Young Eyes for an Old World

I hate Vietnamese food. The taste of Asia just doesn’t do it for me. I’m always worried I am eating the cousin of the dirty feline walking through the restaurant or that I might accidently be fed seafood – that would be an unfavourable circumstance to say the least. There is nothing more appealing to an unfit female like myself than a toasty 40 degree day in which my feet blister, I sweat from every known (and unknown) pore and spend most of my day over a scungy toilet throwing up what seems like years worth of food, courtesy of last night’s fish. The Vietnamese markets, on most days, are like being in a sauna – a sauna in which you are swamped by people (whose idea of personal space is “get as close as humanly possible”) who tug and pull at you from every which direction. A sauna where mothers bring to you their limp babies begging for money to “save [their] sick child” who peeps a glance through his sealed “sick” eyes and flash his teeth through his still “sick” mouth. A sauna where little Vietnamese children tug at your blonde hair and their mothers stroke your pale skin. No, there really is nothing more appealing than being worn so far down that the constant beeping from the mass of bikes outside is melding into a soothing tune. Sarcasm? Maybe to some, never to me.
Vietnam – when we think of Vietnam we think of war, poverty, and heat. However, this is not what the land of the scooter is all about.
No, Vietnam is incredible – to say the least. The culture shock is indescribable. Coming from Australia where people stop for pedestrians and bartering is unheard of, Vietnam is baffling.
A country that has been stricken by war and poverty since the 60’s, it is amazing to see the locals so happy, so strong, so high in spirits. It isn’t surprising however, that the tourism industry has almost come to a complete halt. When we visit places like Thailand, India or China, we are overwhelmed with the undeniable fact that almost every single person has been westernized in some way or another. Everyone can speak English. Everywhere has McDonalds or Burger King – Vietnam has not a lot of that. It is a richly diverse cultural country where you can be sure to get the real Vietnam experience. Eating burgers in Vietnam is almost unheard of – street food, fresh, honest, flavoursome food is what you can expect. Ho Chi Minh City, for example, is a city that is based around its authenticity.

There are plenty of ways to see Vietnam – travel on the train from Ho Chi Minh to SaPa is a popular option to see the landscape. Local travel can include scooters, tuk tuks, bicycles or tour buses.
Vietnam is one of the very few honest countries left in this westernized world and it is an experience that I, and many others, will never forget in their lifetime.