Farewell, Vietnam

Ted. I am writing this post in a very nice high rise hotel room in the ritzy Shinjuku neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan. From our window I look out over crystal blue skies. There are no sounds of the traffic below us, you can drink the tap water, the toilet has multiple functions and you can even flush the paper. 

And yet…I don’t hear children playing in the street at night. I’m not greeted by name by smiling staff members and there is nothing within a 20 minute walk but office buildings and big hotels. I know we will have a wonderful time during our three weeks in Japan, but in many ways, I really miss Vietnam. 

What a remarkable history that country has! In just the last 100 years they have fought wars with France, Japan, Cambodia, China and the US. They have survived droughts, famine, typhoons and disastrous land reform policies. Yet, there is a sincere warmth in the smiles of most folks we have encountered. Maybe they realize the importance of the foreign currency that tourists bring to their families. Or maybe they are just proud to have replaced their bicycle with a scooter!

Is Vietnam perfect? No way! It’s a developing country with all of the negatives that entails such as dirty air and water, trash in the streets and streams and horrible traffic. The infrastructure is crying for improvements and country folk are racing to the big cities causing incredible congestion and straining limited resources. 

But Vietnam has an exuberance about it. Everyone is dreaming of a bright future and some parents probably imagine their children traveling the world soon, just like the Korean and Malaysian tourists they see on their streets everyday. 

I am amazed, given the vast political, economic, cultural and language differences that exist, that we were able to make so many personal connections in just six short weeks. Suong, a lady who prepared our breakfast every day in Hoi An keeps up with Judy on Facebook now. Tuey, a lady who owns a small restaurant messaged Judy the other day. Several folks in Hanoi are now reading our blog. And everyone - everyone insisted that we MUST return one day! 

If it were easier to get there, I wouldn’t even think twice about planning a return visit, but I am torn. When brainstorming future travel, Judy and I inevitably struggle between visiting new countries and returning to countries that we know and love. Our visit to Vietnam has further complicated these discussions. 

One trait I admire in the Vietnamese (as well as most Asians) is a deep reverence for one's ancestors. On several occasions, I have found myself in a temple or shrine breathing in the incense, with eyes closed, and smiling at mental images of my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

At Judy’s suggestion, I just read The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai. Most of the novel takes place in the Old Quarter of Hanoi and every day I walked the same streets as the characters, further deepening my connection to the country.

At one point in the book, a grandmother says to her granddaughter, “If our stories survive, we will not die, even when our bodies are no longer here on this earth.”