Vietnam: an amazing country

Top: Village Kids surrounding us
Bottom: My artistic shot of a Pagoda we saw on the Motorbike Tour yesterday
The Lotus is a symbol for Buddism here.

Vietnam is a land of stark contrasts. Ancient bicycles laden with produce teeter alongside the endless stream of motorbikes. Entire families of four cling to each other while riding helmetless down the roadways. Boats that look as though they are incapable of floating cruise the riverbends. Brightly colored mansions in the popular shades of orange and purple exist beside shacks. And everywhere you turn, there are people. "Sometimes it seems like all we do is shout at each other. But we aren't. We're just talking," explains Tan, our Fearless Leader.

Walking through town is like taking a trip through a living museum. Daily life still consists of going to the market for fresh food for morning and evening meals, and yet every second shop is an internet cafe. Seemingly primative pieces of machinery and back breaking labour take precedence over more modern technology for one simple reason - they don't have anything else. Having said that, the Vietnamese are incredibly industrious and resourceful people and have come to sell the 'wants' not 'needs' of foreigners. Your average bookstore is a teenager carring around an impossibly tall stack of books of the most current titles for less than $3US. Burn your favorite album onto your I.Pod for $1US. How do they do it? The piracy is impressive. Entire lonely planets are photocopied and bound with a startlingly realistic looking book jacket.

The Vietnamese are some of the most accomodating people I have ever met. Whilst having 3 piece suits and shoes tailor made for us, countless adjustments were made until not only we were immensely satisfied but they were pleased as well. Case in point, my custom made pink heels which were crafted overnight and dropped off at our hotel one morning after the first pair failed to fi. "Did you get any sleep last night?" He smiled and said "just a little bit."

Families adore their children here and are lavished upon. However, money is not a luxury many of them have and as a result, many children are taken into orphanages when their families can no longer care for them. We visited one such place with 34 kids ranging in ages from 12-20yrs. Last year, thanks to fundraising donations, western toilets and showers were put in. Previously, 2 squat toilets and a well sufficed for all. Carer Mrs. Kip has worked there for 14 years, calling it home 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. When she does receive a salary, it is $1US per day. I am constantly in awe of the resilience of these people and their ability to get through difficult times.

It is easy to see why people come here. Travel opportunities abound. We indulged our tastebuds in a cooking class where we made a 5 course meal including the infamous springroll. We've visited ancient ruins at My Son, a Unesco World Heritage Site and took in a traditional Champi Dance. We're toured War Crimes museums and learnt of the devastating consequences of war. We've eaten noodle soup where Bill Clinton ate on his tour as the first US president to visit since the Vietnam War. We've shopped till we dropped in Hoi An. We've offroaded on Motorbikes through countryside villages and tasted sugarcane juice. And after all of this I can come to one conclusion - each day spent here is more richly rewarding that the last.