In 2008 I was living in England, completing a master's degree and my parents had moved to Vietnam for a 6 month adventure of their own--which turned into a 5 year enterprise! The plan when I finished my studies was to fly back to Canada via Vietnam and spend some quality time with the 'rents in their new, exciting home. What I hadn't anticipated was how truly breathtaking I would find this country.
Days prior to landing in country, I handed in my dissertation, moved out of my shared London flat, and flown over 12 hours with a layover in Malaysia before being reunited with my parents, whom I hadn't seen in several months--the longest we'd ever gone without seeing each other. I was a ball of sweaty emotions when greeted by the smiling faces of my family and a wall of heat and humidity.
I was in sensory overload. The constant honking, the different smells, and the pure congestion everywhere. It was the first time I was truly experiencing culture shock and I was in love with how different life is for people living here than what is normal for me. Basic needs are the same but providing them is a bit different. From throwing toilet paper out in the bin rather than the toilet, to tightly wrapping up all foods in the kitchen to save from the many bugs.
Even crossing the street was something different. Watching the sea of motorbikes moving across, through and around like orchestrated chaos meant I reverted to my five year old self, holding the hand of my father as I let him navigate our way safely across the street.
I don't think I could have gone anywhere on my own.
Frankly, Vietnam never ranked very high on my must-see places list but I wasn't going to let that stop me from going to this new and exciting destination (#freetrip, thanks parents).
There was no time to settle, we had a jam-packed itinerary as we toured my parents home-base, Ho Chi Minh City, the coastal beach town, Mui Ne, the capital city, Hanoi and Tam Coc (our substitute destination when a typhoon stopped us from being able to go to Halong Bay). My 12 days in Vietnam were not long enough, but it was a good taste of the variety of things available.
The country is desperately beautiful and the people incredibly kind and friendly. Not that I was surprised by any of this, but it still struck me in each restaurant we ate at and every person we met.
Vietnam was sometimes breathtakingly beautiful, sometimes excitingly chaotic, and often times generally overwhelming. I frequently felt uncomfortable and clueless as to what was going on around me, but that's bound to happen in a place where I don't speak the language.
Vietnam is one of the most exotic places I've ever visited. I felt shell-shocked there (dissertations do that to a person) and didn't process what I experienced until I returned to Canada and immediately wanted to return. I wanted to return to the foreign landscape of Ho Chi Minh City and feel again my heat rate race as I tried to cross the street.
I'll repeat it to the end of days, visiting a place where you know someone is the best way to travel. I experienced local life the way my parents were living. I got to see their local hangouts, shown locations that were significant to my father's history as a veteran, and experience everyday life as we grocery shopped, did laundry, and snacked at coffee shops. I wouldn't have wanted to see Vietnam any other way.
At the beginning of each month, I like to take part in the monthly travel link up hosted on the incredible blogs by Angie, Emma, Polly and guest host Tanja at The Red Phone Box . You can join in too by leaving a comment below, checking out other posts on the link up, or adding your own post to the widget now until February 7th.
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