At one extreme stood modern, developing Vietnam, no better represented than the showcase towers, shopping centres and hotels cropping up in all the big cities. Even Danang and Nha Trang are getting in on the action.
At the other extreme stands little Bai Xep village on the central coast and the Hmong village of Cat Cat in the highlands. Traditional, poor, but communities closely tied to the cycle of the seasons in a relatively simple lifestyle.
And in between, many variations on these themes. The modern, western and market ways are touching not just the big cities but the villages too. Mobile phones, flat screen TV's, motor bikes, white goods are present everywhere. Based on our experience, Vietnam has better mobile and internet coverage than Australia, although the internet censors are blocking or interrupting sites like Facebook every day.
The Vietnamese people are nothing if not resilient. They have fought over and over for their independence; they have some of their freedoms, but not all. They are also very kind. We will never forget the people who offered us food on the train and the village kids who bought presents along to Harper's birthday.
All this change and development is coming at a cost, just as it brings new opportunities. The state of environmental damage is quite alarming. This goes way beyond the Agent Orange story from the war with America. Corruption is endemic - and ultimately favours the wealthy and powerful. Children are being pulled away from finishing their education in order to earn money for their families - an old problem, but no longer really necessary.
Where all this ends up with the next generation, who knows. We felt lucky to see and experience this country at such a pivotal time in its history. Vietnam will look very different in another 20 years.
On reflection, every part of our trip brought a different experience; no two parts were the same. Although each had its charm and appeal, our time in cosmopolitan Hoi An and Rosie and Huw's Haven guest house stood out as the most enjoyable. As for personal highlights, we took a little straw poll to see what our 3 favourite things were:
For our last day in Ho Chi Minh City, we did some packing and then spent a few hours wandering the streets. Lisa was making a gradual recovery and soldiering on. Then lo and behold, who did we run into near the Hotel Continental but Chris and Gary from Adelaide (we had met them at Haven). What chance that in a place as big as HCM City?
We had to check out from our hotel at 2pm, although our flight wasn't until 10.30pm. So we arranged to hang around the pool for a few hours and get freshened up before our transfer to the airport.
To our pleasant surprise, we discovered there is a modern part to HCM City airport, unlike the hokey, run-down place we encountered on the way through. As we were going through immigration, Harper nearly gave us palpitations by declaring in front of the checking officer as she was looking at his passport: "That photo doesn't look anything like me!" Either her English was poor, or she is very tolerant of angelic looking boys who speak their mind.
After some final bad airport food (same the world over), we boarded our plane homeward bound. Happy to be going home, content to have had such a great holiday. When we arrived in Canberra, Jim and Gai met us - which was truly magnificent of them - and the cycle of our journey and great adventure was complete.
No comments:
Post a Comment