Vietnam: Justified lethargy tale

Postcard from Vietnam: "Smiling back"

Map of the trip (click to enlarge)

Once again, the trip in retrospective; looking back with the intention of finding out and give meaning to what we have been living as a couple, as travelers and as part of this journey that creates bonds, emotions and consequently a constant flicker in our states of mind.From an island in the Philippines I am looking back to Vietnam. In my heart awakens a slight embarrassment of sharing the apathy and disillusionment that embraced us during our stay there. It may seem inconsiderate not describe a majestic and exciting adventure; instead our stay in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is summarized in a quiet and somewhat boring routine.

Still nature (image by Juan Carlos)

Generally we preferred rather be stucked in our cheap hotel small room instead of walking down the street parading our nationality in the river of tourists from all over the world. (And as an aside comment: we both keep in constant confrontation with the outrageous tourist, grotesque and invasive that we see in many cities and yes, especially me, I am ashamed to mention it when we go on pilgrimage from country to country, but I keep on thinking that we are of a different type, rather I prefer to see us like a nomadic spirits). However our best fun moments were the card “solitaire” tournaments, the National Geographic documentaries and the preparation for our work on our next destination (the Philippines). We ate breakfast always in two places, one day noodles the other eggs and rice; at noon local everyday menu and for dinner we ate baguettes with vegetables. Some days we went out to get some beer and peanuts, but rarely outside the tourist district where we were staying; and so we spent a fortnight in lethargy and routine that at moments felt heavy and that put questions to our doings. In fact we had no courage to explore and when we did it, it was perhaps the commitment to be in a new country, different and interesting (among several things for having been touched deeply by a continue ideological struggle between themselves and against others). Ok, we suddenly leaned out to museums, we walked through some parks and in fact the day that we had more courage, rented a motorcycle and went through the outskirts of the city looking for different scenarios, and in all of them we saw the same narrow houses, families living in small spaces, the seizure of the streets by the stalls and thousands, actually millions of motorcycles that created rivers that sometimes even overflowed the corners of the streets, polluting the city air with smog and noise.

Rivers of motorbikes (image by Juan Carlos)

Now that I look back I understand that we were tired, now I know that to travel so much at one time creates a kind of lethargy, a weariness of seeing and learning, and of being impressed. I find understandable the quest for comfortable routine and minimal effort, to get in a Standby and regain strength, to pause and collect eagerness in order to get back on track ready to get ourselves soaked up in another culture ... The Philippines!, But as they say in a famous Mexican TV ad ... "that is another story" (or blog input, to use correct terms) to be told in due time.