Christmas in Vietnam
A few days ago we arrived in Hoi An, a delightful small colonial town in central Vietnam at a good time for two events: the full moon of Dec. 23, and Christmas.
Each full moon night the street lights in the old part of Hoi An are switched off and the town is lit only by Chinese lanterns that hang from restaurants, shops and houses. There is also live traditional music and entertainment, and candles sent adrift down the river complete the ambience. It’s a lovely time to stroll around town and we really enjoyed it.
Hoi An isn’t as ‘into’ Christmas as Ho Chi Minh City is (but I suspect in Ho Chi Minh, the economic capital of Vietnam, Christmas is more about capitalism than Christianity; seeing Christmas decorations there reminded me of seeing them in the shopping malls of conservative Muslim Qatar), but Hoi An has probably the best food in the country, and that was good enough for me. We had a 7-course seafood feast for Christmas lunch – White Rose (shrimp wrapped in a type of rice paper), Fried Wantons, Shrimp Spring Rolls, Calamari Fried Noodles, Sweet and Sour Shrimp, Grilled Fish in Banana Leaves, and Fruit Salad for desert, all topped off by a couple of fruit cocktails … and it only cost us US$12.50 for the lot. Since we’ve had Christmases in places like Yemen and Burma before, this was actually quite a good one by our recent standards.
Yesterday we left Hoi An after four days and are now a little further north in Hue, famous for its 19th century imperial city and emperors’ tombs. The city is not nearly as nice as Hoi An because it’s much bigger and mostly devoid of French colonial architecture, but the sites have been interesting enough – today we cycled about 30km in our explorations of the tombs outside the city.
Tonight we’re taking the bus to the capital Hanoi, and we’ll hopefully be able to explore north Vietnam for the next 10 days or so.
Tags: Asia, Christmas, full moon, Hoi An, Hue, Southeast Asia, Travel, Vietnam
Nick
What is it exactly you learn from going to all these places?nrnrDo you feel you now have a worthwhile, genuine insight into these people’s thought processes, religious beliefs, outlook on the region, ethnic history?nrnrOr do you just look at the pretty temples and superficially compare them? Eat the different foods and compare them? Listen to the different languages you can’t understand and compare them?nrnrWhat do you think about when you watch the locals doing the sort of work you’ll never have to do, living in a place they’ll never have an opportunity to leave and that you’ll be gone from soon? What do you think they think about when they see you? nrnrWhat did you learn when you sought the “real” Laos of the east? What do you feel you know of the “real” Laos?nrnrI’m genuinely interested to know.
Thanks for your comment. To answer your questions:
>> What is it exactly you learn from going to all these places?
I learn a little about what each country is like, what the people are like, what they do on a daily basis, what food they eat etc. I don’t profess to learn anything close to all there is to learn about any place I visit, but I think I can say that I know more about, say, Laos, than someone who has never been to Laos.
>> Do you feel you now have a worthwhile, genuine insight into these people’s thought processes, religious beliefs, outlook on the region, ethnic history?
Sometimes, but not always. These are complex issues you bring up, and often you don’t get the chance to talk to people this deeply. I like to find out as much as I can about the different religions of the places I go to, because I find religion interesting. Outlook on the region is often not very relevant to the people you describe below who will never have the opportunity to leave and for whom regional issues don’t impact. Thought processes is a tough one – I had conversations with many people in India over a four-month period and felt at the end as thought I had very little insight into Indian thought processes because I felt they were so different from my own.
>> Or do you just look at the pretty temples and superficially compare them? Eat the different foods and compare them? Listen to the different languages you can’t understand and compare them?
I don’t see the problem with comparison. I like to visit temples (especially old ones) to see what man was capable of doing many years ago without the machinery and equipment we have today. I find it impressive. Why do you think people visit, say, the Pyramids of Giza? Because it’s awesome to think about why and how they were built 4500 years ago. And then if you see a pyramid at, say, Chichen Itza, it’s natural to compare them. What’s wrong with that?
As for food, have you honestly never ever compared food in your life? Never considered whether you like chicken more than beef, or rice more than noodles etc? I like Indian food more than Indonesian food. What’s wrong with that?
For languages, no, I don’t really compare languages I don’t understand because there’s not much basis for comparison. I speak Spanish and Portuguese at a reasonable level and Italian and Chinese Mandarin at a beginner’s level. You can’t learn the language of every country you go to.
>> What do you think about when you watch the locals doing the sort of work you’ll never have to do, living in a place they’ll never have an opportunity to leave and that you’ll be gone from soon?
I feel sorry for them, and fortunate for myself, that I happened to be born into the first world and them into the third world. I don’t feel good about inequality in the world, but I don’t think that’s a reason not to visit a poor country.
>> What do you think they think about when they see you?
Many probably resent me for being wealthier than them, I understand that. Others see foreigners as potential customers to help them make more money and improve their lives. I’m sure the Vietnamese child who we sponsored to go to school for a year is probably quite happy to see us.
>> What did you learn when you sought the “real” Laos of the east? What do you feel you know of the “real” Laos?
When I referred to ‘real’ Laos I meant a Laos unlike Vang Vieng, where foreigners outnumber locals and virtually every single building in town is a guesthouse, cafe, travel agency etc. I wanted to see ordinary Lao people doing ordinary things unconnected with tourism, and I did at markets, villages etc in the east. So I learned a little more about what daily life is like for these people.
Travel doesn’t always have to be about learning. I’m actually sometimes told by my friends/family that I lean too much towards the ‘learning’ or historical or culture aspects of travel instead of the relaxing, ‘fun’ things like beaches. I believe I’m a far more culturally aware traveller than most, especially here in Southeast Asia.
I travel because I enjoy visiting different types of places and observing what life is like there, I enjoy seeing historic places like Angkor because they’re spectacular sights (why wouldn’t you want to see them), I enjoy seeing natural beauty like Halong Bay because it gives me pleasure to see such beautiful places. Along the way I try to learn what I can, but mostly I just enjoy having the opportunity to see, do and experience amazing things on a regular basis.
Fair answers.
As you might have picked up, I’m a little cynical about the idea of being a tourist in a poor country.