Vietnam
Vietnam was the only place on my list that I had a few reservations about going to see. Since my father was drafted into the Veitnam War in the 60’s I’ve had my own preconceived notions about how I was going to interpret this country, but I tried hard to keep an open mind.
I started my travels to Vietnam in Ho Chi Mehn City, formally Saigon. The city itself was an interesting balance of a third world country and metropolis. On one corner you would have heaps of poor people with food stands selling fruit or noodles for less than a dollar, and on the next corner there would be a huge shopping mall hosting anything from Guess to Gucci. It was a little ironic. The main form of transport, like most of South East Asia, is scooter…and they are everywhere going in every direction. I took my chances walking since most of the historical points of interest to see were within walking distance of the other, which led me to the war museum.
I have to say the hardest place to see for me was the war museum. Knowing that my dad was forced into taking place in the Vietnam War to help this country, the museum was incredibly negative to the American and Australian soldiers. It was a little hard to handle, especially since their main form of currency was the US dollar…which I also found a little ironic. After spending 3 days in Ho Chi Mehn it was time for a beach vacation, so I made my way north to Na Trang.
Once I stepped off the plane in Na Trang, I felt like I had left Vietnam and had been transported to Little Russia. Almost every person there was Caucasian and most spoke Russian or English, it was definitely a different atmosphere from Ho Chi Mehn…and the beach was awesome! I ended up going scuba diving and meeting up with another American girl who was traveling and all of her friends she had met along the way. Na Trang ended up being a much need beach getaway and I can see why the Russians have made it their vacation hot spot as well.
Overall Vietnam was an interesting culture and country, and I’m glad I made it there.
