Back Where I Started

My epic year of travel comes to a close - I think

I’m finally back in hot, hectic, crowded Ho Chi Minh City, aka Saigon, and I couldn’t be happier.

I also couldn’t be hotter. It’s a steady 92° F (33°c) here, as always, with the attendant 60-70% humidity, and a “RealFeel” of around 101°F – always a challenge for this “but it’s a dry heat” Californian.

Even so, I’m in shorts and a linen button-down, which is not happening in Berlin or New York right now. It takes some getting used to, but at the end of the day, sweating is good for one’s skin, so…bring it.

Anyway, the rainy season has ended, hence the timing of my return.

I don’t mind the endless stream of motor bikes and cars, even when they come up onto the sidewalk – I find it endlessly entertaining – but a rising tide of sewer water in the streets – by some accounts, potentially up to one’s chest at times – does not appeal. That’s the rainy season in Saigon.

Plus, the rainy season, which runs roughly from May to October, coincides with the best weather in Europe and North America, so th…