Minh is an old tennis buddy, who I started competing against in California Junior tournaments in the Boys 12s. He went on to play college tennis at Cal Berkeley, played on the tour after school and then parked himself in Asia. He spent 10 years living in Japan before moving "back home" to Vietnam 10 years ago.
Family History
Minh was born in central Vietnam. His family fled 40 years ago, escaping the the communist takeover when he was just 3 years old. His family made their way under darkness to a 'safe house' where they were picked up by a boat. They were turned away in Malaysia, who refused to take any more refugees, but they were lucky to be picked up by an Italian warship in the middle of the ocean. After living a couple of years in Italy, they came to the USA. Minh's father was a doctor who had a successful practice in Vietnam that he left behind, and they had to start over.
An Unexpected Dinner in Hoi An
I had reached out to Minh, knowing we'd be spending a good amount of time in Vietnam during the trip. Knowing he lived here with his family, we put three nights in the calendar for our Ho Chi Minh stay.
A couple days before we were going to arrive in Ho Chi Minh, Minh and I exchanged a few messages and realized we were going to cross paths in Central Vietnam in Hoi An, 600 miles away from Ho Chi Minh City. After a couple more messages, we had plans to meet for dinner the next night.
Hoi An Dinner
We met up at a French restaurant. It was great to see Minh, it had been 15+ years since we last caught up. We got to meet his wife Ami and 3.5 year old son, Liam. Also at dinner was Minh's sister, husband and son who were visiting from California. We had a great evening and said goodnight, knowing we would see them again in a few days in their hometown of Ho Chi Minh.
Ho Chi Minh...with Minh
When I asked Minh a while back on advice for where to stay, he suggested his apartment complex where there are some AirBnb's available. It was perfect for many reasons, including making it easy to hang out with kids in the picture.
Lunch & Coffee
We met Minh by his office for lunch on our first day. He took us to the Ben Thanh Street Food Market, where there was a ton of delicious stalls to choose from. His favorite Bun Cha was delicious. We follow it up with some coffee.
Friday Night Dinner
On our last night in Ho Chi Minh, both families got back together for a final dinner in their neighborhood.
It was great to see Minh after all these years, meet his family and understand what his life looks like in Vietnam. He was incredible helpful, just an instant message away for an eating reco, where to go, etc.
One thing I didn't leave town without doing...reminding Minh that I beat him in the Boys 18s Sectionals Tournament at the Berkeley tennis club in 1994 ;)
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