What if I was born in Hong Kong? What if my parents had decided to move back to Hong Kong?

Our guide in Vietnam told Ta-ching and me, “You’re so lucky to be born in United States. So lucky! You can speak English!”

If I had been born in Hong Kong—it would be so different. This language barrier and cultural differences would not exist between my parents and me. I noticed this as I watched my cousin spoke freely (and yet in a rebellious way) to my aunt. My American self would hate my Hong Kong self.

My aunt’s husband—my mom’s younger brother—passed away a long time ago when I was young enough not to remember. And so the only family I had on my mom’s side are my cousin and my aunt, both living in Hong. Because my dad’s side of the family completely moved to the US, I only knew those two.

The day before I left, my aunt took me to her brother’s house to have dinner. Not wanting to stick out like an obnoxious American, I kept to myself mostly with extreme politeness, chatting occasionally about my life in a mix of broken Chinese and English, and nodding when food arrived on my plate (despite hating hating hating mushrooms).

Unlike my Hong Kong counterparts, I smiled like an American and wore less clothes (I have always worn less clothes in cold weather because I wanted to feel comfortable and not bogged down).

Shipra paused for a moment. “It’s more like India,” she said. “You’re going to have fun!”

Having realized that Tokyo was expensive and that Taiwan…was going to be pricey (and too much like Hong Kong), I decided impulsively to visit Vietnam based on a street food blog I saw passing by on my twitter feed. Vietnam was meant to be my side stop on my trip to Hong Kong. A vacation from Hong Kong from sorts.

I shall go to Saigon I had decided by late November. As I was investigating the cost of my stay and tours, it turned out it was more pricey by myself.

I read many guides—stalking the libraries and local bookstores.

When I asked a friend who went to Vietnam recently…she hadn’t been there since she was 2, she was appalled by the smells, the dirt, the hectic-ness. I remember my first experience in China back in 2002, having been surprised by the traffic. I was prepared.