From Celebration to Gridlock: The Great Post-Tết Return to the City
As the last fake firecrackers fizzle out and the scent of festive feasts fades from the air, Southern Vietnam shifts from celebration to the weary march back to reality. The euphoric reunions and cherished moments of Tết – the New Lunar Year -, give way to a more familiar scene: the deafening symphony of motors revving and horns blaring. Highways, once eerily quiet during the holiday, now transform into rivers of slow-moving vehicles, each carrying families, workers, and students back to their bustling urban lives.
For millions, this journey is a final test of endurance before city life reclaims them. Highways leading to Ho Chi Minh City, Bình Dương, and Đồng Nai are choked with traffic. Buses, weighed down with passengers and gifts from home, crawl forward inch by inch. Motorcyclists, many precariously balancing bags of hometown delicacies and Tết souvenirs, zigzag through the congestion, threading the gaps between cars. The air is thick with the frustration of exhausted travelers, some facing a journey that stretches well into the night.
The rural roads, once silent under the spell of the holiday, now pulsate with urgency. Expressways turn into parking lots where tempers flare, yet patience is the only currency that holds value. Families huddle inside packed buses, their faces weary but still glowing with the remnants of holiday joy. Vendors appear along the gridlocked roads, weaving through the jam to sell bottled water, snacks, and even lucky charms, a last-minute attempt to bring some prosperity into the new year.
Yet, amid the frustration, remnants of the holiday spirit endure. A little boy clutches a crimson-red envelope from his grandfather, the gold lettering reflecting the fading sunlight. A mother carefully cradles a box of homemade bánh tét, the familiar scent evoking the warmth of home. A father, riding his motorbike heavily laden with gifts, carefully maneuvers through traffic, his focus unwavering despite his exhaustion.
Tết is not just a holiday; it is an emotional pilgrimage, a journey of reconnection and renewal. The return trip may be long and arduous, but its significance lingers. Every honk, every stop-and-go moment, every tired sigh is a reminder that home is not just a place—it is a feeling, carried forward as they reenter the ceaseless rhythm of the city.
By the time they reach their destinations, the sun will have set, and the neon lights of Ho Chi Minh City will twinkle like distant stars. The energy of urban life will pull them back into its embrace, but deep in their hearts, the warmth of Tết – the New Luanr Year – will remain, a gentle ember glowing amid the chaos of the everyday hustle.
