Vietnam, My Thoughts....

We are going home......

So, my trip to Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang, Vietnam had ended recently but the most important question that you people are going to ask me is :- " What have I learnt from the trip to Da Nang?", right? If you are expecting anything brilliant or profound, you would be hopelessly disappointed lar.

The answer is simple - It sucks BIG TIME when the holidays end! Yeah! That is my heartfelt answer to the ever universal question that had flashed over in your minds and mine too. Seriously, it had been a wonderful trip to Vietnam as a whole. I must thank Annie for organising the itinerary and the flights cordination for this trip. Teresa , SLing and SYuen had brought in input for the itinerary and guide that helped us shaped our trip this time. It was the most wonderful time of my life having to spent these days with the group. ( Alvin, Annie, Jonathan, Teresa, Richard, SLing and SYuen ). truly truly fun days indeed. Sure, we missed out on some dog or cat meat soup and dishes, testicles soups & the good stuff plus some crickets, worms, scorpions and what not but it was all good! If we did not get to eat them, the Vietnamese people could have eaten them earlier than us lar!  Just joking! Just joking! 

Sad to leave...

Everyone was easy going while there weren't any prima donnas, dominant kings/queens and even sourpuss in the group at all. This makes it such a wonderful time for all of us. I must say that we have had laughter and more laughter throughout our trip and it was just so wonderful. Sure, there are times our hearts and spleens exchanged places at the places we went  while our legs felt like coming off for some good old leg massage but we were genuinely happy and having fun. Yeah, blame it on our age for getting all our parts leaky and cranky but we made through it all.  We are alive! Thank God for his graciousness in our lives,man! I am ever thankful to Richard  & Alvin who provided us with great sense of humour and easiness in our conversations and great fellowship. The ladies were wonderful too as they were simple, easy going and fun all around. This made a lot of difference when travelling in a group as everyone has their own preference, needs and wants. What was important was the fact that we had a great time! Truly a wonderful time indeed. That is my heartfelt blessings of having such wonderful people in the travel group.

Lovely wooden arch in Hue...

I am grateful too that we had a great guide in Thanh Tuan, his full name. A thorough and true young Vietcong. ( Yeah, his boss googled our names to check us out while I googled his name to check him out ! Jeng! Jeng! Jeng! ) Jokes aside, what a responsible, caring, humble and informative guide indeed. I believe , what he has done for us was beyond his time and responsibility as a guide in those days when we put our lives in his hands!  He helped us to cross the streets, ordered food for us, checked our bill and ensured we have enough food before going on to have his food at a different table and ensuring our well-being in general. I wished we had guides like this is Malaysia and our tourism industry would grow tremendously. Tuan exuberates the fine example of the newer generation of Vietnamese young man in Vietnam who wants to move forward to a greater Vietnam. He is quick witted, humorous, very active and alive plus humble. Never a word of harshness even when the park rangers were sarcastic to him or even when the vendors were rough on him as he bargained the items for our group. I was most impressed with him when he brought out our seafood dinner one by one from the restaurant kitchen even when there was a long queue for our food even after we had picked out the seafood! That is truly going out of your way for your guests! My jaw dropped when he brought those dishes out for us to eat! Truly a remarkable young guide. He did what was beyond his guide duty to help us get food that night! I will always remember this gesture of kindness on this part! Thank you, Thanh Tuan! 

Left : Jonathan, Alvin, Tuan, myself, Richard and Kanh, driver....

I remembered speaking to him as we were at the side street of Hoi An ancient city near one of the tailor shops and he had asked me what Melaka was like. Throughout our journey with him, Alvin, Richard and the group told him of the influence of Portuguese, Dutch, British , Japanese, Chinese, Indian and even the influence of Malay culture in our lives. He is also a well read individual who genuinely seemed to know about Malaysia happenings. I had asked him about what was he looking forward to as a Vietnamese young man. He was quick to answer that he would like to see a growth in his nation and develop a greater Vietnam. He was saddened when he told us of how he had lost his grandfather, uncles and friends to the war and how most Vietnamese were bitter of the war. Those were hard times and  hardship of the never ending war of cruelty. I guess, we can all relate to that, right? Every country in the world has an ugly side of its history! I told him of the great potential of  tourism in Vietnam and the need to check on the greediness of progress in the coming years. If things like food, tourist attractions, hotels and souvenirs get expensive and cut throat stage in the towns we had visited, it would drive away the tourists and the much needed tourism dollars for the country. He was agreeable that there is a great need for control on the capitalism aspect of the tourism industry as more tourist begin to recognise Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang as worthwhile destinations in Vietnam. We had a good conversation and I must say that this young man is full of potential to make it big in Vietnam one day.

The people ....in a drawing

His boss, Man Nguyen ( yes, Google lar! ) is an equally enterprising and good trip organiser/planner. His souvenir of Vietnamese lanterns and Highland coffee packs were a class act of appreciation for being his guests. I am deeply appreciative of what he had done and the gifts were really a great personal touch from him and his company.  Man Nyugen even called while we were on our way home to thank us for using their company services and that, my friend, speaks volume of a good trip planner/organiser. Even when I was back home, I wanted to rate his company services in TripAdvisor and he called me personally to thank me for doing so.  Sure, I gave his company an excellent rating as they did an excellent job for our trip. It was very satisfactory and humbling experience to have such wonderful guide and organiser in Thanh Tuan and Man Nguyen. I really wished the both of them and the company every success! 

Vietnam........

To me, Vietnam, in general. is rising up in the tourism industry landscape. Beautiful beaches in Da Nang and other places of Vietnam is the testament of what the future is about for Vietnam tourism industry. The towns of Hue, Hoi Ann and Da Nang are clean, I mean, really much cleaner than Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and even Jogjakarta where most UNESCO sites are situated. Rich historically and culturally in Hue and Hoi Ann, these are places that will see an influx of tourist in days to come. Food preparation and cuisine itself are generally clean and edible. Fresh vegetables and unique dishes of Vietnam makes it a culinary must for tourist. I love the fresh vegetables and their noodles soup based concoction which is just a delicious delight. The rice noodles, the rice cakes, the mi quang, banh beo, banh mi, bun bo, banh xeo and the list goes on are every day life food that is a must sampler for the tourists. The Vietnamese fish sauce tasted so much better than the Thai which I considered the best thus far.  It is generally not expensive to eat nor to travel to Vietnam making this hideaway a great place to relax and just count your blues away. If you are a beach lover, Da Nang beaches are quite a sight. The clustered boats together with the bamboo basket boats with the back drop of orangey setting sun plus soft sands can be quite a sight for those who love photography too. Thatched huts and thatched shades under the sun makes it a photogenic rest area.

The well preserved historical buildings, artifacts and historical architectures for history buffs like me can be both enriching, astonishing and exciting indeed. The rich cultural background and extravagant tombs, insignia and relics can be stimulating and mind boggling at times. I find it fascinating and exciting to be able to see the linkage of culture and civilization between My Son, Angkor Watt, Prambanan, Lembah Bujang and even Borobudur. I am also intrigued and fascinated that the Imperial City of Hue and the Citadel bears resemblance to the Forbidden City in China but at a much lesser extravagant way but very significant in the Chinese history.

One night in Hoi An....lovely

For those who just simply want to have a chill out moment, a walk along the Perfume River near the bridge or near the Dragon Bridge can be quite interesting as local desserts and food fare are laid out with amazing colors and a feast to the eyes and the tummy. If you are one that prefers the steady high chairs and soft music of cafes and pubs, they are in abundances in the streets of Hue, Hoi An and Danang. But if you are a coffee lover like me, cafes selling potent coffee in Vietnam is a real must for you. The flavorful and aromatics of the roasted coffee beans will definitely ignite your senses for an awesome day of coffee. My senses are tingling now even when I am thinking about it. 

The lanterns of Hoi An.....

I have learnt that the people of Vietnam are generally wary of people. Who could blame them after years of war, hardship, hunger and death! They generally resented the French and the Americans! All the rest are okay. ( Phew! Thank God I am a Malaysian! ). They eye all foreigners with great wariness but once you get to know them, they are generally simple folks just like us. Like the family of rice paper makers, they welcome people to their home and shared what they do best with the people. They served us with what they have best - rice cakes and Chinese tea. I truly appreciate that hospitality and I get to see first hand of how simple living is all about in Vietnam. I get to see too how houses in Vietnam used to be 14' X 40' while over the years, it had gone longer but not wider unless you have got the money for it. For me, looking into the small houses, I could not imagine living in such tight place - I would have nightmare, man. It is not that I am claustrophobic  but it is simply too small of a space. Sure, there are more modern and bigger houses nowadays but remnants of the old small houses are still around for us to see.  I love the country side of Hue , Hoi An and Da Nang. The lush green of the paddy fields and the plots of green vegetables plot. I also realised that Vietnam especially Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang are blessed with so much wonderful seafood. Lobsters, quality fish such as variety of groupers, pelagic fishes and bottom dwellers fishes are in abundance while shell fish are astoundingly in abundance. The best part - they are not that expensive in comparison with other countries I had been to.

The art in Hue.....

It is undeniable that in years to come places like Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang will be caught up with the tourist dollars development. I just wished that it would not be such an explosion of exorbitant prices and resentment towards certain types of tourists in the coming future as some tourist can be a pain in the yunno where!  I have always believed that Vietnamese are the smart, quick witted and would not take no shit from anyone because of what they had gone through over the years. Hardened by war, seasoned by hatred of oppression and arose through the ashes valley of civil war , the Vietnamese will want to make a better living in themselves. It is no surprise that Vietnamese workers, ladies in particular, would marry a foreigner but would want to return to Vietnam to catch on the fire of capitalism and growth in the new dawn era of Vietnam. There is definitely a bright future in Vietnam and I pray that the people would learn to prosper well and keep in their faith to go rebuilt a better and forward looking Vietnam.

Thank you very much, my dear dear friends........

I wish Vietnam all the best and I do look forward to visit Vietnam again some day.  I have wonderful memories of Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Good people made a tremendous impact and lasting impressions in your life, don't you think so? I must admit, Vietnamese coffee would never be the same in my life ever again! Thank you , Vietnam.

~ Tam biet va cho den chung ta gap lai nhau ~  simply means "Goodbye and Till We Meet Again!"~