With real-feel temperatures of over 40 degrees in Tokyo this summer, it sometimes felt like we were prisoners in our own house – looking out the window at the beautiful sunshine, yet acknowledging that it really wasn’t feasible to walk about in it all day in case of heatstroke. And so, one afternoon, we went online and booked flights leaving the very next morning to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam where the temperatures were at least a little cooler (around 30 degrees). It was nice to be so spontaneous, something that we haven’t really been able to do in recent years because of COVID.

I counted it up and this was my 6th trip to Vietnam, a country that keeps calling me back mainly because I love the food – as well as being able to embrace the chaos of the streets in the morning, before retreating to a nice hotel in the afternoon. We made sure to book a hotel with an outdoor pool, and with that we packed our bags (mine weighed only 3.5kg) and off we went. 

Despite only staying three nights in total, it was more than enough to enjoy a change of scenery and absorb the vibes of the city. In actual fact, these days I seem to prefer shorter trips as they seem more intense – a quick sensory blast of sights, sounds, smells and tastes; soaking it all up before flying back to our home in Tokyo.

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