Cost Perspective

Earlier today, I spent my morning at a café in Hanoi. My Vietnamese coffee cost 40,000 dong, about $1.50 USD.

For lunch, I had phở with my friend. It came out to 30,000 dong, or $1.14 USD.

A bottle of water was 7,000 dong. That’s 24 cents USD.

One of the most striking things about traveling, especially when you live in New York City, is reminding myself just how much cheaper everything is elsewhere. Every transaction here feels like a quiet reminder of how skewed my sense of cost has become back home.

And I’m grateful. I recognize the privilege I carry: to be able to fly across the world, to sip coffee and have lunch for less than the price of a riding the MTA, and to experience Vietnam from a place of financial security.