I love Lan Anh (Vietnam)

I love Lan Anh! Everyone loves Lan Anh, not just me. Let me tell you the story of how I first met Lan Anh.

Back in 2015, I still sometimes stayed in the backpacker enclave of Pham Ngu Lau in Saigon - they were a bit more flexible with check-in and check-out times compared to hotels in other parts. One evening I was checking out of a hotel. The serious girl at the reception said I owe them some money. Puzzled, I replied that I had paid in advance when I had checked in the previous night. The girl said she could not find any record of my payment. I remembered that there was a boy at the reception when I paid. She called the boy on her mobile. The boy also didn’t remember.

Glancing around the reception, I saw a security camera. I asked the girl if we could review the camera footage as I knew the approximate time of my arrival. So, we sat next to each other and started scrolling through the video, like a couple watching a suspense movie. Soon, we found the segment where I was making the payment. Satisfied, the girl apologized and  closed the video. I could sense her awkwardness. I blurted, “Can we continue watching. I will get some popcorn”. The girl - Lan Anh - laughed out loud.

I have fond memories of exploring hidden places with Lan Anh, in Saigon and in Kuala Lumpur, where she later moved to work for a few years. Most of all, I love Lan Anh because she keeps me entertained with humorous stories of her life. Once she took time off her busy schedule (now she is a globetrotting businesswoman) in Yangon to get the latest on the cutest bookseller in the world