This Expat Life (August 2019): Vietnam & India

After moving abroad in July 2014, I started compiling monthly roundup posts about life as an expat in Southeast Asia and all the nitty-gritty that goes on behind the scenes here at Travel Lush. Check out my most recent monthly roundup posts May, June and July.

---

I’ve been so good about writing these monthly roundup posts in a timely manner, but apparently that’s not the case this month. It might be three weeks late, but August was definitely a month worth writing about…mainly because I went to India!!

OK, so let’s get to it:

Adjusting to life back in HCMC

I didn’t realize just how much I needed a break from Ho Chi Minh City until I left. Spending the summer in Da Nang and Hoi An was really hot, but really good. I was able to get to know two very different parts of Vietnam while at the same time getting some much-needed distance from life in HCMC. (Seriously, as I write this my neighbor is very loudly renovating their apartment. Hammering, drilling, cutting tiles…life in this city wears on me at times.)

Don’t get me wrong, I love Saigon. But life in Saigon is not always easy, not to mention living in the suburbs gets really boring, really fast. After living out here for five months I was going a bit stir crazy. But, of course, summer had to come to an end at some point, so at the end of July Aaron and I hopped on a plane back to Saigon.

I have mixed feelings about being back. While being in the suburbs allows Aaron to have a short commute to his work, I don’t really feel like I’m living in Vietnam anymore. Seriously, the area I live in is very expat-oriented, meaning there are lots of Japanese and Korean expats. I’m pretty sure the Korean BBQ joints outnumber Vietnamese restaurants in my neighborhood.

Relishing the rainy season

Saigon is always hot, and I never thought that I’d find myself saying, “Oh my god, the weather is so nice here.” Yet the second I got off the plane from Da Nang that’s exactly what I said. It’s the rainy season right now which makes things overcast and wet and remarkably cool. Don’t get me wrong: it’s still hot. But being able to go out and walk during the day and go for a jog at night without completely sweating out is so nice. It was so hot in central Vietnam this summer that it really does make Saigon feel “cool” despite the fact that it is incredibly humid and reaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit every day.

My big (but short) trip to India

And just like that, I found myself in Mysore, India. I’ll be writing a whole post dedicated to this trip and all of the truly funny moments I experienced. Seriously, I laughed so hard I cried so many times I lost count. I traveled to India with a handful of Aaron’s coworkers to go to a friend’s wedding. I felt unbelievably honored to be able to attend. I’ve dreamed of traveling to India since I was in high school and who wouldn’t want the chance to experience a wedding in another culture? On top of that, I was able to make the journey with an incredible group of people.

The wedding itself was a jam-packed two-day affair. The first night was all about dancing, getting henna, meeting new people and having fun. And as someone who has always wanted henna, I was super jazzed. The second day was when all the actual rituals and ceremonies took place. They started early and went on for hours. Thankfully, some very sweet family members explained parts of what the ceremonies meant because I was absolutely clueless. Regardless of not always knowing what was going on I just loved watching the bride and groom play all sorts of games, recite vows to each other and get hitched. It was beautiful to witness and everyone was misty-eyed at the end.

My time spent in India was beyond eventful and highly comical. I jumped onto a moving train, wore a traditional saree to a wedding, got henna on my hands, ate way too much Indian food (and loved every bite), laughed harder than I have in ages, drove through emerald green rice paddies, explored stunning palaces, and made so many memories. Being able to experience all of this with such a special group of people was just priceless.

India is the first new country I’ve traveled to in a while now, and it definitely rekindled the travel bug in me. I guess that’s part of the reason why I’m a little down on being back in the Saigon suburbs. I’d honestly prefer to just travel!!

I’m going to California!!!

I usually go home to San Diego every October. But because my mom recently moved away from my childhood home in San Diego, I decided I wouldn’t go home this year because I kind of don’t have a home base in San Diego at the moment. That and I foolishly let my driver’s license expire and I have no one to drive me around…

But last month everything fell into place for a trip to California. It turns out that a huge chunk of Aaron’s family will be gathering in Aaron’s hometown of Ojai, California, for Christmas, including the east coast contingent whom I love and haven’t seen in years. Not to mention, Aaron’s youngest brother and his amazing wife (the picture below was taken at their wedding) are having their first baby in November. Of course, Aaron wants to meet his first niece and it’s kind of like a family reunion because so much family will be there. Plus, I have friends in the area I haven’t seen in years. We couldn’t resist booking tickets and I cannot express how excited I am.

Aside from a visit from Aaron’s parents to Vietnam last year, I haven’t seen any of his family in three years. That’s crazy! This will also be the first holiday we’ll have spent at home, with any family members, in six whole years. That’s even crazier. I’m just so excited to see everyone, watch (American) football on Christmas Day, eat Aaron’s mom’s delicious pies and quiches, and actually spend a holiday with family. Family is the thing I miss the very most about living abroad.

While this visit is focused on Aaron’s family, I’m super excited to have my dad come up to Ojai to hang out for a few days and to visit my dad’s side of the family in LA. So I might not be going to San Diego this time around, but I’m going to see a lot of people I love and miss dearly. I will say I’m sad that won’t see my mom or any of my siblings. I also won’t be able to eat at my favorite burrito joints in San Diego. Sigh, that will be hard.

Instagram

I’ve been bad about posting to Instagram lately, but here are my two most popular posts from August. The first is of the Hoi An countryside and the second is from the royal city of Mysore, India.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

NEW POST: This Expat Life (July 2019): Hoi An & My 5-Year Expativersary . . . Aaron and I moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, on a whim in July 2014. He received a job offer there while we were backpacking in Colombia. Three weeks later we were on a plane to Indonesia. It’s insane to believe that was five years ago. Since then we’ve lived and worked in four cities in Asia: Jakarta, Phnom Penh, Beijing and Ho Chi Minh City 👩🏻‍💻 . Because I work remotely and Aaron has summers off, we spent this summer in central Vietnam. We stayed in Danang for six weeks but decided to mix things up and head down to Hoi An for a couple of weeks in July . Five years ago, I never in my wildest of dreams would have thought that Aaron and I would be living in Ho Chi Minh City and summering in Hoi An, two places we first visited 13 long years ago as baby backpackers . Our visit to Hoi An wasn’t perfect but we had a blast swimming in the ocean, exploring crazily green rice paddies and eating all the food (link in bio)

A post shared by Justine Lopez | Travel Lush (@thetravellush) on Aug 12, 2019 at 8:49am PDT

 

View this post on Instagram

 

India is a country I’ve always dreamed of visiting but somehow it managed to elude me until this month. I never imagined that I’d have the opportunity to travel to India for a wedding. My trip to Mysore was brief but it honestly rekindled my love of travel. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve visited a new country. And for me, it was thrilling. Working remotely has all kinds of perks. I do get to visit all sorts of destinations in Asia each year. But I’m almost always working. True vacations are rare for me, which is why being totally unplugged in India was such a treat. I got to be a tourist, a traveler again. And it’s the first time in a long time where I felt passion for a new culture, a new place. Anyway, I can and will say a lot more about my trip to India, but for now here are some photos of Mysore’s most famous destination. For those who don’t know, Mysore is known for its palaces and these photos are from Mysore’s most famous palace . #travel #india #mysore #mysorepalace #beautifuldestinations #worldnomads

A post shared by Justine Lopez | Travel Lush (@thetravellush) on Aug 23, 2019 at 7:00am PDT

How did your August (or should I say September) shape up?