VietBlog

Our fellow Classmate Kapsoo Kim also enjoys mornings here in Long Xuyen:

Five o’clock every morning, I hear words of commands for exercises in the nearby park. Honks and the vrooms of hundreds of motorbikes greet me when wake in my hotel room. It is as if they wait all night to burst into a sonic bloom.

The people work out in groups or individually. They practice different styles of exercise. Some perform martial arts with sticks. Grandfathers or grandmothers, young or old, the residents of Long Xuyen all come together for this morning ritual before the day’s heat is too much.

Street Cafes are everywhere. Wherever big trees or small booths, people set out plastic tables and chairs which look like small dollhouse furniture. They eat noodles or french baguettes for their petit dejeuner. Most people at the cafes are men, but sometimes young couples or young women with their babies have breakfast because
when they cook their houses become too warm for the morning or on their way to work.

The market already begins to bustle and folks gather for mass at the cathedral. Everyone is eager to begin the new day.