I went to Vietnam

He’s sitting on the back of his Dad’s motorbike.  All day at school, he’s been dying to read the latest installment in his comic book series, but it isn’t until now that he’s allowed.  The end of the day is coming, the light will soon fade, but he’s going to eek every word he can out of those last rays of sunshine.  The fact that he’s knee-to-knee with his fellow commuters doesn’t distract him. The fact that his dad is inching through a traffic circle downtown doesn’t phase him. He’s oblivious to the very realities that confuse the American sitting in the car next to him.  It’s normal. His own normal. And he’d rather be reading his book than notice his normal happening around him.

Whether walking, biking, motorcycling, or driving through the city,  transportation is an full sensory experience. I watched Ben and his bicycle get nearly creamed by a motorcycle.  I felt the terror of speeding through a crowded street on a motorcycle behind Hien, wondering if I would live to see my next meal (she was a great driver — everyone else? I’m not sure). I watched traffic circles fill with motorcycles ten deep.  I drove into the traffic circle filled with motorcycles ten deep. (Well, I didn’t drive. But I was in the car with the driver. :-P)

It was a normal like none I’ve ever experienced.

 

 

 

Ben and Hien dangled a carrot in front of me.  Too enticing, too appealing.  We were shooting post-wedding-portraits and celebrating their five month anniversary when brilliance struck.  Maybe they didn’t realize it was brilliance at that point, but I sure did.

“Wanna come with us to Vietnam when we have our Vietnamese wedding?”

What was I going to say? No?   If I had refused the offer, I’m pretty sure you could’ve guaranteed my insanity.  Who says no to three weeks touring the homeland of one of the sweetest girls on the planet?
Not me.

My adventure of a lifetime started one year ago, twenty four hours after I’d had a surprise visit and marriage proposal. I hopped on a plane to Tokyo (I used to think eight hour flights were long…) where I met Ben and Hien to get on the flight to Ho Chi Minh City where we were greeted by the entirety of Hien’s family (48 hours sleep deprived, it felt like the whole city was there for us; I found out later it wasn’t :-P).  A food-filled drive brought us to our home for the next few weeks, where we were fed duck soup and sent to bed (okay, so I’m the only party pooper who actually went to bed).

Over the next three weeks, I experienced Vietnam like no one else ever can. I made friends. I ate food. I met with a Vietnamese tailor. I ate food. I explored the city. I ate food.  I photographed a Vietnamese wedding.  I ate food.  And did I mention I ate food?  Lots of it.  We visited all the friends and family, hand-delivering the wedding invitations (what a spectacular tradition!).  We had multiple manicure/pedicures while watching the motorcycles drive by the open-air storefront. We at seafood fresh from the sea (so fresh I watched it move minutes before putting it in my mouth).

Words will never fully describe my time in Vietnam.  Photos might not do it justice.

But a year later, I’m going to try.

 

 

(Above:  the pedicure. Below: the street view from the salon’s front step.)

 

(Above:  do I make a good Vietnamese?)

 

(Above: dinner is moving.)

 

(Above: First he cuts the coconut from the tree, then he chops it open, then he gives it to me.)

(Above: Pho!  I eat it here in America, remembering how good it was there in Vietnam.)

(Above:  no, we didn’t eat any dogs. I don’t think. :-P)

 

Hien had been telling me for months about her amazing tailor in Vietnam.  Since John proposed twenty four hours before my flight to Asia (talk about whirlwind!), I had just enough time to gather my thoughts about a wedding dress, piece together a few photos, and work with tailor to create my very own custom-designed, tailor-made wedding dress.

The opportunity for a custom dress was swell (I loved seeing its progression from sketch to complete in ten days!), but having to Skype the newly minted fiance across twelve time zones was less than lovely.

 


 

For $0.50 we visited the Ho Chi Minh City Zoo. And, yes, this is how close I was to the leopard…and right be fore he growled and leaped up against the glass…mere inches from my face. Talk about a close encounter.

I spent a combined eight months in Africa and never saw an elephant until my last week there on my most recent trip.  Imagine my thrill at seeing an elephant in Vietnam on the very first trip!

The end.

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