Searching for Santa in Saigon

This past Saturday the Johnston family had a very important mission, we were looking for Santa Clause.  I had heard a rumor that the portly, white-bearded man was going to be at a place called The White Palace. The name alone evoked a vision of busy little elves, flying reindeer, eggnog and sugar cookies.

That morning I told Ava that we were going to visit Santa Clause and of course Ava was quizzical, who is this Santa you speak of?  Why are we going to visit him and where will we find him? When I explained to Ava that we were going to visit Santa so that she could tell him what she wants for Christmas, her response was “Why?”  I guess we haven’t done a very good job of spinning the Father Christmas fairytale, because all of this was news to her.  Once she heard my story, she said that she was going to put on a pink scarf and pink hat and she was going to ask Santa for “a pink present.  No, two pink presents!”  I then had to explain to her that she wouldn’t need that hat and scarf and that Santa was going to be right here in Saigon at The White Palace, and then I could clearly see that Ava had her own visions of swirling snow and princesses dancing around in fluffy dresses.

The impetus for this sojourn to the White Palace was to get our picture taken with Santa, as a photo with the big guy is usually at the top of Grandma Shirley’s Christmas list, and we wouldn’t want to disappoint grandma.  So Ava put on a pretty dress and we were off by taxi through the streets of Saigon in search for Santa.  As usual, Ava took up position in the taxi to greet the waves of people that flowed around us on bicycles, motorbike, xiclos, etc.  Like a princess in a parade, she loves to blow kisses and smile and wave as our car maneuvers through the crowd.  It is not uncommon to look out the window and see a crowd of people smiling back at this cute little girl as she blinks her “pretty eyes” and puckers her little lips.  Today however, our ride was much longer as this White Palace was much farther than we thought and we began feeling the heat and the hunger long before we arrived. 

As we neared our destination, we spotted our White Palace rising up above the dingy store fronts and when we arrived, suited men with gloves greeted our car and invited us in.  Once we ascended upon the grand staircase, all of our visions began to melt away.  What we saw before us was a huge, smoke filled hall with long lines of people awaiting entrance to the ball room.  After a bit of pushing and shoving we were able to make are way into the ballroom that was packed with thousands of people.  The consulates in Saigon had set up tables to sell a variety of wares that represented their countries.  I would have loved to do a bit of Christmas shopping but there were throngs of people hovering over the tables, elbows were flying, cash was pouring out of wallets and I couldn’t manage to squeeze in. Luckily we did spot Santa and he was surrounded by a quiet oasis (I guess none of the other visitors wanted to spend 100,000 Dong on a photo with Santa). Once we managed to squeeze our way through the mob, Ava saw the mythical man in the furry red suit and she was instantly frightened.  She really didn’t want to get near this guy, presents or not.  Luckily for Grandma, we were able to persuade her to get close enough for  a photo and luckily for us it took the photographer several attempts to get the perfect shot, thus allowing us a bit more time to work up the nerve to make our way back through the crowds of people.

While waiting for our photos to be ready, we did manage to acquire a sampling of food from Germany, Russia, India, Malaysia, Lebanon and even the US. Thankfully with a daddy that is 6’6” he was able to wrestle his was to the front of the line and bring his girls back some treats.

Upon leaving The White Palace, with photo in hand, Ava was asked to pose with a few locals and the photo shoot began.  These ladies knew how to get a smile out of her, as they gave her a decadent cupcake and she was instantly inspired to pose with them all.  We could have set up a booth for photos with Ava and maybe even drawn a bigger crowd then Santa himself.  In the end, the white gloved man helped us back in our taxi and our mission was accomplished, we found Santa in Saigon.