Viet Nam!

By the time we arrived to Viet Nam, I was back in the swing of things: backpacks, overnight buses and hostels. I had such a fantastic time in this country. Viet Nam Rocks! I met some really special people, who helped shape my ideas about communism, the Viet Nam war and refugees -- like no history book ever has. Viet Nam definitely isn't all North Face knock off's, "crack coffee" and cheap men's suits -- although there is alot of that. The people have a rich history and (from what I saw on the back of a motorbike) the countryside is really beautiful. (Crack Coffee was a substance unto itself. THICK, SWEET condensed milk is added to rich, dark coffee as part of the normal routine. It completely was addictive to some, but I couldn't drink it. We coined it "crack coffee" on the ship for those who loved the sweet taste & drank their weight in it when we were there.)

We docked in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. (After the war was over and the Northern communist troops took over Saigon, they declared the new name.) Many of the older Vietnamese from the South still refer to their home as Saigon - political correctness aside.


I went with a group of girls to Dalat, a small heavily French influenced village up in the mountains. We hoped to find bakeries and wine galore, but unfortunately didn't find much of either. Instead, we found a wonderful place to stay with glorious breakfast spreads each morning (my favorite!) and the original group of biker-guides in the city. The day spent on the back of these mens' bikes was a highlight for me.

Ah, Pho...one of the best meals I had all voyage. Completely unexpected.

Crazy Vietnamese rice stalls.

I heart markets!

I fortunately straddled up behind the leader of the group. His English was impeccable and by the end of the day, we were the best of friends. He had me laughing my head off while zooming through the beautiful countryside. His commentary on communism - from the inside - taught me so much. We had incredibly complex conversations through helmets about war and religion, peace and Americans. It was an amazing day!

Discards of removing silk from cocoons.

He took us to a silk factory where I was mesmerized with the process of moth to roll of silk . Lines of women work long hours each day in this extremely labor intensive process. (more on this later!) We stopped at coffee plantations, went on hikes, had dinner as a group at a local restaurant and visited a small, indigenous village down a side road. All of it was local, real and authentic. Viet Nam was a highlight for most; great place!

However, a low point in this port was that we lost a student here. It was a student on the ship who was found dead in his cabin. The grieving and mourning throughout the community aboard was something unlike anything I'd ever witnessed in such mass. I am accustomed to death (through working with many deaths through my job) but many of these students were not. It was certainly a defining moment for all of us aboard.

We had a beautiful ceremony the week after, completed with a maritime tradition of casting flowers into the sea. None of the pictures or videos are appropriate to post online...but, all to say, it was something special and I'll never forget any of it.