Goodnight Vietnam
So after a month of traveling, I've left Vietnam for Cambodia. I thought this would be a good time to reflect of Vietnam as a whole, as so far all I've really done is try to give a snapshot of the cities themselves, and my experiences there.
Top 5 Things about Vietnam
1. The Food- It was cheap, it was tasty, and I couldn't stop eating it. Every region seemed to change the style a bit, and there were regional specialties, but everywhere you went whether it was eating on the street, to fine dining the food was great. The highlight was definitely the spring rolls and the Pho, it's just not the same in North America, no matter how hard they try. The best meal was probably in Hoi An, but the dinner with the Tay family in Ban Ho Village was truly the best dining experience in Vietnam. Just to sit in this ramshackle kitchen watching her prepared 7-10 dishes all on this open fire which was being feed with bamboo, was truly an awesome sight. I wish I could have shared photos of it with you, but those were the pictures that were lost with the camera.
2. Bia Hoi Bars- Go to a street corner grab a plastic stool, and join the people cramped together drinking their $.10 beer. The stuff isn't just cheap, its also quite drinkable..well in most places anyway. It was really just an enjoyable experience, and really let you know you were in Vietnam.
3. Sapa- Of all the places I saw, be it the Karsts of Ha Long bay, or the beautiful pagodas and temples, nothing touches Northern Vietnam. The moutains went on forever, and all of them had these rice paddy terraces carved into the side. It truly was a magical place, and a place I would go back to in a heartbeat.
4. Motorbikes- TOO MUCH FUN!!!! I need one of those badly. There was nothing like speeding through the streets of Hanoi dodging cars left and right, and feeling like you were seconds away from eminent danger. Then I got to Hoi An, and saw that while riding on one is great, driving them is infinitely better, it also was great just to have your own ride, and the freedom to go anywhere at anytime.
5. Australians- TOO MUCH FUN!!! Anywhere I went as long as there were Australians, I was bound to have a good time. If they're that much fun when they're away from home, I'd hate to think of what they're like back in Australia.
Top 3 Worst things about Vietnam
1. The lack of respect for space- I don't know what else to call it really. Except for the physical space you're directly occupying, the Vietnamese will try to occupy all other space. Orderly lines don't exists, and the sidewalks are pretty much just parking lots for motos. All that doesn't really bother me, but in Canada, people will give you the space you may soon be in, and this just doesn't happen in Vietnam. I was walking along the street in Saigon, and this guy pulls his motor in front of me, and instead of waiting for me to clear the area, and then parking his bike, he just pulls it in front of me and parks it. Now on either side of me were vendors, so I had to turn around and walk back a ways to get around. It really is a little thing, but it's constant and got on my nerves in the end.
2. The Honking- They are horn crazy over there, and the cites are just a constant drone of horns.
3. The Buses. The seats are small, the AC doesn't work, the drivers are rude, and the trip takes 10X longer than it should. Those two 12 hour bus rides were some of the worst rides of my life.
Now I didn't include the Vietnamese in any of those lists, and I'm not exactly sure where to put them, and I don't think you can classify a nation that easily. Well you can, but you wouldn't be doing them justice. I met some rude Vietnamese, and I met some of the nicest people I ever expect to find anywhere. Sure you're constantly harassed everywhere you go to buy something or take a ride, but you have a lot of money (you could afford to travel to Vietnam), and they don't, so you just have to take it. Doesn't mean you have to like it though. Sometimes I just want to pull out a map, get my bearing and carry on. I don't need people as soon as I stop trying to sell me postcards, or take me to where I want to go, and make it so you just have to leave, and you never get your bearings. Friends of mine were spat on my Hmong girls for not buying enough stuff, that's just not right, no matter where you are.
That being said I loved the Vietnamese, and after awhile you kind of just get used to it and go with the flow. One thing that always stayed with me is just how good the Vietnamese sense of humour is. They laugh constantly, and they're very easy to joke around with, as long as you don't bring irony and sarcasm into it, but I don't think it's because they don't get it, it's because thier English isn't good enough, or I guess I should say YOUR Vietnamese isn't good enough. The adults laugh, the kids laugh, and they just know how to have fun. They know how to Play, and I think a lot more Westerers could learn something from that.
Top 5 Things about Vietnam
1. The Food- It was cheap, it was tasty, and I couldn't stop eating it. Every region seemed to change the style a bit, and there were regional specialties, but everywhere you went whether it was eating on the street, to fine dining the food was great. The highlight was definitely the spring rolls and the Pho, it's just not the same in North America, no matter how hard they try. The best meal was probably in Hoi An, but the dinner with the Tay family in Ban Ho Village was truly the best dining experience in Vietnam. Just to sit in this ramshackle kitchen watching her prepared 7-10 dishes all on this open fire which was being feed with bamboo, was truly an awesome sight. I wish I could have shared photos of it with you, but those were the pictures that were lost with the camera.
2. Bia Hoi Bars- Go to a street corner grab a plastic stool, and join the people cramped together drinking their $.10 beer. The stuff isn't just cheap, its also quite drinkable..well in most places anyway. It was really just an enjoyable experience, and really let you know you were in Vietnam.
3. Sapa- Of all the places I saw, be it the Karsts of Ha Long bay, or the beautiful pagodas and temples, nothing touches Northern Vietnam. The moutains went on forever, and all of them had these rice paddy terraces carved into the side. It truly was a magical place, and a place I would go back to in a heartbeat.
4. Motorbikes- TOO MUCH FUN!!!! I need one of those badly. There was nothing like speeding through the streets of Hanoi dodging cars left and right, and feeling like you were seconds away from eminent danger. Then I got to Hoi An, and saw that while riding on one is great, driving them is infinitely better, it also was great just to have your own ride, and the freedom to go anywhere at anytime.
5. Australians- TOO MUCH FUN!!! Anywhere I went as long as there were Australians, I was bound to have a good time. If they're that much fun when they're away from home, I'd hate to think of what they're like back in Australia.
Top 3 Worst things about Vietnam
1. The lack of respect for space- I don't know what else to call it really. Except for the physical space you're directly occupying, the Vietnamese will try to occupy all other space. Orderly lines don't exists, and the sidewalks are pretty much just parking lots for motos. All that doesn't really bother me, but in Canada, people will give you the space you may soon be in, and this just doesn't happen in Vietnam. I was walking along the street in Saigon, and this guy pulls his motor in front of me, and instead of waiting for me to clear the area, and then parking his bike, he just pulls it in front of me and parks it. Now on either side of me were vendors, so I had to turn around and walk back a ways to get around. It really is a little thing, but it's constant and got on my nerves in the end.
2. The Honking- They are horn crazy over there, and the cites are just a constant drone of horns.
3. The Buses. The seats are small, the AC doesn't work, the drivers are rude, and the trip takes 10X longer than it should. Those two 12 hour bus rides were some of the worst rides of my life.
Now I didn't include the Vietnamese in any of those lists, and I'm not exactly sure where to put them, and I don't think you can classify a nation that easily. Well you can, but you wouldn't be doing them justice. I met some rude Vietnamese, and I met some of the nicest people I ever expect to find anywhere. Sure you're constantly harassed everywhere you go to buy something or take a ride, but you have a lot of money (you could afford to travel to Vietnam), and they don't, so you just have to take it. Doesn't mean you have to like it though. Sometimes I just want to pull out a map, get my bearing and carry on. I don't need people as soon as I stop trying to sell me postcards, or take me to where I want to go, and make it so you just have to leave, and you never get your bearings. Friends of mine were spat on my Hmong girls for not buying enough stuff, that's just not right, no matter where you are.
That being said I loved the Vietnamese, and after awhile you kind of just get used to it and go with the flow. One thing that always stayed with me is just how good the Vietnamese sense of humour is. They laugh constantly, and they're very easy to joke around with, as long as you don't bring irony and sarcasm into it, but I don't think it's because they don't get it, it's because thier English isn't good enough, or I guess I should say YOUR Vietnamese isn't good enough. The adults laugh, the kids laugh, and they just know how to have fun. They know how to Play, and I think a lot more Westerers could learn something from that.
posted by Peter at
9:13 AM
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