HOT DAMN, WE'RE IN VIETNAM!

June 8th @ 20:14

Kevin

When I think Vietnam, all I was able to conjure up was images from movies I have seen, mostly movies made by Westerners and concerning the theme of warfare. Upon arrival, I realized that all of my conjured images were completely wrong. Immediately, I couldn't even grasp the fact that we were actually here. Never in my life did I picture, or even imagine, myself visiting Vietnam.

Once again, we have arrived in a location within Southeast Asia that has been absolutely pummeled by war and civil unrest. Unfortunately, we were also to learn that most of the damage was at the hands of the Americans. Though land mines and live munitions still lie in wait throughout parts of Vietnam, and amputees are abundant and ever present, it appears as if the bulk of the lasting damage comes in the form of the lingering affects of “agent orange”. It is a legacy that leaves its victims debilitated, mutilated and deformed. However, not only are the Vietnamese struggling with these horrors, but so are many of the children of American soldiers back in the states. The use of chemical weapons was a violation of the war sanctions, but so were many other of the tactics used by American forces, including secret bombings and torture. A visit to the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) was a way for us to understand the horrors of war from the perspective of the Vietnamese, who coincidentally refer to the Vietnam War as the American War.






Throughout our travels, Idalis and I have become privy to some of the horrors of war. We have learned a great deal about history, more than was ever afforded in a classroom and have also come to the realization that there are no winners in war, only victims. In little more than thirty years, the Vietnamese have accomplished the impossible. They have regrouped, restructured and rebuilt an entire empire of prosperity. Though technically Communist, Vietnam and its citizens are incredible resourceful, entrepreneurial and as capitalist as their Western counterparts. Meaning that with time, America may have realized that the Communist machine it was most concerned with would eventually share many of the same interests and ideas about a free market world and a war that destroyed so many lives may not have been necessary at all. In spite of all of it, the Vietnamese people that we have spoken to say that the past is best left in the past and that their religion, Buddhism, teaches them to forgive, which they seem to have done. However, they also say that they will never forget.

Before traveling here, we were very concerned with how we would be received. As it turns out, there appears to be no hard feelings toward American travelers. In fact, it seems as if the Vietnamese are also happy to put this all behind them and stay purely focused on the future and becoming a force in the global community, not to mention being incredibly gracious, patient and welcoming hosts. Our first stop was the capital city of Ho Chi Minh, known also as Saigon. We arrived overland by bus and immediately found (rather it found us) a cute little guest house in the middle of a thriving city and tourist area. We had only given ourselves a couple days here as we have only a thirty day visa and many places we hope to visit. Nonetheless, our visit to the capital was a fine introduction to our new destination and amongst other things, we visited a Catholic cathedral, known as Notre Dame, the War Remnants Museum, stumbled upon an amazing market in the heart of the city and once again treated ourselves to heaps of food in street and market stalls that we could not only not identify, but could also not pronounce. As with any country we visit, we make serious attempts to learn the basic salutations, inquiries and greetings in the local language. Thus far, our favorite one in Vietnam is “bia hoi”, which means draft beer and which runs anywhere from 3000 to 11000 dong, or 15 to 60 cents per liter. If that is not a capitalist dream, then I am not sure what is.










Our immediate plans for Vietnam changed several times, and continue to change. Amongst the myriad of things we have learned on this trip, we agree that thirty days is just not enough to visit a country and fail to realize how we could ever have been satisfied by two week vacations in our previous lives. Anyways, we decided, rather at the last minute, that we would carry on to a small beach town, Vietnam has over 4000 kilometers of coast line, called Mui Ne. A decision that would have us giddy from the time we arrived and stumbled upon our pristine, immaculate and oh so cute accommodations at the Hiep Hoa Resort. With only fifteen units, this amazing little guest house has been our respite for the last few days. We are finding it hard to tear ourselves away from the perfectly manicured garden, the shady coconut trees, the empty stretch of beautiful beach and the crisp refreshing waters of the South China Sea. Within one hour of arriving, I had already secured a rental surf board and was in the water enjoying the occasional waist high wave. On another occasion we rented a motorbike and spent the day skirting along the coast, visiting a local fish sauce plant, the red sand dunes, the white sand dunes and a gorge cut into the red sandstone by storm water, known as a ferry stream, that winded its way from a country field all the way down to the beach. Life in this once little fishing village turned small and manageable resort town is quaint, quiet and peaceful. Late breakfasts, lounging afternoons and incredible beach side dinners of fresh sea food fit the bill perfectly and help to ease the pain of what had once again been a long stretch of intense travel covering mind boggling distances and several countries.








As soon as we can find the heart to tear ourselves away, we will head further north to the food and culture capitals of Hoi An and Hue, where we hope to be treated to visits to the famous Kinh Tanh (citadel), the Royal Tombs, amazing shopping and of course, more bia hoi!