on Vietnam

I spent just seven days in Vietnam, just enough time to form some initial thoughts. I don't think I have ever heard anyone say Vietnam is not amazing; it seems to always be on people's favorite places/dream vacations lists. I found the (north) country beautiful, fascinating, cheap and a little out of my comfort zone. In short, an excellent place for a holiday. But rather than extol its virtues I am going to attempt to examine why it is praised more carefully, as there are certain aspects of Vietnam that go unmentioned by any Lonely Planet or whatever your guidebook of choice might be.

Vietnam is a beautiful country, although Hanoi is FAR from a beautiful city. A fascinating one, although not a particularly diverting one. It is also boiling hot in August and lacks any form of efficient transport. Even walking the crowded streets is quite an adventure. But the beauty of Vietnam- I have been trying to carefully consider this. Vietnam has what I can perhaps coin as "accessible beauty". Much of Hanoi's tourist revenue seems to be based around getting you out of Hanoi. A Ha Long Bay trip is a must- just three hours away by bus, and you can choose one day, two day, or three day trips to give one example. There are countless booking agencies that arrange an early morning hotel pickup for everything from adventure tourism to observing ethnic minorities in their natural environment. So being a relatively small country dependent on tourism for income, a traveller has a wealth of affordable options. People simply don't do Vietnam weekend breaks; we encountered more people visiting for closer to a month than our admittedly too short seven days.

So what? I am in danger of losing my point, if I have not digressed too far already. Vietnam is beautiful because it is affordable and available, but availability seems to be the key to the perception. One of the most beautiful countries I have visited is Slovakia, another is Korea. Neither of these countries has the tourist hordes of Vietnam. And the infrastructure in these two countries does not enable people to easily see the highlights. In fact, it can be damn difficult to visit mountains, valleys and other natural wonders from the capitals. Whereas Iceland, another rising tourism star, offers almost nothing in Reykjavik during the week save escapes from the "city" into the amazing and unique countryside. So Iceland worth visiting, Slovakia is notable for the fact that Bratislava is situated ideally between Vienna and Budapest so that one (Yank) could have breakfast in Vienna, lunch in Bratislava, and be in Budapest for dinner. Hardly a journey to soak in the natural wonders, yet sadly all too common with certain tourist sets. I guess a simple point- Vietnam may indeed be "beautiful", but so are so many other places; Vietnam is just easier.

And I mentioned hordes of tourists earlier. So the opportunity exists, whether alone or with others, to meet "like minded" people. More and more, I have come to abhor this phrase. Fun people, people who like you are traveling in a foreign country, and generally for the young this means a foreigner rather than a local, you can meet plenty of people. But if I say somewhat immodestly that I have had more opportunities to travel than most, I would put the number of "like minded" people I have encountered in these circumstances at around three. (I have considered the possibility that I'm so weird there just aren't that many people like me around, but quickly discarded that idea. Ludicrous.) But because you get on a boat to party, swim and see sights for three days with people who are on the boat for the same reasons, an artificial bond is created. So another feather in Vietnam's cap- it brings "like minded" foreigners together.

I do not mean to disparage Vietnam; I had a good time there and would like to return. But I think people reflect too little on what exactly they encounter in places like Vietnam- it is a shockingly different culture, up close and personal, but with a tremendous amount of personal safety and freedom. The poverty of Vietnam, which I have neglected to mention, is there to see, not experience. Perhaps at long last this is the crux of my blog- Vietnam is a country to see and enjoy, not experience. Is it such a bad thing to see, to photograph, to enjoy in its cheapness without really considering the place itself? I don't really have an answer (I think more than anything else this is the recurring theme of my blog- I have no answers). I would say that only a discerning few (not including myself in this case) leave Vietnam more deeply aware of its cultures and traditions, of its politics and history. This is in spite of English being fairly readily spoken.

One thing I must note- Ha Long Bay is not simply beautiful, it is quite possibly the most beautiful place on earth I have visited. This is in spite of less than perfect (though far from bad) weather. So does seeing this wonder justify considering Vietnam to be "amazing", to be more incredible than a Slovakia or a Korea? Of course, I have no idea about that...