List of things I will miss/never forget about Vietnam

Me on the tour boat in Halong Bay

Getting ready to say goodbye to Vietnam.  While I still have lots of photos and videos to upload and blogs to post,  I wanted to jot down a list of things I will miss/never forget about Vietnam – in no order of importance:

1. I will miss paying 60 cents for a Banh Mi Sandwich.
2. I will miss paying $1.50 for a bowl of Pho.
3. I will miss having morning coffee with my dad and Cousin Duc.
4. I will miss drinking Dalat Wine with my Cousin Duc into the wee hours of the night.
5. I will miss meeting new relatives.
6. I will never forget the glorious sunset dinner along the seashore at Mui Ne.
7. I will never forget kayaking with my Dad on my birthday in Halong Bay.  Also, this happened.
8. I will miss/never forget HALONG BAY
9. I will never forget the moment my dad and cousin told me they made contact with Mrs Hue.
10. I will miss/never forget Mrs Hue.
11. I will never forget eating Pho with my cousin and his wife after a night of theatre in Saigon.
12. I will never forget climbing to the top of the caves of Marble Mountain with a random girl from Barcelona and looking down on the city of Danang.  The view was sublime.
13. I will miss my dad and I giggling like little kids in the rear seat of my cousin’s car.
14. I will miss riding through the crowded Saigon streets on the back of a motorbike.
15. I will never forget meeting and sharing stories with the nice ladies from Holland on our late night train ride to Hue.
16. I will miss the food the food the food.
17. I will miss my Aunt Mai’s cooking.
18. I will never forget exploring Saigon on my own.
19. I will miss the smiles.
20. I will never forget seeing my parents act like teenagers.
21. I will never forget hearing stories of my mom’s childhood.
22. I will never forget the shivers I felt when our plane touched down in Saigon.
23. I will never forget our cousins greeting us at the airport.
24. I will never forget the insane poverty most Vietnamese live in, including many of my relatives.
25. I will NOT miss our taxi driver getting into a shouting match with another driver and seeing him reach under the seat for…thankfully he put away whatever was under his seat.
26. I will never forget visiting my Grandmother’s grave.
27. I will never forget swimming in Halong Bay.
28. I will NOT miss my Aunt Mai’s husband Thanh walking around the house shirtless.
29. I will miss driving through the mountains of Dalat.
30. I will never forget my dad and I touring central Vietnam by ourselves.
31. I will miss our tour guide in central Vietnam.  My dad will miss him more.  They both talked nonstop for 48hrs.
32. I will strangely kind of miss the gecko lizards crawling around every wall in Vietnam.
33. I will never forget the tourists on our Mekong Delta tour being spellbound by my dad’s stories of Vietnam.
34. I will never forget the War Remnants Museum.
35. I will never forget the mooncake baking lesson.
36. I will miss Larue Beer.
37. I will miss 333 Beer.
38. I will NOT miss the traffic in Saigon.  It is ten times worse than NY.   I swear.  Here, motorbikes rule the streets, not cars.
39. I will miss the cookies at ABC Bakery.
40. I will miss Vietnam Airlines.  Possibly the best airline I’ve ever flown.
41. I will miss breezing through airport security in under 5 minutes.