The three weeks I spent traveling from Vietnam’s Mekong Delta to Hanoi was, to put it mildly, a very trying time. At first glance Vietnam appears to be a country easy to travel through. A large part of their economy is based on tourism and they are very big into organized outings offering loads of cheap tours to the most popular destinations. Buses run, amazingly, on time and stop at the best places along the long, skinny country. However, it was incredible how difficult it was to communicate with these people who deal with foreigners on a daily basis. Simple questions, like “What time does my bus leave?” were met by blank stares at so-called tourist information booths and even exaggerated hand gestures, like pretending to shovel food into my mouth when I was looking for a restaurant, only produced more confused faces. I guess the fact that only about 20% of Vietnamese get an education has something to do with this but Vietnam is the seventh country I have visited so far on this trip and it has definitely been the most difficult and disappointing.
Besides the impossible language barrier I was also very saddened by the bulk of people I met. Every single day I had to fight for a decent price on a bottle of water and every time I made a purchase I had to carefully count my change which more than 90% of the time was wrong- the person always trying to short change me. Once a restaurant even tried to charge me extra for the napkin I used even though this mysterious charge was not listed on the menu. All these little petty extra fees left me with a bad taste in my mouth. As a tourist you are already paying at least three times the local price but it’s still really cheap on our standards so you don’t mind paying- but when they are constantly trying to take more and more, even if it’s just a few cents, it makes you feel so used, so targeted, like your really being taken advantage of. The blatant exploitation of tourists was really irritating and unfortunately left me a little disheartened about the country as a whole.
Ok- now that I’ve vented about the things that made me want to pull my hair out- it would be unfair to say that my whole experience here was abysmal. There were many wonderful, special experiences- pockets of the beauty I was expecting to see- that helped lift my spirits.
For instance, I really enjoyed getting a glimpse into the daily lives of the people who live on the Mekong Delta’s floating markets. Boat owners serve as middlemen between farmers and consumers on the river and these markets are the main way farmers sell their crops. It is extremely cost effective for farmers to transport their goods by water and by selling on the river they avoiding paying a hefty government tax land vendors have to pay. Generations of families are raised on these boats that putter up and down the massive river bartering vegetables and fruit. When children are grown and marry they move off of the family boat, buy their own and the process starts all over again. The long wooden boats are adorned with laundry hanging from clotheslines and children napping in hammocks that sway like cradles on the gently rocking vessels.
While visiting Ho Chi Minh- or as the locals still refer to it, Saigon, I felt morally obligated to visit the historic war museum which left me feeling worse than learning about the atrocities that occurred in Cambodia. This was probably because the horrors on display were a direct result of our country. I know both sides committed disgusting and horrible acts during the war and both countries suffered greatly. However, I was horrified seeing the effects of our use of napalm and Agent Orange- it seems so much more inhumane, so much more evil to attack the environment and use chemical warfare than just our standard, deadly bombs and guns. There are people still being affected by Agent Orange today and parts of their environment still haven’t fully recovered from our aggressive attacks.
Coming up the coast Mui Ne’s wonderfully barren sand dunes and fishing villages with tiny basket boats kept my camera happy and a few days exploring the superb lakes, waterfalls and evergreens of the cool mountain town, Dalat, was a welcome change to the sweltering coast.
Hoi An has a sublime beach dotted with palm trees and it was easy falling into pace with the mellow old town ambiance. The old town’s colorful buildings are swarming with tailors that will make anything and everything for you at a ridiculously low cost. I was ecstatic at the thought of having a dress handmade for me and what should have been a fun experience turned out disastrous. A pounding headache and four alterations later I ended up with a very risky looking number that I will probably only wear if I decide to dress as a hoochie Asian girl for Halloween!!! YIKES!
Exploring the many caves and temples of the Marble Mountains was an unforgettable afternoon and appreciating the captivating limestone formations during a relaxing boat ride up the Ngo Dong river in Tam Coc helped me forget the everyday annoyances I was facing- at least for a little while.
When I finally arrived in Hanoi it felt like I had just finished a very long race and I was extremely thankful that I would not have to endure another sleepless night on a hot, crowded, bumpy overnight bus. I’m not much of a city girl and most of the time I don’t have much an opinion about cities- I can really take them or leave them. The one thing that really struck me here in Hanoi was how strange it was to see whole streets dedicated to one type of store. There was a street for just sunglasses, one of only clothing shops, another of spices… it seems like a bad business move considering every single store is selling the same exact thing. It would seem to make more sense spreading them out throughout the city but I had to stop asking “why” about things along time ago. Also, Hanoi has to be the winner of the busiest sidewalk award. One of my pet peeves about Southeast Asia on a whole is that walking on the sidewalks in these incredibly busy cities is virtually impossible. Motorbikes and vendors take up every inch of the sidewalk forcing pedestrians to fend for themselves in the streets among the thick traffic as a symphony of horns blare at you like you have any other choice about where you can walk.
It is not like me to be so negative about a place in general and I’ve been trying to look at my experience here with a more positive attitude. I am also taking into account that some of my frustrations were due to a terrible bout of homesickness that snuck up on me- but sadly the people I interact with are what makes or breaks an experience for me. Despite my everyday annoyances I have a great deal of respect for the Vietnamese. I am full of admiration and a little confusion at how a country full of such unpretentious people were able to force out the French, Chinese and good ol’ USA from their beloved land. Obviously they are a wonderfully resilient people and amazingly forgiving. My parents were concerned that I might be met with some hostility while traveling here- the war something they still remember with clarity- but not one person seemed even remotely put off by my birthplace. It seems that they are perfectly happy leaving the past just where it is-history.
