I ended up grabbing some baked goods at a french bakery called "Tous les Jours." Sitting there eating my baking, although it was very tasty, I couldn't help but be a little disappointed that my traditional Vietnamese lunch turned into french baking in a very Western setting and listening to ABBA. They have a huge obsession with ABBA here, and I hear them at least once a day...very strange.
The strangest thing that happened to me though, which happens to me everywhere is I'm still continually mistaken for someone else. Many of you know that this happens to me all the time in Canada and I figured being a minority for several months would decrease the frequency but apparently the Meghan-look-alikes also like to travel. I was walking through the park in Saigon when a Vietnamese woman starts waving at me and yelling hi. I guess she could tell by the confused look on my face that I had no idea who she was. She then insisted that we'd met at the airport and when I told her that I hadn't been to an airport in Saigon she became just as confused as I had been. I also had a similar experience in India, where a guy insisted he'd seen me somewhere that I hadn't been. So as unique as I like to think I am...apparently I'm not.