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| A market in Hoi An, Vietnam |
I have a rule when it comes to traveling – never go to the
same place twice. With 195 countries in the world today, there’s a lot of
interesting places to explore and even though I’ve now been to 25 countries, my
top 10 travel list never gets any smaller.
So when I found myself looking up hotels in Hoi An and
Hanoi, I had mixed feelings about what I was doing. It had been seven years
since I went to Vietnam with a good friend to spend three weeks backpacking
through the country at the young age of 31. This time I was going for seven
days with my mother – a deal we had made on the condition that she spend a week
with me in China – a country that had been competing with Germany for top spot
on my travel list for several years.
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| Yangshou, China |
My fascination with China started about seven years ago when
I saw a photo of the mysterious karst landscapes around Guilin and Yangshou.
The pinnacle shaped limestone mountains plopped amongst rice fields looked like
nothing I had ever seen before. I knew that someday I had to experience this
unique place by hopping on a bike and lacing up my hiking boots. Having an
obsession with hiking, I also had a strong desire to go to Yunnan province,
which is home to the famed Tiger Leaping Gorge. Just the name stirs a wave of
excitement in my adventurous soul. But that province would require another 10
days on top of the five to six needed to explore Guilin and Yangshou. I only
had two weeks off work, so I agreed to seven days in China, followed by seven
days in Vietnam.
My mother’s interest in Vietnam was sparked when I
returned from that trip with a suitcase of stylish clothes I had made for my
petite frame for $120. I remember the look on her face when I modeled some of
the beautiful dresses. She seemed just as excited as I was, noting it would be
nice if she could do that someday.
When someone says they would like do something someday that
involves an adventure, that statement is engrained in my brain. Since we had
never done a big mother-daughter adventure, I started talking about going to China
with her. My mother, however, was reluctant to go there since she thought it
would be polluted and crowded. I told her it’s best to go to a place first
before you form an opinion about it. Eventually I wore her down.
When we arrived at the airport in Hanoi, I was filled with
excitement. I was thrilled to see several restaurants serving delicious pho at
a cheap price and I immediately helped myself to some mouth watering spring
rolls that taste 10 times better than they do in Canada.
It felt good to be back in Vietnam and it didn’t look like
anything had changed – aside from the polluted air that was choking Hoi An and
Hanoi. I loved the fresh fruit stands serving watermelon and mango, and tried a
banana pancake from one of the many food vendors who pushed their carts to the
market every night. I loved the hustle and bustle of the local markets that
often came with an assortment of funky smells. I loved the conical hats worn by
the locals, who giggled whenever I tried to say something in Vietnamese. And I loved the smell of incense that wafted
through the air at certain times of the day, often surrounding Buddhist
shrines.
In Hanoi, I still got a rush from trying to cross the hectic
streets packed with an endless sea of motorcycles. I felt like a kid as I
enthusiastically guided my mom through the maze of streets in the Old Quarter
that offer a surprise around every turn. Everything felt familiar, but still filled
me with the same excitement I had the first time I was there.
“Look, we found zipper street!” I said to my mom, who was
overwhelmed with the chaotic streets. “And there’s a shoe street around here somewhere.
I’m sure I can find it.”
After one night in a hotel that we weren’t satisfied with in
Hanoi, we ended up moving to the same hotel I stayed at with my friend seven
years ago. It felt weird being back there again. Everything on the narrow
streets around the hotel was the same. The same lady was selling pho to people
sitting on little blue chairs. The same lady was selling vegetables spread out
on the ground across from the hotel’s front doors. The only thing that had
changed is the amount of people with smart phones and the explosion of massage
parlours offering cheap foot massages, which is lovely at the end of a long day
of sightseeing.
Even though I’ve traveled extensively since my first visit
to Vietnam, I left the country with a new appreciation. The people of Vietnam
have been through a lot and the struggles of daily life are etched upon many
faces. But it’s a vibrant country packed with delicious food (that makes a
non-foodie like me tingle with delight), a rich culture and gorgeous landscapes.
And let’s not forget the never-ending string of shops selling cheap, beautiful
clothes that sets the stage for a perfect mother-daughter adventure.
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| My mother in front of one of the many shops that line the streets of Hoi An |