Vietnam was so much fun; I went for 10 days, spending 3 in Bac Lieu (8-hour drive South of Saigon) where my mums side of the family grew up and the other 7 days in Saigon. Soon after I landed I quickly realised how bad my Vietnamese was. I didn't think it was that bad initially, but I felt very humbled every time a local would respond to me in English. There were even times when they were surprised that I knew Vietnamese at all - maybe since I dress a lot like a foreigner.
Even writing this I'm finding it difficult to put into words what walking the streets of Vietnam felt like.
I think the first thing that really wow'd me was how laughably cheap and convienent the country was. The Uber over there is called Grab and it costs a dollar on average to go anywhere within the city. The breadth of food selection in Saigon was also something that I'd never experienced before. Everything was just so accessible and inexpensive that it made me feel like a kid at a candy shop. I bought lots of clothes, ate a lot of amazing food, met lots of family, spoke with a lot of foreigners, got massages almost every day and partied a lot.
One bother was the amount of beggars in Vietnam, it was very common for elderly or very young children to approach me asking for money or if I wanted to buy their lottery tickets or flowers.
The roads as well... The roads were so hectic and stressful to cross all the time. You had to be alert and careful but the drivers and cyclists were always driving slow enough to accomodate for pedestrians - I got used to it overtime so it wasn't much of an issue to me.
My main highlight was definitely going on solo shopping dates. Saigon had a massive selection of clothes that not only looked great and fit me well but were priced incredibly fairly. I bought lots of basic clothing and shoes home that I wear every week.
Walking the streets at night felt like a dream, the city was beautiful and everywhere was always packed and lively. It was my first time overseas so the 24/7-ness of everything added to the culture shock. The weather was extremely hot and humid during the day so I ended up sleeping through most of the morning and spending a lot of my time outdoors throughout the night.
Though I had lots of fun travelling in Vietnam, the flight experience for me was the worst. The Vietjet seats I had were extremely uncomfortable and I struggled to get much sleep.
Vietnam aside, I also turned 21 recently! I feel like a different person every year but I will say now that I think 2026 is already the best year of my life. Earlier this month I also went to Sydney for a Thursday to Monday period to see Darren Styles, which was another great experience. Every time I go to Sydney it makes me more excited to move for my internship - I enjoy Brisbane but I do think that the fast-pacedness of Sydney is more my style.
I live in quite a remote suburb in Brisbane so the convenience of living near the CBD in Sydney is something that I look forward to. I also received news recently that a close friend of mine got a role at Macquarie, so I'm glad that I already have at least have someone to explore the city with. Another close friend of mine also joined Tiny recently, and working with him has been lots of fun.
Other than that, my weeks recently have been the usual uni/work -> gym -> Valorant cycle :P