Vietnam - The Voss Dufour World Tour

Oh the people you will meet.

September 6, 2010 Voss No comments

Guest Blogger: Andrew Pazon is a former intern of mine starting back in 2006 at the New Hampshire Democratic Party and then staying with the team to the Hillary Campaign. I remember when I first interviewed him for his NHDP internship, mostly fascinated that he participates in Civil War Re-enactments. He’s come a long way since then. He just finished up at the Council on Foreign Relations and this October he heads to Pembroke College at Oxford University for a year. After a semester back in DC he’ll start a path to become a Navy Aviator, Flight Officer or Intelligence Officer. Because the UK is awesome he doesn’t start school ’til the 3rd of October – giving him a solid six weeks of down-time….or TRAVEL! Dare I say that James and I inspired him to take off to Vietnam and China. Below are his thoughts on his trip so far.

On a scale of one to ten I would personally rate myself a six or a seven for being a people person. I do enjoy meeting new people, talking with randoms on the street, and sharing the company of others. But my up bringing as an only child has certainly tainted my life’s outlook. I also enjoy my privacy, my alone time, my personal bubble, people listening to me. This can create a bit of an interesting experience while traveling to places where the adjective “personal” is as foreign as my skin tone and only child is means the time in between baby one and baby two.

The people of Vietnam are supremely kind and hospitable people, especially considering their past. As I prepared for my trip I got a few odd looks from people who remember Walter Cronkite reporting from the ‘Nam when I mentioned I was traveling here on holiday. When my parents were my age the country that I love was bombing these people “back into the stone age” and here I am today eating, drinking, laughing, and living life with these vibrant people. They seem to live in the now and have forgiven the past. I am thankful that they are such understanding people and now are such good hosts. Western hoteliers should really be recruiting from Vietnam as they go out of their way to make strangers feel at home.

Yet despite Vietnam’s gracious hospitality and supposed Communistical-ness I have felt the need to keep a keen eye for hidden motives.

I love friendly people and I love meeting people as I said. But many of the people I have meet in Vietnam have all seemed to want something from me. Mind you I have a target the size of Siberia painted on me as a white male traveling alone. Nevertheless most friendly people have wanted something from me besides friendship. Whether it be striking a conversation to get me to go on a motorbike ride, looking at their shop, or in a few cases poking around to see if I’m marryable.

I can understand the reasons for attempting to befriend me, trying to make a living in all. But it is in a way said. Because, as a solo traveler, I have to keep my protective barrier up and try insulate myself from any no bueno situations. Not that I’ve shied away from meeting people, I’m just leery of everyone until their true intentions come out into the open. I just wish I didn’t always have to have my guard up.

Nevertheless I’m not going to let this obfuscate my adventuring. I’ll continue to make friends where I may end up.

You can read more from Andrew at www.yankeesojourn.com.

Vietnam Guest post, Vietnam

Staying back and just watching.

April 1, 2010 Voss No comments

We were sitting in a Saigon local bar, which really means that we were sitting on tiny plastic stools on the sidewalk around a tiny plastic table, all of us no more than a foot off the ground. Cheap beer is the only drink option and these places are 98% frequented by men, but a great place to get off the typical tourist beat which is why our group tended to find ourselves there for either a pre or post dinner drink. These bars are usually only found lining neighbourhood streets away from the tourist areas.

There was a commotion behind me and a young Vietnamese mother of two (probably a 5 and 2 or 3 year old) was on her hands and knees bowing down to her husband (I assume) sobbing and crying out in Vietnamese. While looking at her it was clear to see she was distraught over something. Was it something she had done or had this man wronged her in some way? We could only assume. Either way it was quite the scene and in typical Asian fashion, everyone was watching but no one was getting involved. She continued her cries and screams and eventually this man grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her up. He said something to her, but again we can only assume. Their conversation continued back and forth until he slapped her.

Twice.

Across the face.

I can’t believe I am writing this, but it didn’t look to be very hard and more of a matter of him saving face as she was crying in front of his drinking buddies. But does that even matter?

She threw herself into the middle of the road and lay there. Meanwhile, her two kids just stood there, either on the guy’s leg or calling out for the woman. She continued her sobs and tears in the middle of the road. Then while still crying out, she got up and walked off into the traffic. I do need to note that while that sounds dramatic and suicidal, that’s not the case in Vietnam. Whenever you want to cross the road, however busy, you just step off the sidewalk and start to walk to the other side. Doesn’t matter how many motorcycles are bearing down on you. You walk at a normal pace and they work their way around you while you arrive on the other side unscathed. I kid you. It’s weird the first couple times you do it but then you quickly get used to the process.

The woman walked off into the night, leaving her children crying and eventually being scooped up by the woman who ran the bar. Within 5 or so minutes, she returned, grabbed her kids, put them onto the moto and rode off in the opposite direction. The man ran behind her yelling. All while the crowd watched. Including myself.

While it was incredibly hard to just sit there and watch (or try not to watch) this unfold, I didn’t think it was my place to get involved. While I believe that no one ever deserves to be hit, I do not know the story behind these two people. Add onto the fact that this was all conducted in Vietnamese, a language which I can’t even begin to understand. At one point, some Westerner guy got up and started yelling at the man, but he was pulled back by a bunch of Vietnamese, including the woman who owned the bar.

While it was a hard thing to do, I believe that sitting back and staying out of the situation was the right thing to do.