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My mentor in college was a black political scientist named Michael B. Preston who was born and raised in Tyler, Texas, during segregation. He left Texas as soon as he could for California and eventually became a full professor at the University of Southern California. He was aware of the historical flaws of the American South but he also told me to go there to explore the history and culture.

I’ve traveled to the South many times since 2006 and find it fascinating, if not somewhat exotic compared to coastal California, where I live. The topography, weather, moods, food and culture are different, if not sometimes downright quirky. I’ve never lingered long enough for anyone to ask me what church I go to, but I have had many straightforward conversations about race and culture.

Last week we traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, for the 2025 Southern Foodways Symposium. It’s was my fifth visit to Birmingham, where I have a number of friends, most of whom were born elsewhere. It’s a surprisingly nice city to visit so I want to highlight some of wonderful things from this trip.

Whether or not you ever go to BHM, you may find these gems to be noteworthy.

💎 Civil rights and Vietnamese ceramics

Alabama is a state with a difficult civil rights history. A lot of violence has happened there so when I visit Birmingham, I visit the civil rights institute. It’s seldom crowded but the multi-media exhibits are incredibly well done. You get a sense of the times — from segregated schools, to the Freedom Riders, to Dr. Martin Luther King’s time spent in the Birmingham jail. It sounds like a downer but my visits are always uplifting because the museum is about people wanting self determination. Plus, the volunteer greeters at the museum are always friendly and helpful.

There was a big football game in town that weekend. One of the teams toured the museum. Some of the strapping young men wore dress shoes to show respect. When I thanked their coach for bringing the players there, he said, “A lot of them don’t know the full history.” Well, Birmingham’s Civil Rights Institute is a great place to start to learn that history. (If you’re a AAA member, you even get an admission discount.)

About a 10 minute walk away is the Birmingham Museum of Art. It’s free. All the time! The symposium was held at the museum, so I had ample time to check out its permanent exhibit of Vietnamese ceramics.

The art museum is one of only three places in the Unites States where you can view ancient ceramics from Vietnam. You have to go to New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, if you want to see the other collections. But at the Birmingham Museum of Art, a generous donor, Mr. William M. Spencer III, made it happen. These items date back centuries and it’s hard to fathom how they managed to survive intact to make it to Alabama.

Also in the area is the Linn-Henley Research Library, Birmingham’s first central library built in 1886. We went there for some quiet work time after checking out of our Airbnb. There’s wi-fi, you can bring snacks and beverages, and work in one of the best kept secrets of Birmingham — a big beautiful library.

To access the Linn-Henley library, go into the new central library, take the stairs or elevator to the third floor then walk across the breezeway to the research library. Take the stairs down to the first floor to check-out the cool murals.

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💎 A peculiar Asian market

Our friend, chef Dennis Ngo, also attended the symposium. He and I love exploring Asian markets so I took him to Hometown Supermarket in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham. When I first visited the market about seven years ago, it was relatively new, with mostly imported Chinese ingredients. The Chinese restaurant inside was so-so. In the way back of the market, there was a ping pong club where Chinese men where playing to win. All the signage for the ping pong club was in Chinese.

But now, things had changed. The inventory is much more international, though about 60 percent of the store is focused on Asian cuisines. There’s a broad range of hard-to-find ingredients like fresh pandan leaves sold bundled up like giant feather dusters, plus equipment like the coconut grater below.

There was a Vietnamese lady selling homemade sticky rice cakes in the market; as she tried to sell us on her snacks, she said she had been sponsored by a church in Birmingham. I always ask, “How did you decide to live here?”

And the ping pong court was now a well developed Hometown Community Center. All the signage was in English and the ping pong tournament team was multi-racial, multi-ethnic. Amazing. If Hometown Supermarket is a gauge for the future of American grocery shopping, I’m all in.

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💎 Restaurants and bars

The symposium feeds us well but of course, we had to go out to get a taste of the town. Among the places we dined and drank were:

Helen for lunch was a knockout. Friday’s fried catfish specially was spectacularly done, as were the angel biscuits, smoked chicken with Alabama white sauce (mayo, vinegar, black pepper, and a little chopped pickle.) Portions were generous and prices were, as Dennis aptly put it, “very gentle.” Service was outstanding.

Bayonet next door to Helen focuses on seafood. Rory and I met friends there for drinks and snacks. The same chef owns Helen so the food and hospitality were equally good.

Automatic Seafood and Oysters sources much of its seafood from the gulf and it’s well prepared, albeit a little heavier and sweeter than I recalled from our last visit there. That said, few casual-nice restaurants in America serves up fried fish with the fins attached and tell you to eat the fins. I had no problem with that.

The Alabama Peanut Company roasts and boils peanuts but you can also buy beers to sip on while you shell and eat the nuts, which are incredibly tasty. Rory, Dennis, and I were delighted with our flight of peanuts and local beer. It was our kind of happy hour.

Birmingham was a sleepy city when I first visited. Nowadays, it’s buzzing with restaurants and bars. Visit if you have the opportunity.

Egg prices are going up these days so they’ve been on my mind. Coming up on Sunday is an easy, fail-safe method to cook an egg to your liking. There’s more to it than that but for now, I’m cooking up eggy ideas for you.

Singapore noodles made quite a splash last week. Thanks to many of you who shared the article and recipe. Duy already made a batch and loved it!

Additionally, I greatly appreciate your positive responses to my geeky research about the recipe. I often worry that I’m giving you too much information but honestly, it’s knowledge that makes food multidimensional.

My recipe surprisingly got a nice response from , who was interviewed for the piece.

Many Vietnamese stories are rooted in war, trauma, and displacement. The Viet diaspora is built upon the refugee story, and nowadays, economic migration. But in Bangkok this week, I met a family and dined in a restaurant with such an unusual history that I must share what I learned with you.

The restaurant is Le Dalat, located in a swank neighborhood of Bangkok (to be exact, it’s at 57 Soi Sukhumvit 23, Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110). It was opened in 1983 by Madame Hoa Ly (“Suzanne”), a raconteur and diva of sort who exuded plenty of charm. She was also dedicated to presenting and preserving Vietnamese food traditions.

I learned about Le Dalat from chef Pim Techamuanvivit. We were comparing Thai and Vietnamese noodle soups when she mentioned a restaurant in Bangkok that she and her family used to frequent for pho and the like.

The founder, Madame Suzanne, passed away, so now, her daughters and one of the grandsons operated the restaurant. Intrigued by Pim’s description of the restaurant, I searched the internet and found a very interesting YouTube documentary that traced the family’s journey. In the documentary, you’ll meet Madame Suzanne’s two daughters, Laurence and Liliane, and her grandson, Micky.

Vietnamese expatriate stories are often complex but this one is particularly convoluted. Their story is not one of refugees fleeing the Communist takeover of Vietnam in 1975, like countless people had to. My family escaped with very little.

After watching this video, I wondered: Was was their food like? Does Le Dalat serve old school, super classic Vietnamese? Or had it morphed into Vietnamese Thai?

The video is a bit unclear so let me contextualize things for you.

The family backstory

Madame Suzanne and her family were wealthy emigrants of high social standing in Vinh Long province, a hub for business and culture located south of Saigon in the Mekong Delta. Her grandmother, Lam Ngoc Thanh, had married extremely well and was a devout Buddhist; she eventually donated a large part of her fortune to help establish and promote the Cao Dai religion in Vietnam. In the video, the strong-headed grandmother is described as not fully bowing down to the playboy and last emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai, who was interested in checking out her beautiful granddaughter, Suzanne.

Madame Suzanne eventually married a Franco-Lao man whose father was the French governor of Laos. It’s a lot to take it but their lineage and wealth establishes the foundation for understanding how they were able to move more freely across borders than most Vietnamese people in the 20th century.

Madame Suzanne was a looker (there are photos of her all over the restaurant) who had scandalous romances outside of her marriage. For instance, when rumors about an affair got too heated in Vietnam, she disappeared for a spell by taking a trip abroad, landing in California soon after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. Madame took up residence in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and hobnobbed with Hollywood celebrities like Clark Gable. She lived in California for a number of years, well after World War II ended when she could return to Southeast Asia.

To have the money and social wherewithal to come and go like that was highly unusual. Obviously, Madame was not the average bear. Her wealth and privilege allowed her to do what she wanted, including eventually opening a Viet restaurant in Paris and later in Bangkok.

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Dinner at Le Dalat in Bangkok

Even though Bangkok has a population of 11.4 million, it is nonetheless smallish, if you’re in with a certain crowd.

As it turns out, chef Pim’s childhood friend is the daughter in law of Liliane; she arranged for us to meet her mother-in-law at Le Dalat. Liliane enthusiastically shared her family story with us told when we all met. She was as effusive as she was in the video.

If you watched the YouTube documentary, you’ll learn that the family is not snooty, despite its urbane bonafides. They are remarkably open, honest, and funny.

Le Dalat is built on the bones of a 1896 farm house that the family had transported from Vietnam. The family purchased the wood structure from a man who wanted money to build a better concrete home. After dismantling the original building, the family shipped it to Thailand, and hired artisans from Vietnam to build a restaurant space with true Viet character.

The restaurant is formal in service but warm in hospitality and a bit down home funky. It’s decorated to help people have a good time. It’s not stiff. Its vibe can be easily found in Hanoi, Hoi An, or Saigon.

As for the food, it turned out to be heritage old school cooking. Nothing tasted super sweet or overly spicy, like Viet food often is nowadays. The presentation reminded me of photos from my cookbooks published in Vietnam.

Liliane treated my friends and me to a lavish meal that lasted hours. Before departing she said, “You have the restaurant to yourself tonight so eat and dance if you want!” Her joie de vivre is something that I’ve not experienced with Vietnamese people, especially from someone in their 80s.

I was surprised at how good the food was. Many of their employees have stayed with them for decades. The Thai captain spoke a little Vietnamese, mixed drinks, and served.

In Vietnam and America, the food has changed, often times not for the better. Many of the older generation have forgotten techniques or taken them to their graves. Young people are heavily influenced by social media trends, not as much by old fashioned foodways.

We used to say that the refugees who came to America in the first wave after the 1975 Fall of Saigon prepared truer classic Viet food than folks who were stuck in Vietnam and subject to the dire lack of resources there in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

At Le Dalat, the food is practically in a time warp — but in a good way. Clean, clear flavors, hospitality that’s warm yet professional, and a menu of classic special event dishes. If my mother, born in 1934, were to host a blowout Viet meal, she would serve up many of these dishes, artfully presented on nice plates, with multiple dipping sauce bowls (because each dish has a different sauce!).

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How did this happen at Le Dalat?

The family preserves Madame’s flavors because she was a kick ass personality. Loyal Bangkok guests like Pim and her family expected a certain classy and classic experience when they dined at Le Dalat.

The restaurant isn’t located in a Viet expat community like Little Saigon where there is pressure to do something new and “innovative” to beat out competitors. Madame and her family were cocooned in a way because they did not have to adapt ingredients or techniques like refugee expats had to do. And, they weren’t subject to the socio-political dynamics of Communist Vietnam. Nor did they have to chase social media trends that influence modern Vietnamese food today.

In Vietnam nowadays, it’s hard to find the kind of food and hospitality that Le Dalat offers. Outside of Vietnam, it’s impossible. However, in Bangkok’s Sukhumvit neighborhood, Le Dalat offers old world Viet charms.

I would return to Le Dalat next time I’m in Bangkok. You need a break from Thai food, now and then, locals tell me. Plus Liliane invited me back to share more stories of our respective journeys.

Family legacies endure in many ways. Food, cooking, and hospitality is part of that equation.

When three people mention or ask about the same subject — there’s a trend. That’s happened on two fronts lately. In response to the Ninja Express Chop, some of you brought up small appliances for small kitchens. I just bought some new items and will test drive them for a future article.

Secondly, I’ve been fielding questions about travel to Vietnam so this dispatch offers recent tips and intelligence gathered.

From Pat: A couple of friends and I are hoping to go to Vietnam and Cambodia in January. Do you have thoughts about which airlines are reasonable and comfortable? Also, I’m interested in a good cooking class or two in VN, and maybe add on a few days in Thailand at a cooking program. Any suggestions?

💎 Airlines for flying to Southeast Asia and inside Vietnam

I flew on Japan Airlines (JAL) to Thailand last year and it was great. From Thailand to Vietnam, we flew Vietnam Air. Domestically in Vietnam, you fly what you can get. Viet Jet is fine but it is notoriously late so build in wiggle room, especially if you have a connecting flight.

Vietnam Air is solid for in-country flights in Vietnam. If you can choose Vietnam Air over Viet Jet, do it! Vietnam Air also flies direct to SFO, if that works for you. Otherwise, there’s always a layover somewhere.

Flying back from Saigon to SFO, we flew Asiana Airlines (a Korean airline) and it was very comfortable. Buy extra legroom seats and upgrade to economy plus, if available.

💎 Cooking classes in Vietnam

Admittedly, I don’t take cooking classes in Vietnam so I have little experience with them. However, in Hanoi, I do recommend a gal who I met while doing field research for The Pho Cookbook. Chef Duyen Phan speaks English well and used to work at the Hanoi Cooking Centre. She’s a hundred percent northern Vietnamese and does market tours and classes.

Check out Chef Duyen via her Instagram or contact her via the email on this Trip Advisor page, which also includes info about her classes.

Recently, I suggested Duyen to Gail, who had this feedback:

I had a great experience with Duyen. One day I did a market tour and then cooking class in her home, when we made lunch and ate with her family. Following day I did a food tour with just the 2 of us and had really excellent versions of dishes I've eaten before, and could appreciate the variations. This week I cooked at home her recipe for thit kho, which I've made many times from lots of different recipes, and her recipe was very good, not as sweet as most (as to be expected being from Hanoi).

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💎 2024 Vietnam travel ideas, from North to South

To prime your appetite and for a peek into what’s going on in Vietnam these days, here’s a recap of PTFS travel dispatches about Vietnam.

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Lots of wanderlust going around.

I’ve been pondering and cooking up a recipe to hopefully answer Bob’s question about how kroeung may be used for a version of Thai tom kha gai soup! Stay tuned for this coming Sunday Special!

A peek inside my fridge, cooking and ingredients tips, plus a favorite Ever-Green Vietnamese roast chicken and broccoli dinner launched a Vietnamese cooking feature at the Kitchn. Check it all out and get cooking.

And, speaking of easy cooking, my book Vietnamese Food Any Day is currently deeply discounted. VFAD recipes do not require Asian market shopping. The cover price is $24.99 but you can nab a copy for about $14. Supporting a local bookshop is always the way to go but if you’re into the deal, the sale is at Amazon and Target. (I don’t know now long it lasts.)

Let’s head to Saigon again!

Most people visiting Vietnam think about going out to eat. Last weekend, I shared tips plus a list of 10 restaurants in Saigon that I, my family and friends would return to.

This week, it’s about staying in and cooking for yourself. Why? Because it’s fun and healthy. When traveling, eating every meal out is a recipe for gut disaster. When I’m on the road, I try to have at least one DIY meal per day.

In Vietnam, grocery shopping — đi chợ (go shopping) is a fun travel adventure. You may want someone to take you on a tour or, you may just head to Ben Thanh market in Saigon and think you’re done checking off your list of markets in Saigon. Truth be told, Ben Thanh has become too touristy. It’s great for getting acquainted with a Saigon market but it’s not where most people shop.

I’ve been traveling to Vietnam since 2002 and have longed yearned to buy ingredients and cook them up. I want to freestyle cook, not take a class. You can do that nowadays without being a fluent Vietnamese speaker. Seriously.

You’ll recall an earlier post about the charming Chau Long market in Hanoi. In Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) I hit pay dirt with very comfortable accommodations, a well equipped kitchen, and multiple great grocery options!

To whet your appetite and give you a sense of modern and traditional Vietnam, I’m going to share where I conveniently stayed and three kinds of grocery shopping experiences in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Also expect a highly portable, flexible Viet recipe that I use wherever I travel — whether I’m in Vietnam or the States.

Here’s how things started off one morning!

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Vietnam is fun but it is also a slightly strange place where you don’t fully know if something is taken care of, but is usually is. People can be shy about communicating clearly, particularly when language is an issue. I would be a nervous wreck as a tour guide.

When I travel to Vietnam, I always keep an open mind but also have a list of places to return to or try. I ask family and friends for suggestions, too. I look online like I would when I’m in the States, only I have to read Vietnamese!

In this post, I’m sharing my Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) eating suggestions, gathered from years of travel, plus tips from my family and friends who have more were recently in Vietnam. You’ll have addresses, leads, ideas for what to order. I’ve also included my favorite museums.

April 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon. Some Viet expats are returning to mark the occasion. I’m curious about how the Hanoi government will celebrate.

But most tourists to Vietnam are not expats. They’re excited about exploring the country. I was recently in a meeting with five people — one had just returned and another was about to go. Neither was Vietnamese. Vietnam is a hot destination!

Many of you reading this are not going to get your Vietnam tourist visa and hop on a plane. It’s ok to be an onscreen, armchair traveler. I’ve included cultural and culinary tidbits herein because it’s never just about the food.

Remember the grilled bananas in sticky rice and coconut sauce gals? That was as much about their snack as the scene. They taught me something and inspired a fabulous PTFS recipe. Get the recipe and address!

I’ll likely never take you on a tour of Vietnam but this is me giving you a sort of virtual tour around Saigon. Let’s goooooo!

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Buon Ma Thuot is also known as Buon Me Thuot, Ban Me Thuot, and even BMT. It’s ground zero for much of the coffee grown in Vietnam. Not sexy, right?

My chic Hanoi cousin’s reaction to our going there was: If you two go to the highlands, go to Dalat. It’s romantic and beautiful. Why Buon Ma Thuot?

Dalat is over touristed. We wanted a place that’s not crowded, where we could experience natural Vietnam along with interesting history, food and culture. Dak Lak is home to about 45 ethnic minority groups.

My sister, Linh and her husband visited BMT in 2023 and found the scenery to be compelling and the foods intriguing. Some of her photos:

Plus, the co-founder of spice importer Burlap and Barrel connected me to a farmer who invited me to visit his farm. I was excited to meet the person who grew my go-to black peppercorns.

Traveling (sorta) off the Beaten Path

And so early one morning, we flew from HAN to BMV to spend two days with a farmer named Dũng Võ Ngọc and his wife, Hạnh; they live in a town about 1 1/2 hours from BMT. Then we had two days on our own in BMT proper to savor the region’s indigenous cultures, their lovely crafts and interesting food.

Flying into Buon Ma Thuot, you notice the high elevation, jungly forest, and red soil. It’s a refreshing change from urban lowlands of Vietnam. The airport is small and efficient. The air is significantly cleaner than in Hanoi. There are tons of trees and shade. Car traffic is light. Streets are wide.

Because of agriculture, Dak Lak province and BMT are relatively prosperous. They are set up for tourism but as of this writing, most visitors are Vietnamese. Few Viet Kieu expats and foreign tourists come so services aren’t as polished as say, Dalat. But that’s an opportunity for a certain amount of adventure.

As I mentioned in the Hanoi travelog, I’m not a risky traveler but after landing, we hopped into a jitney packed with strangers bound for parts unknown. The driver let us sit in the prime front row and tapped my arm when it was our turn to exit at the town specified by farmer Dũng, who arranged things for us.

We arrived at Krong Nang, the town where Dũng is based. You’ll likely not ever go there so here are some rural Vietnam charm scenes:

Whether we were in BMT or Krong Nang, the region reminded us of traveling in Vietnam in the early 2000s. Things were mellow, slightly rough around the edges, but totally navigable, especially nowadays with reliable ride share apps, cell service and wifi.

In this post, you’ll gain the following insights about diverse Buon Ma Thuot and Vietnam:

• Local food and drink highlights (plus a clunker!)

• Worthy activities and excursions

• A video tour of King Bao Dai’s BMT palace

• Resource and address listings, including an 1975 article on the charms of the city pre-shelling in 1975
  

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Go ahead and dip your toes into Vietnam via Hoi An, but also visit Hanoi. The nation’s capital offers charm along with the country’s rich history. It’s a huge city, the seat of the communist party and power, an area that culturally seeded a lot of what Vietnam is.

Whether or not you travel to my motherland, here are my 2024 experiences to help you savor the country. This travelogue dispatch contains:

• Pointers on where I spent time and why

• What and where I ate and grocery shopped

• Three videos to offer you an on-the-ground sense of Vietnam today

• A listing of addresses mentioned

I’m not an intrepid traveler who’s going to rent a motorbike to tour backroads (I’m clutzy and likely to get into an accident). Like most Hanoi visitors, I’ve spent plenty of time in its historic Old Quarter, getting lost in the maze of streets and alleyways and feeling relieved when I can find my way back to nearby Hoan Kiem (Sword Lake), which always turns out to nearby, despite my confusion and frustrations.

Accommodations surrounding Hoan Kiem are abundant and great for all budgets because Viet businesses are competitive and hospitable. I’ve gotten deals at international chain hotels, luxuriated at the historic Metropole, and booked an affordable penthouse suite at a tiny, boutique hotel.

This past June, we didn’t stay by that lake, though we did hang out there en route to the Old Quarter to satisfy Rory’s desire for bun cha. Cau Go street has a cluster of bun cha options, one of which is in this video:

Where was our Hanoi home base? I aimed to savor more of the local life and the city’s quiet charm. I was also on an assignment — to represent my family to folks on my mom and dad’s sides. Given my lack of Viet social graces, I knew it would be stressful and I’d need a place to retreat to. That’s to say, I wanted to wander, cook, eat, and relax. Rory was onboard.

I considered several neighborhoods and the one we picked turned out to be nearly perfect. In fact, my Hanoi relatives nodded approvingly when I told them we were staying in Truc Bach, an area near Tay Ho (West Lake).

There are many reasons why we hung out west instead of bedding down by the sword.

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We just returned from Thailand and Vietnam. If we could, we would have stayed on vacation a little longer. However, I have to be back and over jet lag for next weekend’s Cookbook Fest in Napa. Also, I am doing a book event in Santa Cruz with Khushbu Shah and her debut cookbook.

• Cookbook Fest, Napa, Sat., 6/22 — To save $30 and receive a free apron, use this special promo code: ANDREA30 (Hope to meet you there!).

• Amrikan book event, Sun, 6/23 — at Bookshop Santa Cruz. It’s free. Come say 👋 and learn about Khusbu’s new book. I’m sure copies of my cookbooks will also be available for purchase!

I have to admit that this was an experimental trip for me and my husband, Rory. Even though I was born in Saigon, I can’t stand the heat and humidity that saps the life energy from me the moment I step outdoors.

My first trip in 2002 to the motherland was in winter, during the dry season. We departed around December 31 to get in on an airfare deal.

January’s damp cold in Hanoi and Hue reminded us of the Bay Area. Hoi An was dreary, at best. Saigon (formally Ho Chi Minh City, but it’s hard for me to call it that) seemed insufferably hot. I’ve subsequently been again during winter, but also in late June (dripping hot, my Hanoi relatives apologized for the heat) and late September (post rice harvest and in the middle of burn season, during which I stupidly didn’t mask up like locals and ended up losing my voice to laryngitis).

Other members of my family visit Vietnam right after Tet, in February or March, when the weather is dry and relatively pleasant. When I told them about our 2024 June visit, my brother said, “You’ll be our guinea pig.” My friend Chan said to bring a big hat. Another friend, doctor Mike texted, “Stay hydrated!”

Below — we followed doctor’s orders with a few cooling drinks in Vietnam.

We are all Việt Kiều — overseas Vietnamese living in the diaspora, who’ve embraced life abroad and turned into heat wimps.

My mom admits that when she came to coastal California in May 1975, the mild temperatures were divine. She was instantly sold on America. Politically, she and my dad couldn’t live in Vietnam. Weather-wise, there was no going back for the two of them anyway!

Why ‘When’ Matters more than ‘Where’ to Travel in Vietnam

For me, it’s about finding the sweet spot in order to negotiate four issues:

1. Beating the heat and cold: Vietnam’s geography somewhat mirrors that of California. It’s long with different, varied climates. Unless you’re only going to stay in one place, the potential changes in temperatures can be shocking during winter. I like to go for at least 2 weeks so I’m not going to stay put.

2. Packing light: Luggage-wise, I nowadays only want to pack a small 21-inch suitcase and a duffle bag. Because I tend to buy food souvenirs, my luggage gets progressively heavier during every trip. I need to start out extra light and compact, which means I don’t want to pack for 2 climates.

3. Budget: When I’m in Vietnam, I feel quite rich. Yes, there are BMWs and a few Rolls Royces but Vietnam is still a developing country. Goods and services cost less than they would in the United States. What costs the most is airfare. So when are there deals?

   

4. Work schedules: My husband teaches and the summer is his longest break. But it’s also potentially hot and extra humid.

Given the weather and holidays, Vietnam’s high travel season is from December to end of March — when things are dry. It’s low season lasts from April to November — when there may be rain.

April and May can be dreadfully hot because rain hasn’t arrived and the temperatures start climbing. My friend, Cuong Pham, founder of Red Boat Fish Sauce, explained that June is actually quite good as there will be some rain to break the heat.

I didn’t totally believe him but we wanted to try it out. Plus, I wanted to work with Pim in Bangkok on the cookbook.

We left in late May and indeed, it was hot in Bangkok. However one night, after a downpour, the heat broke and we were able to stroll after dinner and take a wild, nigh time ride in a tuktuk.

Finding My Sweet Spot

On May 29, when we arrived in Hanoi, it was sweltering. However, the next day, there was a bit of rain and just like in Bangkok, relief from the heat followed.

My relatives in Hanoi said, “We in the north enjoy four distinct seasons. In the south, it’s hot or wet.” I didn’t want much distinction in weather and wasn’t about to explain to them that I’d become a soft Việt Kiều.

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