Homestay diary: World Cup season at ChiMi
That week we welcomed guests from a sport we love. Cool weather outside, a warm room upstairs, and the whole house watching football together in the hall.
Running a homestay comes with a kind of joy that is hard to name. It is not a full house, and it is not a five star review. It is the evenings when guests put down their suitcase, sit straight down in the hall and start telling you about their day.
Guests of the football season
That week we welcomed guests who work in a sport we happen to love. The 2026 World Cup was in full swing, the television in the hall stayed on all evening, and the whole house watched together.
Saigon was unusually cool that day. The rooms were warm. Our guests were in great spirits. Some days, hosting is as simple as that.
The hall, where every conversation starts
Our hall is full of old things: a pendulum clock, antique lamps, dark wood cabinets, gilt framed paintings. We collected them simply because we liked them, and then noticed that every guest stops to look, then asks where that piece came from and how old this one is.
So the hall became the talking room. A good number of ChiMi guests first met each other right there.
Why we are telling this story
Because it is the loveliest part of the job. Anyone can build a beautiful house with enough time and effort. A house where guests want to stay downstairs a little longer before going up to their room takes someone who genuinely enjoys the conversation.
Often the best part of hosting is simply welcoming lovely people like these.
ChiMi Homestay & Coffee, 313/18 Nguyen Trong Tuyen, Ward 8, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City. Hotline 085 800 3456, email [email protected].
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