From Phnom Penh

In the words of Gordon Ramsay- Vietnam, DONE.



I know that time is supposed to fly when you're having fun, but the way it flew these past 3 weeks is suprising. I remember arriving in Hanoi and the fear of being driven from the airport at night by a maniac. And now i''m across the border in Cambodia. Ofcourse my 3 weeks have taught me that this initial driver was indeed a very normal Vietnamese driver. In fact I started to enjoy the way traffic works there. The single biggest joy of it is that road rage is practically non-existent. How many other countries can boast that? I couldn't understand why this was the case at first, given Vietnam's near constant state of war. Yet the masses of people riding motos around the country keep entirely calm whilst coming up against near miss after near miss. People cut people up, beep constantly and make u-turns whenever they feel like it, yet I only saw one small incident and almost no anger or aggrevation during my whole stay. The small incident was wen me and John (my roommate for the trip) hired a motorbike and headed into the countryside. A lady on a bike hit a lady on a bicycle and they squared up momentarily. It was resolved peacefully. BUT, quite interesting was the fact that they were both women. Some things never change, no matter how far you travel. And so whilst I never thought I'd say this, I will miss Vietnamese traffic, or at least the way traffic there works.



In terms of the food, this also got better throughout the trip. Travelling with others always requires being flexible, and with this in mind the food aspect of Vietnam was never going to be the focus. I did eat some great stuff though, and overall enjoyed the meals there. The most exotic of all the stuff I ate was a deep fried scorpion claw. The taste was ok, but the texture was horrible- crunchy and difficult to swallow. The most exotic drink was snake wine (which tasted like whisky). The best pho was in Saigon, which I had with the best spring rolls, steaming hot, crispy and light, and wrapped in lettuce and Vietnamese Basil (I think), dipped in fish sauce.



I think the biggest thing that will stick with me from my trip to Vietnam though was unfortunately its history of war. The war with America comes to mind for most people, but I found it interesting learning about the way the Vietnamese people have resisted numerous threats over many years, each time making massive sacrifices. Against the Chinese, Mongols, French, Americans and Khmer. The desire to be a sovereign country was so strong, and it was tested immensely over so many wars and battles. Going to the war remnants museum in Saigon was tough. The pictures and exhibits there are so raw that it was hard not to get teary eyed. The worst ones weren't always the graphic ones, but the pictures that showed the faces of villagers moments before they were massacred. Seeing the pictures themselves only showed scared men and women. But reading how the photographer took their photo, turned to walk away and heard gunshots made those faces almost difficult to look at- the fear of iminent death and the helpless look of confusion caught in the eyes of the villagers. The Cu Chi tunnels was also fascinating. Wikipedia will do a better job describing this complex of underground tunnels, but I was in awe at the human determination to win back ones country. To live underground for years on end, and in the worst conditions, but at the same time cause maximum damage to an enemy that was immemsely advanced in almost every way just shows how much Vietnamese people wanted a unified country without foreign intervention. And it worked.



So all all, these past few weeks in Vietnam have been thoroughly enjoyable. The group I was travelling in was great, as was our tourguide. Vietnam is a country that is shown in so many war films, but going there and seeing it firsthand shows a side that is impossible to capture otherwise. To see the people and to hear them speak of their past. To understand their desire for freedom. And to see their immense sacrifice in fighting for that.

I'm now in Phnom Penh, on my own again. I can't wait for tomorow, wen i'll be heading off-road on a motorbike, just me and a guide. I'll be riding for 2 days, and will hopefully get a good glimpse of remote life in Cambodia, off the beaten track, and best of all, on 2 wheels.



Till next time...