Saigon, Vietnam – April 2015

Ten years ago I had visited Vietnam. Although it had been my fourth time back, I had always traveled with my family and therefore we didn’t have too much time for sightseeing, and my previous trips involved a lot of time visiting family who still remain in Vietnam. This time, I would visit with my children for the first time. April 30th would also mark the 40th year of The Fall of Saigon, however within the city, there were banners and preparations for what the government calls the “celebration of the reunification anniversary.”

I have vague memories of life in Vietnam and of my journey to America. I can’t help but think I was just 5 years old, a year younger than Tristan, when my family made the treacherous journey across the South China Sea and arrived as “Boat People” in Pulau Bidong, Malaysia, a Vietnamese refugee camp. Images of the sea, of the mosquito nets as we slept, of being reunited with my Dad in America, starting kindergarten…these are scattered memories but I don’t remember the chaos, the fear, the life and death situations that my family would recall.