Vietnam- The end of a great journey

The last two days of being in Vietnam were some of my most memorable. On Thursday we travelled to Ha Long Bay where we had lunch on a boat and travelled around a small bay area scattered with huge jagged rock mountains protruding from the water. Some of the islands had caves and coves that we later got to explore and the vegetation on the little islands was beautiful. We docked the big lunch boat and all got to take smaller kayaks to explore other parts of the bay. A few of my friend and I found this little cove and wanted to explore the water. Little did we know, when we stepped out of the boat, the mug was about a foot deep and full of old barnacles! It was pretty gross, but I then understood why people aren’t allowed to go swimming in the water there. After the boat excursion and the intense scrubbing off all the mud that was caked on our bodies, we had a tour of the caves nearby. It was a pretty touristy area, more than the other boat tours, as the others were located in more remote locations. After the tour, we drove about 30 minutes back towards Hanoi and stopped at a Pearl farm, where they farmed and created the most beautiful pearls I have ever seen and turned them into jewelry. It was an interesting process of oyster tissue extraction and enzyme mixing, and when they wrapped the enzyme-infused tissue around a perfectly round piece of oyster shell, it created perfectly round pearls. They were all real, they just had a little help keeping their perfect shape. After the long 4-hour bus ride home, we enjoyed our last host night with our favorite host family. They really made our trip enjoyable and culturally rich. I hope that if they ever visit America again, or if I ever visit Vietnam again, we will be able to meet again.

The next day we packed up our luggage and headed to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. This is a big building where the dead and embalmed Communist Leader Ho Chi Minh is kept. Although his body was not opened for viewing that day, we were able to walk around his estate and see the house where he used to live and a few gardens and ponds he had built for his pleasure. The atmosphere of the grounds was very tense. When we tried to take pictures of our choir with our college flag/banner, we were whistled at and told immediately to put the flag away. We weren't allowed to lean over the side of the pond too far to see the fish, and we got whistled at for folding our arms or taking pictures of certain things. It was a very bizarre experience, but even worse was the Ho Chi Minh museum. It was filled with old papers and artifacts from Ho Chi Minh's reign and childhood, but also a great deal of unusually eclectic art. Strange abstract art seemed to fill a majority of the museum, perhaps because of lack of actual artifacts to fill it? Whatever the reason, the museum was very hard to follow and understand, and I sped through it fast. The only floor open to the public was the third floor, and the other two floors were completely blocked off.

Although tensions were high and the tour was a bit unsettling, I got the feeling that Ho Chi Minh was actually a great leader, and that the people of Vietnam respected, and still do respect him as a wise and peaceful man. Unlike many Communist leaders, I think he genuinely wanted what was best for his country and his people. After that tour, we got some free time in the city one last time. I had my last bowl of Pho at the sketchiest join on the block, and still after all the crazy things I ate, I never once got sick on my trip. I was so scared at the beginning, and loaded up on so many probiotics just to be safe! I guess they paid off! We then headed to the Vietnam National Academy of Music where we had a beautiful concert alongside another Vietnamese University CHoir. The space had beautiful acoustics and we were very lucky to have gotten the opportunity to sing there. It was a very polished and well-blended concert if I do say so myself. Many of our host families were able to come to the concert as well, and this is where we said our last goodbyes and received little cards from our host sisters. I miss them dearly. During our last night we all stayed in hotel rooms because our flight was very early the next morning, we used the time we had that night to go out and explore the city one last time. It proved to be a great time with friends and was an excellent last hurrah.

I miss Vietnam a lot. It was such a welcoming and vibrant country, that virtually everyone and anyone would love. The country has something to offer for everyone, whether you are looking for great food, or sightseeing or shopping, or history, Vietnam has it all. I encourage anyone reading to seriously consider Vietnam as a travel destination one day, for everyone should get to experience what it has to offer.

-ECM