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If you are old enough, the idea of vacationing in Vietnam is simply inconceivable. It would be like taking a fun-filled trip to Afghanistan or Iraq today. But, times have changed. Most of the present population in Vietnam was born after the war. They may have heard stories about the war from their parents and grandparents, but tourists -- and Americans -- are welcomed with open arms.
So, I found myself in the Mekong Delta.
That destination stirs up all kinds of memories from news stories about the war. Everyone knows it was a hotbed for war stories. And, as I walked through the jungle trail in the delta, I knew my experience was nothing like what anyone once faced during the Vietnam War. I walked on an elevated surface, high above the muck and mire of a swamp that soldiers of both sides faced. I knew right away that if I had been old enough to go to Vietnam during the war, I most likely would not have survived the delta and its jungle.
I try to avoid tours whenever possible, and it is usually possible. However, I took a tour of the Mekong Delta. It made it so much easier to see so many things I could not have managed on my own, with or without fifteen other foreigners. I enjoyed a boat trip around the Mekong River. We stopped at rice terraces to witness some really hot and hard work. There was that jungle trek, some souvenir shops, and one very unusual snake market. There were live snakes, bottled snakes in some kind of alcohol and one man "fished" through a container of what hopefully was dead snakes. I wasn't completely certain they were all dead and I would never put my hand in there under any circumstances. What can you do with a dead snake? Of course, what can you do with a live snake either?
So, I found myself in the Mekong Delta.
That destination stirs up all kinds of memories from news stories about the war. Everyone knows it was a hotbed for war stories. And, as I walked through the jungle trail in the delta, I knew my experience was nothing like what anyone once faced during the Vietnam War. I walked on an elevated surface, high above the muck and mire of a swamp that soldiers of both sides faced. I knew right away that if I had been old enough to go to Vietnam during the war, I most likely would not have survived the delta and its jungle.
I try to avoid tours whenever possible, and it is usually possible. However, I took a tour of the Mekong Delta. It made it so much easier to see so many things I could not have managed on my own, with or without fifteen other foreigners. I enjoyed a boat trip around the Mekong River. We stopped at rice terraces to witness some really hot and hard work. There was that jungle trek, some souvenir shops, and one very unusual snake market. There were live snakes, bottled snakes in some kind of alcohol and one man "fished" through a container of what hopefully was dead snakes. I wasn't completely certain they were all dead and I would never put my hand in there under any circumstances. What can you do with a dead snake? Of course, what can you do with a live snake either?
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Rice fields, snake alcohol and a moment of peace on the Mekong River.
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As always, the best part of any visit to any country is not the markets, or tours, or the dead snakes you might come upon. It is always the people. The Vietnamese people were so gracious and friendly everywhere I went. It didn't matter if they were bicycle taxi drivers, waiters, rice field laborers, snake dealers, merchants, neighbors on the porch or this very friendly old Buddhist who I passed by in the marketplace. Everyone I met made me very welcome in their country.
My most unusual experience in Vietnam was probably at the Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnels, more than 100 miles of them, were built by the communists so they could travel and live completely hidden underground. My guide through a portion of the tunnels was the son of a Viet Cong soldier. Yes, the world had changed.
As always, the best part of any visit to any country is not the markets, or tours, or the dead snakes you might come upon. It is always the people. The Vietnamese people were so gracious and friendly everywhere I went. It didn't matter if they were bicycle taxi drivers, waiters, rice field laborers, snake dealers, merchants, neighbors on the porch or this very friendly old Buddhist who I passed by in the marketplace. Everyone I met made me very welcome in their country.
My most unusual experience in Vietnam was probably at the Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnels, more than 100 miles of them, were built by the communists so they could travel and live completely hidden underground. My guide through a portion of the tunnels was the son of a Viet Cong soldier. Yes, the world had changed.
Some things never change no matter where I travel. If it is hot, I am a sweltering, wet mess worse than anyone else. It was no different at the Cu Chi tunnels. I was absolutely and completely drenched. But somehow, my guide didn't have a drop of perspiration on him.
It just wasn't fair.