Wednesday, 3 July 2013

Making the most of time "onshore" - a young girls dream of Vietnam



Of course one of the advantages of being a professional seafarer is the time onshore when I’m not working… 

I must have been around 16 years old when I created a “list of things to do before I’m 30” because, at the time, I clearly believed that you had somehow “passed your prime” at 30….hmmm. The list mostly describes trekking routes and countries that I wanted to visit but it also included experiences such as “seeing the Pope at the Vatican on Christmas day” and “getting a dog”. (For your information I achieved the former in 2002 but it looks like I’m going to fail at the latter). I took stock at the age of 25 when I discovered that I had achieved most of my list and I spent a couple of years feeling pretty happy with myself…..Then I started adding to my list. It appears that the more I travel and experience, the further I want to travel and the more I want to experience!   

One of the non-movers on my list was the high priority entry of “visiting Vietnam”. The reason I had never done it was three fold: 

1)      Lack of money when I had time 
      2)      Lack of time when I had money 
      3)      I wanted to “do it right” (refer to reasons 1 and 2)

So, when I thought I was going to be on a ship working off Vietnam I took a leap of faith and booked a trip….Naturally, I left the company before the ship went to Vietnam *sigh*

So, last month I spent the most wonderful three weeks in Vietnam. I started in Hanoi where I met up with an old University friend and visited Halong Bay. We spent a magical night floating on a boat between seamounts that rose majestically out of the water, under a sky glowing with stars where all we could hear was the sound of the animals on the nearby mounts and the occasional plop of the fishermen’s nets. I realise the irony of spending time on a boat when on holiday, but I make much more sense on a boat!



I then met up with a group and we cycled around 70km every day to travel from Hanoi down to Ho Chi Minh. The cycling was tough (very tough on some days- e.g. 15km up a 10% incline!!!) but it was worth it to be part of the scenery and to have the blessing of space and tranquility that cycling allows. We travelled through paddy fields, tiny Vietnamese villages, over mountain passes, along the coast and around various temples and palaces. Cycling through the villages was brilliant as the children would always come running out to wave at us and shout “hello” and try to slap our hands as we passed. These moments where usually closely followed by Water Buffalo altercations- Vietnamese Water Buffalo become more agitated further South and find joy in splashing me with muddy water as they run in front of my bicycle! 

Cycling down highway 1 was a bit of a dichotomy in landscape, but the atmosphere it created knowing what happened there and with that famous picture fresh in my mind made it a hard road to cycle on without being in constant prayer for the children of the war.

The day after we arrived in Ho Chi Minh I took a tour to the Mekong River Delta. Here we explored some of the islands and enjoyed various different traditional boats and canoes (yes, I was back on the water!) It was incredible paddling up the small tributaries between the islands as you got a real sense of how awful it must have been for the soldiers and fighters (on both sides). The rain here can be torrential and this creates natural booby traps in the mud on the islands and must have made fighting both physically and psychologically exhausting. Add to this the fact that the tributaries wind and bend back on themselves and are covered with high grasses so that you could never be sure which direction you are travelling. It was really humbling to experience it.

If anyone is considering travelling to Vietnam, then just go! The country is beautiful, the people are really friendly and the culture and history is just awe inspiring. 

Tamsin Smith 01-07-2013
  

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