It always feels like a big lie when so many people call me a
big adventurous traveler. Why? Because to be honest I haven’t traveled all
that much on my own. I traveled through
a very small part of Thailand by myself 14 years ago (but that was after three
weeks of getting comfortable getting around) and then last year I traveled to
Turkey on my own (but I had Amy and Chris’s place as home base and lots of
guidance from Amy on what to do and how to do it). Most of my traveling has been done on the ship
– and let’s be real – traveling with your bedroom and loads of people to do
things with isn’t all that adventurous or risky.
So when I started planning this trip Vietnam I have to admit
I was nervous. Now I’m always nervous
when I haven’t traveled in a while but this felt bigger because I was going
solo the whole time. It didn’t help matters
that the first reaction of 98% of people upon hearing that I was going to
Vietnam was shock and disbelief. Why
would I go there? What is there? Is it safe?
Then upon hearing I was traveling on my own and not going on a tour
their shock and disbelief often times turned to mild horror. What???!!!
Dear God, why???!!! Normally I
don’t let those kind of reactions affect me because I know those fears are
unfounded, but when you add my already nervous state to the reaction of shock,
disbelief, and horror coming at me again and again and again and again it was
difficult to not doubt myself and let anxiety creep in.
Well I am sooooo glad that I did not let the anxiety get the
best of me because Vietnam was wonderful.
My only regret was that I didn’t book the trip for longer. Everything went smoothly, the people were
wonderful, and it felt great to just go and soak it all in. Everyone keeps asking for photos and I do
have some but not many. When traveling I
am most fascinated by the everyday life of things but have always found it
disrespectful and rude to be snapping pictures of those everyday moments. Because of that I don’t have many pictures to
share. Instead I thought I would write
up a blog post for old time sake.
So first a rundown of what I did and where I went. I flew into Hanoi. For those wondering. It was a 14 hour flight from NYC to Tokyo, a
two hour layover then a 5 hour flight to Hanoi.
On my first day in Hanoi I just walked the city – I probably logged
close to 10 miles. I walked around Hoan
Kiem Lake – a major landmark in the city, visited two museums and one temple. The Women’s Museum focused on marriage,
birth, family, everyday life, fashion, and military heroes. It was a great little museum and I found
myself referring to things I learned there throughout my visit. The Hoa Lo Prison is a giant prison complex
that has been turned into a museum. The
first half of the museum focused on the atrocious conditions and treatment of
Vietnamese prisoners by the French in the early part of the 20th
century and the second half focused on the benevolent treatment and humane
conditions when American POWs were held there in the 1960s and 70s. This was the prison where John McCain was
held. I found the switch in narrative
very amusing.
On my second morning I was up super early for a flight to
Danang in central Vietnam. Upon arrival
I jumped on a bus for an hour ride to Hoi An – a lovely seaside town in central
Vietnam. I spent three days there
walking the town market, strolling the beautiful flower-filled streets, snorkeling
in the Cham Islands, eating great food, and getting wonderful, cheap
massages. When I returned to Danang I
had some time to walk that city and have dinner before my evening flight back
to Hanoi.
No rest for the weary because I was up early the next
morning to take a bus, bus, boat, bus combo to Cat Ba Island in Halong
Bay. This is the one part of the trip
where I wish I had planned more time. I spent the first day relaxing on the beach
and I got the best foot massage I think I’ve ever had. However on the second day because of the bus
times back to Hanoi I ended up only being able to book a half day boating and
kayak trip out on the bay. Even though
it was a short trip it was great. This
little old Vietnamese man who didn’t speak any English took me out on his
boat. He took me to an island where I
was able to go out kayaking and swimming for a few hours then he took me to
Monkey Island to explore for about an hour.
I didn’t see any monkeys but there was a gorgeous beach with some great
shells. We then cruised back to the
harbor and I had time for a quick late lunch before hoping the bus, boat, bus,
bus back to Hanoi.
On my last day in Hanoi I walked, shopped, and attended a
water puppetry performance. Water
puppetry is an ancient art form in Vietnam and the performance was quite
entertaining. I then ate my last meal in
Vietnam and strolled the lively streets of the old quarter one last time before
heading to the airport for my midnight flight.
Throughout my travels I felt very safe. Petty crime is fairly low, scams on tourists
aren’t that prevalent or severe, women are treated respectfully, and everyone
is friendly and not too pushy. I
realized about halfway through this trip just how much India scarred me. Don’t get me wrong I loved my travels to
India and it is an amazing place but it is far from easy. You have to brace yourself for every
interaction and be ready to argue and you have to keep your guard on high alert
24-7. Not so in Vietnam. While you always need to be mindful and alert
when traveling I didn’t have to be braced for negotiation battles, scams,
inefficiencies, and misinformation at every turn. By day three I was really able to settle in
and enjoy the trip.
Some of the things that stood out to me while traveling
included motorbikes, street vendors, and gender roles. First off – motor bikes. They are everywhere. They are more prevalent than cars. You’ll see a family of four riding
comfortable on a motor bike, a giant palette of flowers being hauled by a motor
bike, a stack of 10 bicycles stacked on the back of motor bike. You name it, it goes on a motor bike. My favorite motor bike site was a gentleman
with five GIANT pigs in cylindrical woven baskets piled on the back of his
motorbike.
Street vendors – they too were everywhere. Mostly women with two giant baskets hanging
from a large stick carried across their shoulders. Beautiful fruits and vegetables, donuts,
trinkets, and flowers were some of the most prevalent wares I saw being
sold.
One of the most interesting things I observed was the gender
roles taken on by men and women. I can
tell you one thing – women in Vietnam work…and work hard. Not that the men don’t work but everywhere I
went women were working hard in any and every job. I also saw more men taking care of babies and
children then I did women. It was
interesting. From what I could observe
it seemed like a much more egalitarian culture than other Asian countries I’ve
visited.
Finally, the last thing that really stood out to me was how
much the women stayed cover up and not for modesty or religious reasons. It is crazy hot in Vietnam – 90+ degrees and
100% humidity every day while I was there.
Yet many of the women were covered head to toe. Hats, face masks, gloves, long sleeve shirts
or sweatshirts, long pants, and socks (with flip flops). I don’t know how they stand the heat with all
those clothes on. One woman got on the
bus with a long zip up robe-like get up that had a hood. Once she was on the air conditioned bus she
unzipped the robe and had on a cute dress and heels. I spoke to one local woman (who was trying to
get me to have clothes made while I was in Hoi An) who told me they stay
covered up to keep the dirt and grime off them and more importantly to not
expose their skin to the sun. Like most Asian
countries pale skin is highly valued and women go to many lengths to preserve
their pale skin. Quite a switch from
Western cultures!
All in all a great place and an excellent trip!!
