Travels in VietNam

They say "whatever you are looking for, you will find it in VietNam".

Well, I was not sure exactly what I was looking for when I made the decision to travel in VietNam. It was in the 90ies and the country was just opening up for foreign guests. You still heard rumours about road blocks and harrasments of foreigners by the police. I was up to expect a lot and nothing. How would it be? What could I expect in a country where there was so much war going on for so many years. How would the population deal with the consequences of those years?

I had booked a flight to Ho Chi Minh City (former SaiGon) in the south and would travel throughout the country up north to the capital HaNoi. I had 5 weeks to spend.

Ho Chi Minh City, the city which has the most chaotic traffic I have wittnessed in the world. Very pragmatic driving style. No inch of the road is unused. I always consider that the traffic in the countries also offers a little insight into the society.

After spending a few days in the humid, hectic and intense atmosphare of Ho Chi Minh City, I decided to visit the Mekong Delta. I booked a 2 day trip by a local travel agency. They are very recommendable, as you get quite some information about the country and you get access to places which are difficult to reach otherwise. The infraestructure was not really existing by then. The condition of the main road "Highway Number 1" which connects the capital HaNoi and Ho Chi Minh City was in a terrible state. Every small road in the countryside in Europe was in a better condition. You got remembered that there was a war and political sanctions througout years. Apart from that, it was very difficult to travel cross country alone. Noone spoke english, so there was no way of getting any information. And furthermore you were restricted to stay only in government allowed hotels. So I relied on those travel agencies.

The trip to the Mekong Delta was like going into another world. Waterways were supstitutes for roads and streets. And the motorbike or bicycles were replaced by a boat. So the whole living conditon was connected and dictated by the water.

To travel further up North I had to return to Ho Chi Minh City first and then take a bus to Nha Trang. A once small village which became a "small city". A nice retreat to enjoy the beach. So it was a welcomed time for swimming and relaxing after some days of permament activity and travelling. In Nha Trang there are a lot of opportunities to go snorkelling around the islands in the sea nearby. Great seafood and the nice laid back atmosphare of the southern VietNam. I could have spent there some more days I was thinking when I left. And yes, I was sure to return there for another time.

By the I was realising that time was slipping away. The country was much bigger than I had expected and the travelling was time consuming.

My next stop was "Hoi An". A small village which was an international trade capital on the seaside already hundreds years ago. The old city is unique in his style in VietNam. Very romantic you could say. From there I was visiting "My Son", an ancient religious centre of the "Cham Culture" some kilometers into the mountains. The artwork of the temples is amazing and even more when you consider the time when it was made. The weather changed and the sky was pouring with rain when I was walking though the ruins of "My Son" inside the jungle. But the trip was worth it, without doubts.

Then it was time to continue my journey. Another long bus trip along the coastline of the Southern China Sea to the ancient capital of "Hue". Lying by the "Perfume River" the city has the Citadel to explore and where you could learn about vietnamese history. Hue is also a staring point from where you can take tours to the "DMZ". The "DMZ" marked the border between the north and the south part of VietNam before 1975. So after 2 days in the city I booked a 1 day tour to the DMZ. To me it was important to visit these war sites, as it is so much connected to the history of VietNam. But as the tour brings you far deep West, up to the border to Laos, I thought it was too much travel for just one day. Nevertheless it was interesting and you could get an insight and an little idea how it was during those war ridden days.

By then, I already had given up some trips of my original plan. There was simply no time left. So it was up to the question to visit Halong Bay or go into the mountains close to the China border. With both sites are well worth to visit, I choosed the mountains. I had spent a lot of time on the seaside and I missed the mounatins.

So I took a night train (to save time) from Hue to HaNoi. After 14 hours with no sleep I arrived at 5.30 am in Ha Noi. My plan was to get the next train to the China border after reaching HaNoi. But the problem was that the next train was leaving at midnight. So it meant that I had to spent a whole day in HaNoi before I could take another night train. I was quite tired already as I could not sleep in the train. The "bed" I had was a so called "hard bed" which means a wooden bench actually. Even

if you are comfortable with the "softness" of the "bed", there is no way to strech your legs, nor could you really rest due of the movements of the waggons. They were fairly old, given to the vietnamese as used waggons by India.

HaNoi offered a very nice old city to wander around. That was the nice thing about VietNam overall. You still could witness the old Asian way of living. Something which has now mostly dissapeared in the cities of Asia. So after spending the day I finally took the train to "Lao Cai". It was another 10 hours train ride with no sleep and I arrived there in the morning. A small bus brought me then up to the mountains to "Sapa".

Sapa is a small village which was already used by the Frenchs to escape and relax during the hot summer days in HaNoi. There, it is the place where the minorities are living. There, the vietnamese are the minorities actually. The scenery is beautiful and invites you for trekking. And that was what I was doing. Taking a local guide and doing a day trip. Unfortunately I had no more days available. So I enjoyed my last days up there, reflecting what I had experianced during my weeks in VietNam. I had a great trip indeed. The country offers so many different sites to visit and explore. Cultural sites, several national parks and like I said before, there you still had a chance to see a traditional way of the society, still preserved. But what striked me the most was the people.

Considering what has happened to their country through destructions of war and the amazing numbers of deaths of Vietnamese people, the big questions was: How they have dealt with their sorrow?

And then, how would they welcome me? The answer is simple: They are not bound through the past. "Look forward" is the mandra. I had never expected to meet so many friendly people there. The people did not welcomed me with prejudgement, but they were open, respectful and kind. And warmhearted. And it left me with another question then: How would my country and myself have dealt with all this instead?

Then I realised the reason why I had come to VietNam. I feel grateful to have had the chance to learn from those Vietnamese people.