First thing’s first…
Sorry for the long break between posts!
This is the first of what will be a few posts on my time in Vietnam and Cambodia. When I last wrote, we had 3 days en route from Hong Kong until we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I did not expect much from those three days other than a short recharge, a chance to do laundry, and hopefully a nap or two. What I got was one of the biggest emotional rollercoasters of my life.
As a word of warning, this post, and the subsequent posts on Vietnam, will cover a few difficult and controversial topics. I plan on doing the best I can to be equitable and fair, but in keeping with my aim for honesty, I focus on my personal experiences and how I was and continue to be affected by Vietnam and the things that happened here. Having a close relative who fought in the Vietnam War is a sensitivity that I cannot extract from my perspective, so I hope that this fact will be taken to heart and respected, regardless of your particular views on the war itself.
So, in the name of personal journalism and travel writing, onward we go!
The entire first day back on the ship was spent blogging.
You’re welcome. You can thank me later. ;)
The second day was a whirlwind. It began with an awesome conversation with one of the psychology professors that ended with an invitation to one of his lectures on happiness. If you know me, you know that was right up my alley of interest. The class was followed by a relaxing time in the sun, an awesome entrepreneurship class, a kick-ass workout, ice cream cake at dinner, and church service in the evening. Basically one of the best days on ship bar none.
That was true until the evening seminar on the Vietnam War.
Nearly every night on the ship, there is a seminar in the Student Union that highlights some aspect of the culture or history of our ensuing port. I’ve seen presentations on the ecology of the Hawaiian shores, the structural development of Shanghai, and the importance of Hong Kong to worldwide shipping. What I had yet to see was a seminar on a topic as emotionally charged and divisive as war.
To say that this presentation was tougher than expected might be one of the biggest understatements of my life.
It began as innocently as possible with a history lesson. Clearly that particular war is not a focus of many history books or classes, because students were surprised and shocked.by the initial entrance into and subsequent magnitude of the war itself. To make matters worse, each of the presenters spoke from a distinctly and unabashedly anti-war stance that seemed to further exaggerated what was already a very tragic point in Vietnamese and United States history. But all the talk about protesting and counter-culture faded away once the veterans stepped up to the mic.
That’s just about when I lost it.
I’ll spare you the gritty details, partly because it’s tough to cry and write at the same time and partly because I’m sure you’re ready for some pictures at this point. But I’ll just say, on a personal note, that I was completely unaware of how difficult this part of the trip would be for me. I had highly anticipated going to Vietnam because I knew it would have a huge impact, but I failed to predict just how immediate and emotional my reaction would be. I realized from that moment, from listening to first-hand accounts by soldiers and feeling the distress of the students around me, that there was no way I could experience this port as an impartial, detached, observant tourist. I was dug in whether I liked it or not.
Thankfully, I was not alone.
Although initially I wished for the familiarity and comfort of my awesome support system back in the US, I was met with and consoled by the bright new faces of friends I have made on the ship. These relationships became even more solidified as these people carried me every step of the way both on the ship and in country. So after a long night of talking and an early morning of yoga, I was ready to face the country I had so eagerly longed to see.
But not so fast.
It took about four hours of sailing up a river and dodging smaller and faster boats than ours until… slowly but surely… the skyline began to appear.
Then, before we knew it, we had arrived!
On the first day in Vietnam, I had a mandatory “Field Lab.” Each class on the ship is required to experience one in-port field experience during the semester, so my consumer behavior professor had originally scheduled for us observe Vietnamese consumer culture in a variety of venues across the city. However, because of the Tet celebration, nothing was open and no one was out, so we had to make alternative plans.
Fortunately for me, our plan was something I had wanted to see anyway—the Mekong Delta.
There was about a two hour drive from the port to the Delta site, and it was precisely during this drive through cities, towns, and fields that the trip finally hit me. I remember it was only moments ago. Please excuse my French:
Holy shit.
I’m in Vietnam.
I’ve been sailing on a boat around the world for over a month.
All of my friends and family are LITERALLY on the other side of the planet.
I think it’s like 10pm yesterday there or something.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Or something like that.
After my mind was blown, the drive to the Delta continued. Like I said, we got a great quick survey of the Vietnamese landscape from the crowded roads of the city…
To the small villages around the rice paddies…
And finally to the Mekong Delta.
We were happy to have finally arrived.
Our trip through the Delta showcased a ton of the components of local life including floating fish markets and a coconut farm. We even got to sample local exotic fruits and teas, which were insanely tasty and a welcome treat after our long trip.
But we all agreed that our best moment on the Delta was spent… you guessed it… ON THE DELTA!
We all climbed into canoes of about this size and rowed through part of the maze of rivers and streams until we made our way back to our boat. It was so serene and calm, that all we could do was lay back, relax, and take it all in. For some reason, ‘live the life you always dreamed of’ floated quickly through my mind and I smiled. I had arrived.
After our river adventure, we travelled back to the ship in Ho Chi Minh City for dinner and a night out on the town. My overland trip to Cambodia was scheduled to leave first thing the next morning, so we called it a fairly early night. Not only that, but there was supposed to be a special Ash Wednesday service on the ship before we left for the airport. Apparently something exciting was supposed to happen, so I didn’t want to miss it… More on that in the next post!
All in all, my first day in Vietnam was fairly benign. Nothing too out of the ordinary or shocking happened other than being exposed to a tiny bit of rural Vietnamese life and realizing that I was multiple Qantas flights away from everything I had ever known.
The rest of my time in Vietnam and Cambodia struck a much more personal chord and left what I know will be life-long marks on my heart.
So keep reading.
It gets good!
Question of the Day: What place in the world makes you both excited and scared to visit?
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