Saigon<\/p>\n
At T\u1ebft, many people are interested in asking, \u201cWhere are you going for fun during T\u1ebft?\u201d<\/p>\n
Every year, I answer: \u2018Always in Saigon for T\u1ebft.\u2019<\/p>\n
Because that is when Saigon is most different from the rest of the year: quiet, settled, with only Saigonese remaining, uncrowded, and peaceful too.<\/p>\n
That is another face of Saigon.<\/p>\n
But that face will be difficult to see during the nearly 360 remaining days of the year.<\/p>\n
That is when Saigon is at its most \u201clivable,\u201d so why go far away?<\/p>\n
Saigon's charm is not only the kindness in roadside boxes of free b\u00e1nh m\u00ec or containers of free iced tea filled with Saigon's humanity, for the lottery-ticket seller, the cyclo driver, the female worker, and poor laborers\u2026<\/p>\n
Its charm is Saigon's \u201cacceptance.\u201d Acceptance of seeming opposites and contradictions: the most chaotic place is also where kindness is most unspoiled.<\/p>\n
People often criticize Saigon's \u2018specialty\u2019 of street snatching, but those snatchers may not be from Saigon at all; they may come from the same region as the person criticizing it.<\/p>\n
But Saigon does not complain. Even though all the \u2018profit\u2019 it generates is taken away to support other places, this land still welcomes everyone, all kinds of people from everywhere, as long as a flame burns in their hearts to seek opportunities and challenge themselves for a better life. Saigon welcomes them all; Saigon embraces them all. This gentle land still generously \u2018holds\u2019 so many \u2018children\u2019 far from home and regards them as its own. People may live in Hanoi for 10 years without daring to call themselves Hanoians, while anyone who has lived in Saigon for 1 year can already call themselves a \u2018Saigonese.\u2019<\/p>\n
America is also called \u201cH\u1ee3p ch\u1ee7ng qu\u1ed1c Hoa K\u1ef3\u201d (United States of America). The Vietnamese term \u201ch\u1ee3p ch\u1ee7ng qu\u1ed1c\u201d itself suggests great inclusiveness: all kinds of people, cultures, and ethnicities are welcomed, as long as they share the \u201cAmerican dream.\u201d All are one. America becomes the leading nation.<\/p>\n
Rivers must flow into the sea, with currents exchanging, connecting, sharing, and learning. If they cling to themselves, neither receiving nor giving, like stagnant pond water without movement, connection, or sharing, they eventually become dirty water that brings value to no one.<\/p>\n
In Saigon, you can enjoy food from all of Vietnam. You can also enjoy many dishes from around the world. A whole big world into a small city.<\/p>\n
So when Richard Branson visited Vietnam, he took a photo of Saigon before him and posted it on Twitter, saying Vietnam was one of the world\u2019s most dynamic startup environments.<\/p>\n
That is Saigon's charm. Each year Saigon asks for only a few days to \u201crest.\u201d It is already the 5th day of T\u1ebft; the \u201cmelting-pot city\u201d will become crowded again.<\/p>\n
So, anyone who comes to Saigon to \u2018seek opportunities\u2019 with an \u2018entrepreneurial spirit\u2019\u2014leaving aside those who take the wrongful path of robbery\u2014anyone who comes here to study, work, and mature on this land, whether you later stay or return to contribute to your hometown, please cherish this land. It will continue to \u2018embrace\u2019 many more of your fellow countrymen, people from every walk of life. Do not wear Saigon out too much; many others still need it. Protect and improve the place where you live.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
S\u00e0i G\u00f2n T\u1ebft, nhi\u1ec1u ng\u01b0\u1eddi quan t\u00e2m, hay h\u1ecfi \u201cT\u1ebft \u0111i \u0111\u00e2u ch\u01a1i?\u201d. N\u0103m n\u00e0o c\u0169ng \u0111\u00e1p \u201cT\u1ebft lu\u00f4n \u1edf S\u00e0i G\u00f2n\u201d. V\u00ec \u0111\u00f3 l\u00e0 th\u1eddi \u0111i\u1ec3m S\u00e0i G\u00f2n kh\u00e1c l\u1ea1 nh\u1ea5t trong n\u0103m, y\u00ean t\u0129nh, an \u1ed5n, ch\u1ec9 c\u00f2n l\u1ea1i m\u1ed7i Saigonese, v\u1eafng, v\u00e0 c\u0169ng thanh b\u00ecnh n\u1eefa. \u0110\u00f3 l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t g\u01b0\u01a1ng m\u1eb7t kh\u00e1c […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"yoast_head":"\n