'Banh Mi Line' connects large Vietnamese communities in San Jose and Westminster
By Itay Hod, KPIX
SAN JOSE -- Even the thought of sitting on a bus for more than eight hours is daunting for most people. But for many in the Vietnamese community, getting on board the Bamh Mi line is more than just a bumpy ride.
"I do feel like I'm at home," said passenger Ramie Le. "Even the landscape, I feel like we're in the countryside in my country."
Normally, Le -- a resident of Orange County -- flies to San Jose to visit her aunt. But this time she decided to take the bus along with her 63-year-old grandmother.
"We talked the whole eight hours because we haven't been on vacation together that long so that's quality time together with family," she said.
For the last 27 years, the Banh Mi bus has become a lifeline for people like Le's grandmother, connecting two of America's largest Vietnamese hubs — San Jose in the north and Westminster in Orange County in the south.
"This bus is the most well-known brand that we know in the Vietnamese community," Le said.
The 400-mile ride along Interstate 5, is a popular fixture among Vietnamese Americans looking for an inexpensive, and most importantly familiar, way to travel.
Like many of its passengers, Le's grandmother, Hung, doesn't speak English. Taking the bus with other Vietnamese-speaking people, she says, has been a god send.
It all started in late 1990s, when the company's founder noticed members of the community were having difficulty navigating their way through airports. Soon, he begun shuttling people between north and south.
The bus line — officially called Xe Đò Hoàng -- used to come with a free meal, an iconic Vietnamese sub called Banh Mi. The sandwiches were such a part of the trip that, over the years, the bus simply became known as the Banh Mi line.
"That's the easiest food to eat on the seat, you can't have a bowl of noodles," Le said.
Since COVID, it's bring your own sandwich. The price of ticket is $50, about a quarter of what it would cost to fly.
For Le's grandmother the selling point is not having to go through airport security, while still getting a little taste of home.
"People are all busy they go to work and go home you barely have time to talk to each other," she said. "So this is perfect time, good quality time to sit together and talk about things that you haven't talked about."
