I'm on a working vacation in Vietnam
Cellphone time by Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi
DA NANG, VIETNAM – As usual, I have waited more than a week to write something about my latest journey. Seems to be a habit of mine.
This particular trip has turned into a working vacation, which though fairly lucrative, has cut into my free time somewhat.
A few days before I was going to leave Zhengzhou, a former colleague from Jishou University asked if I could proofread and edit a translation they had prepared of a book by a Chinese author. (I cannot reveal who the author is, or the title of the book.) She asked if I could finish it in five days, and I had to explain I was leaving in three for Hong Kong and then Vietnam. So, we agreed on a five-day extension.
It was 198 pages long.
Everything was going along swimmingly, until I caught a nasty head cold in Hanoi, which rendered me useless for two days. But I managed to process the book by the agreed deadline, and collected the other half of my fees.
Then they offered me another job – 191 pages this time, but by the same author. What the hell, I figured. Nothing like earning money to defray the cost of travel. I know people who do this kind of thing for a living.
So, that’s what I’ve been doing: dividing my time between proofing two long books and being The World Traveler™.
To be honest, this trip I have not been consumed with the urge to see as many sights as possible. In Japan I visited five cities in almost four weeks, and in Malaysia, as many in the same amount of time. Before taking off on this trip, I had already decided to make it shorter, largely because (at the time) my travel funds were rather modest, and because I wanted to be less rushed.
Unlike the earlier trips, I have played this one more by ear. I originally had planned to stay a week in Hanoi, but since I lost two days from the head cold, I extended my stay, and decided to spend the remaining time in Da Nang.
Would Ho Chi Minh have driven a Rolls-Royce?
Halong Bay was an option, but one of the other guests at my Airbnb in Hanoi’s Old Quarter told me the weather was not very hospitable for open-boat travel. So, I figured a place further south might be a bit warmer. I picked Da Nang because I wanted to be near the ocean, even it was too chilly to swim in it.
Yeah, it’s been chilly here in the northern half of Vietnam. Today it reached 70°F, but mostly it was in the 50s at night or 60s in the day in Hanoi. Still, it’s better than the snow I left behind in Henan Province.
I’ll be in Da Nang till Sunday, then it’s back to Hanoi and Hong Kong. Chinese New Year begins on the 16th, and I have not quite worked out where I will be yet. Probably somewhere in China, but we’ll see.
I’ll go into more details later, but Vietnam is both very affordable and very inviting. There are westerners everywhere, not to mention the busloads of Chinese, Korean and Japanese tourists. Like China, the ostensibly communist nation of Vietnam has embraced capitalism wholeheartedly. I even came across a Rolls-Royce dealership in Hanoi! But prices so far are pennies on the dollar. Had I realized how inexpensive everything is, I would have come earlier than I did.
Wow. Wonderful place and picture are also very good quality.
Thank you very much.
I have a question about Vietnam, I always wanted to go but I'm scared about the food. Is it true they eat dogs and other animals there? I just don't think I could handle seeing anything like that.. :( The weahter seems amazing though!
Some people in Vietnam, China and elsewhere in Asia do eat dog, but they generally tell you if they are serving it to you. IOW you can't accidentally eat dog meat. Living in China, I have not eaten dog -- my daughter would kill me -- but I have eaten frog, turtle, eel, bee larvae, some kind of caterpillar, various internal organs of cows and pigs, as well as more "normal" fare. Asian cooking is more into serving veggies and less about huge amounts of meat, so as long as you ask what's in the dish, you'll be OK.
Also, there are Muslims in Asia, so there are halal restaurants. Just look for restaurants with Arabic script on the sign somewhere. They would not serve dog.
It is a great pleasure to read your blog. It reminds me of the travelling days with my late husband, he also said the similar words: The food price in China is so cheap.
I like the word "ostensibly" so much. True, it is ostensibly communist nation. Only by experiencing such a huge pain, I understand how I was "cheated" by my own nation and culture.
I believe that it is very difficult to change or accept another kind of culture. In Han nationality's culture system, there's a long history to eat dog. Maybe in western culture, it is a sin.
The world is so big, like a labyrinth.
But it is absolutely wonderful for people to experience the different cultures or religions.
I agree. I will not eat dog myself, but I can't stop others from doing so if it is a part of their culture. But I see a growing number of people in China rejecting dog meat and the cruel treatment of dog destined to be slaughtered for food. Perhaps in several more decades, Chinese people will stop eating dog altogether.