Vietnam,
March 8-9, 2007
Having heard how beautiful Vietnam was, I was anxious to see it first hand and was thus pleased when I saw two stops on our itinerary. I never realized that visiting here would be so emotional and would bring back so many memories of the late 60’s and 70’s. For the two days that I spent in this exciting country I couldn’t help but think of the many anxious moments I spent years ago wondering if I would be sent here to fight what seemed then…and now…to be an unnecessary war.
Our first stop was Na Trang, a lovely fishing and beach village of some 300,000 people. Walking along the seven kilometers of beautiful park that borders the protected sandy beaches, I thought of my friend Louis Valente who was here during the war. I wondered if he had had a chance to enjoy those beautiful beaches. Did the big hustle-bustle boulevard exist when he was here? Did he enjoy some of the same wonderful food I did? As I climbed the 180 steps to the tall white Buddha that over looks the city at the Long Son Pagoda I pictured our soldiers that were here before me, wondering what prayers they offered at the top. Walking across the busy Ha Ra Bridge I marveled at the fisherman that skillfully maneuvered the large round wicker basket boats that they use to get from shore to their anchored colorful fishing boats. I enjoyed the guide explaining that the boats, painted deep royal blue to match the sky with a touch of red for luck. At the Po Nagar Cham Towers, built between the 7th and 12th century I watched Vietnamese Buddhists praying and making offerings including a wedding party with fifty or so women….all fifty of them…all dressed in white silks pants covered with the traditional long over dress…in this case a vivid, almost blinding bright chartreuse green. I have never really liked that particular color and seeing it en masse at this ancient temple did nothing to change my mind. Soon we found ourselves in a small home where skillful women worked in tandem to weave straw mats that they use as sleeping mats. This beautifully crafted weaving is back-breaking and apparently they are only able to weave three such mats a day and sell them for the equivalent of seven dollars a mat. Equally impressive was a visit to an embroidery studio where the ancient art of creating detailed stitching continues. These double-sided pictorials are created with a thread so fine that it is difficult to see and comes in probably 10 values of the same color. How those women were able to thread their needles is beyond me.
Sailing overnight, the next day the shipped docked at Phu My (pronounced Foo May). Leaving early, via air-conditioned bus (it was 95 degrees with 85% humidity) to travel some two hours to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon and still commonly called by that name) I was impressed with the non-stop hustle and bustle of the business. There were thousands of small shacks jammed in beside one another on both sides of the road. Next to a mechanic shop would be a bridal shop (more of the bright chartreuse and some electric hot pink!) next to a Mom and Pop café next to a nursery with intricately shaped topiaries. It was difficult to know when we left one small city and entered another. But with each mile the traffic slightly increased as did the honking and beeping and dodging and weaving in and out of traffic. I learned early on in the trip to look to the sides of the bus and never look forward because my heart would never have stood seeing the thousands of near misses with traffic. It seems that Saigon has some 9 million people….9 million! And, 4 million scooters….all 4 million on the road at once! What a scene! Chaos! That said, after more than 10 hours on the road, we never saw a single accident…so they obviously have some method to that madness. If so many scooters isn’t memorable enough, I will never forget the women on the scooters. It seems that is has become very fashionable for the young Vietnamese women to be as pale skinned as possible...a task not easily accomplished for these dark-skinned people in a part of the world with bright tanning sun. So, how do they accomplish this feat?. They cover up! From head to toe these poor women are bedecked in all manner of garb to keep the sun off. Most have a “coolie” hat with their faces covered in a quilted face mask that Velcros to the back of the head. A scarf tied around the neck protects any spots that might be exposed. Long sleeve shirts are worn over elbow length gloves. Their spiky stilettos are worn over cotton socks. Not an inch of skin is visible…and remember…its 95+ degrees. What we do for vanity? When our guide was asked how he, a single man of 30something, ever saw these women to decide how beautiful they are….with a twinkle in his eye he diplomatically answered that all Vietnamese women are beautiful and to prove it he goes out at night…..once the sun goes down, all that garb comes off!
Saigon is a very busy and lively city. Members of our group said that they would have never recognized Saigon as the same city they had seen five years before. There are modern high-rises going up everywhere. Parks abound. Shops are full and busy. The city pulsates with a life that is very encouraging. Although poverty still exists there seems to be energy to the city that says…Watch out! Here we come!
We passed by the historic buildings such as the Hotel D’Ville, the former city hall. We saw the old Rex Hotel and the Notre Dame Cathedral. We drove past the site of the former US Embassy where we remembered seeing the helicopters air-lifting so many as the city fell. (The original building was destroyed and the US has built a new complex to house the US Consulate….the Embassy, of course, is in Hanoi, the capital city.) We visited the Thien Hau Temple, dedicated to the Goddess Protector of Sailors which dates from the 18th century and where hanging from wires in the ceiling was a grid of spiraled incense. The pattern, the color, the smells…..what a place! My travel group, the Virtuosi Group, arranged for a memorable tour of the former Presidential Palace, now known as Unification Hall. This is the site where in 1975 the tank burst through the gates and South Vietnam surrendered unconditionally to the North. Greeted by a marching band, dancing children dressed in traditional dress, and trays of freshly harvested coconuts we were treated as royalty. After a tour off this impressive building we soon found ourselves in the former conference room where we enjoyed a multi-course luncheon complete with a floor show of traditional music and costume. I couldn’t help but ponder what dignitaries had been in the same room thirty years before.
Returning to the ship, tired and hot, I couldn’t help but be a bit overwhelmed with nostalgia. But, likewise, I was encouraged to know that these beautiful people seem to be thriving and finding their own special place in today’s world. I feel so lucky to have been able to visit such a special place…I would like to come back sometime!
March 8-9, 2007
Having heard how beautiful Vietnam was, I was anxious to see it first hand and was thus pleased when I saw two stops on our itinerary. I never realized that visiting here would be so emotional and would bring back so many memories of the late 60’s and 70’s. For the two days that I spent in this exciting country I couldn’t help but think of the many anxious moments I spent years ago wondering if I would be sent here to fight what seemed then…and now…to be an unnecessary war.
Our first stop was Na Trang, a lovely fishing and beach village of some 300,000 people. Walking along the seven kilometers of beautiful park that borders the protected sandy beaches, I thought of my friend Louis Valente who was here during the war. I wondered if he had had a chance to enjoy those beautiful beaches. Did the big hustle-bustle boulevard exist when he was here? Did he enjoy some of the same wonderful food I did? As I climbed the 180 steps to the tall white Buddha that over looks the city at the Long Son Pagoda I pictured our soldiers that were here before me, wondering what prayers they offered at the top. Walking across the busy Ha Ra Bridge I marveled at the fisherman that skillfully maneuvered the large round wicker basket boats that they use to get from shore to their anchored colorful fishing boats. I enjoyed the guide explaining that the boats, painted deep royal blue to match the sky with a touch of red for luck. At the Po Nagar Cham Towers, built between the 7th and 12th century I watched Vietnamese Buddhists praying and making offerings including a wedding party with fifty or so women….all fifty of them…all dressed in white silks pants covered with the traditional long over dress…in this case a vivid, almost blinding bright chartreuse green. I have never really liked that particular color and seeing it en masse at this ancient temple did nothing to change my mind. Soon we found ourselves in a small home where skillful women worked in tandem to weave straw mats that they use as sleeping mats. This beautifully crafted weaving is back-breaking and apparently they are only able to weave three such mats a day and sell them for the equivalent of seven dollars a mat. Equally impressive was a visit to an embroidery studio where the ancient art of creating detailed stitching continues. These double-sided pictorials are created with a thread so fine that it is difficult to see and comes in probably 10 values of the same color. How those women were able to thread their needles is beyond me.
Sailing overnight, the next day the shipped docked at Phu My (pronounced Foo May). Leaving early, via air-conditioned bus (it was 95 degrees with 85% humidity) to travel some two hours to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon and still commonly called by that name) I was impressed with the non-stop hustle and bustle of the business. There were thousands of small shacks jammed in beside one another on both sides of the road. Next to a mechanic shop would be a bridal shop (more of the bright chartreuse and some electric hot pink!) next to a Mom and Pop café next to a nursery with intricately shaped topiaries. It was difficult to know when we left one small city and entered another. But with each mile the traffic slightly increased as did the honking and beeping and dodging and weaving in and out of traffic. I learned early on in the trip to look to the sides of the bus and never look forward because my heart would never have stood seeing the thousands of near misses with traffic. It seems that Saigon has some 9 million people….9 million! And, 4 million scooters….all 4 million on the road at once! What a scene! Chaos! That said, after more than 10 hours on the road, we never saw a single accident…so they obviously have some method to that madness. If so many scooters isn’t memorable enough, I will never forget the women on the scooters. It seems that is has become very fashionable for the young Vietnamese women to be as pale skinned as possible...a task not easily accomplished for these dark-skinned people in a part of the world with bright tanning sun. So, how do they accomplish this feat?. They cover up! From head to toe these poor women are bedecked in all manner of garb to keep the sun off. Most have a “coolie” hat with their faces covered in a quilted face mask that Velcros to the back of the head. A scarf tied around the neck protects any spots that might be exposed. Long sleeve shirts are worn over elbow length gloves. Their spiky stilettos are worn over cotton socks. Not an inch of skin is visible…and remember…its 95+ degrees. What we do for vanity? When our guide was asked how he, a single man of 30something, ever saw these women to decide how beautiful they are….with a twinkle in his eye he diplomatically answered that all Vietnamese women are beautiful and to prove it he goes out at night…..once the sun goes down, all that garb comes off!
Saigon is a very busy and lively city. Members of our group said that they would have never recognized Saigon as the same city they had seen five years before. There are modern high-rises going up everywhere. Parks abound. Shops are full and busy. The city pulsates with a life that is very encouraging. Although poverty still exists there seems to be energy to the city that says…Watch out! Here we come!
We passed by the historic buildings such as the Hotel D’Ville, the former city hall. We saw the old Rex Hotel and the Notre Dame Cathedral. We drove past the site of the former US Embassy where we remembered seeing the helicopters air-lifting so many as the city fell. (The original building was destroyed and the US has built a new complex to house the US Consulate….the Embassy, of course, is in Hanoi, the capital city.) We visited the Thien Hau Temple, dedicated to the Goddess Protector of Sailors which dates from the 18th century and where hanging from wires in the ceiling was a grid of spiraled incense. The pattern, the color, the smells…..what a place! My travel group, the Virtuosi Group, arranged for a memorable tour of the former Presidential Palace, now known as Unification Hall. This is the site where in 1975 the tank burst through the gates and South Vietnam surrendered unconditionally to the North. Greeted by a marching band, dancing children dressed in traditional dress, and trays of freshly harvested coconuts we were treated as royalty. After a tour off this impressive building we soon found ourselves in the former conference room where we enjoyed a multi-course luncheon complete with a floor show of traditional music and costume. I couldn’t help but ponder what dignitaries had been in the same room thirty years before.
Returning to the ship, tired and hot, I couldn’t help but be a bit overwhelmed with nostalgia. But, likewise, I was encouraged to know that these beautiful people seem to be thriving and finding their own special place in today’s world. I feel so lucky to have been able to visit such a special place…I would like to come back sometime!
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