Reflections

With 3 weeks between me and my return from Indochina, I thought it would be a good time for reflection. Everyone has asked me 'how was it,' 'what was your favorite part,' and those are really difficult questions to answer because it was wonderful, but not in a typical vacation sort of way.

These are the things I know for sure:

I am really glad I went and in fact, I feel lucky to have had the opportunity.

I learned a lot about a part of the world where I obviously knew nothing.

My group was a lot of fun. Would I do a group trip again? I am not sure because I think the likelihood that I would get a group like this again is very very small. This was confirmed by Sue, who said she'd never had a group like this. The kids were super fun and the adults were all very friendly and inclusive. They were all extremely well travelled, which is why I think there were no idiots. Many of them has done several trips to South America and I thought; I've never even been there...

Having someone with you all of the time to take care of the 'stuff' like airline tickets, baggage, tips, communication, transportation is really awesome. I wouldn't want to do that on every trip, because some of that is half the fun - even (especially) when it goes horribly wrong. Sue was incredible, always ready with a story to make you laugh, interesting insights, a bag of candy and toilet paper.

I didn't get any down time on the trip and at first, I found this difficult, but in the end I wouldn't have missed any of it, so I guess I will just have to schedule some weekends to stay in my pajamas - I think that's currently pencilled in for late February.

This part of the world is fairly magical and complicated. There is a strong sense of tradition, but it felt like they were always ready to bolt something new on. They are also firmly looking to the future, and in both Vietnam and Cambodia, you could feel them planning a way for forward for the next generation.

If I had to pick a favorite, I would guess I'd say Halong Bay. Even though I got no sleep on this part of the trip; the place was completely magical and unique. Every which way you looked was a different way of seeing the bay. It was always hazy on the trip, but at Halong bay this just added to the magic.

Da Nang was a strange stop in that we we're only there for a day and we really seemed to be filling time; however, it was a stark change from the north and I got a great story from my dad about stopping here at a deserted airbase and walking through a silent hanger to find a lady selling hot dogs. I could almost hear his footsteps going through the hanger while wondering what 'how did I get here?' (to be sang Talking Heads style).

The company I went with does a lot of tours this time of year and we saw several groups on the same adventure. There was a large family (20+) - the Cohens - where grandma had planned and bought the trip; many hadn't seen each other for over a year and they were always laughing. There was a couple on a private tour that was with us all the way. He has been a marine in Vietnam, and it was clearly a very special trip for him. They had decided against the group trip for all the reasons in your head for not going with a group, and I think they were a bit disappointed that they weren't with us all the time.

The trip was a funny time vortex in that it felt like we were there forever and like it went by in a blink. Overall, it was wonderful and very very very special.