All photos: joshywashington
Rice-wine shooter, roadtripper, and Matador editor Josh Johnson is also destination expert for Vietnam’s ex-capital city.
Josh Johnson (aka joshywashington) is a man of many talents.
In addition to being a contributing editor at the Traveler’s Notebook — where he’s recently wowed us with his video, mountain photography, and watercolor skills — he fills his downtime by fielding travelers’ questions as our destination expert on Saigon.
Hearing him talk about the heart of southern Vietnam is enough to make you start browsing airfare:
Crossed the border from Cambodia at Chao Dok five months ago and have managed to infiltrate Saigon. I teach and even now still wander around this blessed city in awe. The Vietnamese people are some of the friendliest, proudest, most resourceful people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. It has been a blast.
And you definitely don’t want to miss All Aboard!, his tale of rice wine and jolly fishermen off the coast of Hoi An.
Here’s some more about Josh:
About me: I love to write, read, blog, shoot video, photograph, converse, and create. I want to establish a global community with the aim of gleaning knowledge from each other, supporting each other in our endeavors. I want ours to be the generation that turns this thing around. VivA I can see it! Victory!
Travel style: Seat O my britches kinda travel! I’ve suffered from ill preparation at times but no matter where I find myself I’m always glad to be there. Have only had the pleasure of sleeping on the street 4 times. That kinda travel.
Let’s collaborate: I want to create videos for webtv, Travel with a small crew and pitch our material. I want to host podcasts from around the globe. I want to write, film and go, go, go! Drop me a line if traveling and filming sounds good.
Josh also wants you to know that if you’re on the search for info about Saigon, he’s your guy. All you need to do is click over to his Matador profile and get in touch.
And make sure to check out his media company, Confluence Creative Media, dedicated to “the collaboration of creative energy, worldwide.”
Community Connection
Haven’t heard of Matador’s destination experts? Where’ve you been!? See who’s already been featured on Trips by clicking the “destination experts” tag below, or browse the entire lineup here.
About the Author
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6 Comments... join the discussion!
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Hal you make me blush you ‘ol devil!
Geez, reading this I can almost smell the Pho!
Thanks for the blessed write up Hal.
Vietnam has a way of seeping into your pores, it stays with you. I find myself thinking of my time in Saigon, the smells, chaotic streets, the friends and frantic days spent blogging.Anybody who expresses interest in teaching English I always say go for it.
I just showed up, no plans and planted myself in Saigon for six months.Builds character
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I have a somewhat different take on Vietnam! But I think it must be different if you actually live there.
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I am interested to hear your take on Vietnam Carlo… what was your experience?
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To start it’s not just my experience, I’ve talked to many, many travelers who’ve experienced the same thing. For an independent traveler it’s tough. If you are happy going with the flow, then I’m sure it’s a much more pleasurable experience.
In a nutshell, it was near impossible to get off the tourist track. Trying to do things on your own is extremely difficult. We were constantly lied to and ripped off – which is nothing new I know, but the level of it was some something we never experienced before. We had just been through Russia and around China with no real issues.
In Hanoi we were evicted from a hotel because we refused to buy package tours through them (after this, for each hotel we stayed in we made clear that we were not buying any tours through them). We were promised things in Sapa that were reneged.
Local buses, even when they had signs clearly posted for price, were trying to charge us 5 times the price. Etc, etc. All the way to Saigon.
Once we hit the Mekong Delta it was much different. We pretty much did everything independently and had a much easier and relaxed time.
Until then it felt like we were fighting against the current. We eventually just succumbed and let ourselves be swept up in it, which apparently is the only way to keep your sanity there.
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Wow Carlo, that sounds bad. My wife and I hit up Dalat and the coast from Saigon to Hue in 2006 and didn’t encounter any of this. We were on bikes though–by definition more independent.
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