I’ve been toying with the idea of blogging for a long time.
It’s no secret that I enjoy operating in virtual reality - tweeting, liking,
hash tagging, re-posting, sharing and engaging with dearests and strangers
alike is my shit. Have also recently developed a slight knack for writing which
gives me a very welcomed sense of win. These two abilities or pleasures got married
had a baby and there a blog was born!
I also never really felt like there was anything interesting
enough to share but inspiration recently hit on the back of a fascinating experience.
The universe did its thing and 2 weeks
ago I spent a week in Vietnam. Since I’d
never been out of the country I had absolutely no expectations. Small/ hometown
living was also adding its usual dose of dull to life in general so my
imagination wasn’t up to its creative self.
After what felt like weeks in transit we landed in the
capital city, Hoh Chi Min. Named after their “father of the nation” and
equivalent to our Mandela. The first
thing that made me realise I wasn’t anywhere close to home anymore was obvi the
people (lack of brown skin bros and sisters), then the roads. Most people own
and drive vuka type scooters so there’s constant roaring of engines, beeping of
hooters and gunning for a gap. They drive it for the same reasons we do, because
it’s economical and mostly because they zippy enough to get through any side
street, market, grassy path or gravel road. Watching this chaos through our
tour bus window nipped all traces of this thing called jet lag in the bud and I
knew I was in for a treat.
We spent the first 2 days in this buzzing city, 3 days in
Phan Thiet along the coast and 1 day in Bangkok (which deserves a post of its
own) , know it sounds like a mere few days but a funny thing happens when you determined
to soak up every ticking second. This is what all my peeps told me to do and
exactly what I did. It’s like time flies but it doesn’t. We were on the go and
busy but unlike when this happens in our daily routine, we weren’t preoccupied
with thoughts of our next to-do.
Another reason why it feels like time is there but there aint
is what one of my friends says is their favourite thing about travel, your
awareness of everything and being present in all 5 senses. This was part of a reply
to my catch up message on day 3 where this friend also told me to not only soak
it up but also hold everything I’m experiencing in my soul.
So…don’t panic, I’m not about to pour out my soul but in attempt
to keep my posts short and sharp so you can come back for more *rubs hands slowly
together like a scheming villain* here is some of what I saw, felt, tasted,
heard, smelt and did in some words and pics:
- Chilling – most of our chill time was while we were commuting via every possible means of transportation; bus, plane, tram, cable car, speed boat, gondolier –like rowing boat, motorbike driven donkey cart type, bicycle and ironically not a minute on a motorbike! Other good times chilling was around the dining table be it for brekks, lunch or supper, alongside the pool and while rowing along the river.
- Tasting – so much of
tasting! They eat mostly if not only local produce so there’s always lots
of rice, fish, fruit and veg and use very little seasoning so the flavours
are all fresh. Presentation is also everything when it comes to dining.
They create images on your plate by slicing carrots into beautiful flower
shapes or plating in an interesting way. I’m not a beer drinker but mostly sipped on
the local Saigon beer which tastes like our Millers draft. There was also
the local brewed rice wine, which the locals sell as vodka because it looks
and tastes the same.
- Smelling – it’s taking me a while to think of what I smelt because of the overcrowding and humid temperatures, I hate to say, the air in general is a bit polluted and stank. Then obvi there’s the food which smelt yum until day 6 where we were all done being borderline vegetarians and wanted our chop. There was a section at the market dedicated to selling pretty flowers that I get I didn't get close enough to smell.
- Seeing – a whole new world really. How families live and work in the same houses and streets. Fabulously dressed woman strutting their stuff on the streets. Beautiful buildings and in all their dilapidated glory. Endless fields of rice farms, lush green bushes and coconut factories. The old-fashioned way in which they made bricks. The many churches, pagoda’s and Buddhist prayer shrines in every possible nook and cranny. The biggest bhudda in Asia.
- Listening – spent a lot of time listening to our very hospitable, which still feels like a understatement coz this guy was such a gem, tour guide Mr Bhien. Who taught us so much about Vietnam’s politics (not much diff from ours), history, economics, religion, fast facts and my favourite culture. Then of course there was the sound of the city, the absolute tranquillity of the river, chirping birds in the calm of the mountain and overhearing high and low pitches of the Vietnamese language.
And there you have it folks, the first of what will be my
many experiences abroad. Also the first of many experiences and stories I’m going to be
sharing with you. The web's being a bit of a pain with pic uploads so I'll load more pics related to this post as another and make sure there's always something to entice at least more than one of the senses when you get here. So Sin Ciao, Guh muun and Ciao! Vietnamese for Hello,
Thank You and what I discovered is a universal Goodbye.
Love,
Lenny
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