GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM!

I’ve only been waiting 6 months to use that title. So… there’s that.

Let’s be honest. I wasn’t in Vietnam for very long at all. I barely did the country any justice. However, I walked in (we actually had to walk over the border) and I cruised along the Meekong river, stayed in a homestay and then visited Ho Chi Minh City. It was amazing.

I ate Pho right before I bargained for genuine conterfeit bags and I saw approximately 156 street rats the size of small cats. I got lost a number of times and I was instructed to jay-walk across the street and only quicken my pace for cars, not for scooters or motorcycles. They won’t hit you, I’ve been told. They just won’t. Don’t know how I feel bout that. But no, they didn’t hit me.

Let’s start at the start. We left Cambodia really early and drove right through to the Vietnamese border. Here we had to de-board the bus, carry our bags about 500m to the border and then meet a new bus on the other side. We packed back up and were off on the bus for anther 4 hours.

Finally, just as the sun was setting, we reached our home stay on the Meekong River. It was a beautiful spot where we were given a short tour of the fields and then sit down for an incredible meal.

Our accommodation was very basic, but definitely do-able. I was so exhausted that I was probably the only one that slept through the night (and the sounds of the rats scurrying overhead.)

Obviously, they had an adorable scrappy pet dog that I loved as well as many Roosters. Here’s a fact I didn’t know… Roosters crow ALL the time. It’s not just a sunrise thing. It’s an anytime of the day thing, but I kind of love it.

Once we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City we had one more night as a group before parting ways. I was sad to see everyone go, but I was starting to get excited about the prospects of going home… and besides that I had one big finale of a night booked in at the hottest spot in town: The Rex Hotel.

Christmas came early. It was, by far, the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. And it was JUST what the doctor ordered, considering I had been staying in hostels and lodges for the past 3 months. One king sized bed… justttttt for me. I definitely felt like McAuley Culkin in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

The night prior to my departure I met up with two lovely Swedish boys who were on my tour and we had cocktails on the rooftop bar. Talk about Classy. We also schemed to get up super early the next day and make the most of that buffet breakfast that was included. Mmmhmmm.

Leaving Vietnam was bittersweet. It was December 17th. I had been traveling for just shy of four months.

I was a backpacker. I had really gotten used to my transient lifestyle. I liked only having three clothing options. I enjoyed discovering new places every day and finding my way through mazes of streets. I loved traveling with my best friend and I missed him like crazy, but I am also so infinitely glad that I traveled on my own and that I didn’t give up when I so desperately wanted to go home (read: Political unrest in Nepal). I learned so. sooo. much. About the world, about other cultures, about people. Things became much more simple. Sure, I still stressed… I still had anxiety about where I was staying and where I was going… but something was just different. I was more aware that things would just work out. I think I have Thailand to thank for that, actually.

Thailand taught me a lot about time. and trust. You just have to trust people. They will get you where you need to go. Schedules be damned.

I was careful, but not paranoid. I lost very few things, but I gained a shit-ton of experience. Travel will do that. But then you come home lighter.

I am trying not to stress so much this year.
I am trying to remember all the things I learned and all the people I met.
I am trying to keep all that perspective I gained while I was away.

Those cockroaches in my bathroom don’t seem like such a big deal now. Those cracks in the walls and those scuffed up baseboards are really trivial. Things could have been much different for any one of us. Not necessarily bad, but different. I feel so fortunate to live in the society that I live in. Political unrest is not really a thing I have ever had to deal with and yet everywhere else I have traveled has been dealing with these issues that I barely even knew existed. I could have just as easily been born in Nepal, Mongolia, Thailand. And while things would be stunningly beautiful, life would be different.

I am fortunate to have an education and freedom and roof over my head that only leaks on very very rare occasions. 😉 I have so many THINGS. So. Many. I lived out of just one backpack for months and yet I come home to a closet full of clothes and an apartment full of amazing furniture.

I didn’t want my trip to end, but waiting for me in Sydney were my parents – visiting for Christmas – and my very lovely man who left from Nepal five weeks prior.

I was ready to go home, but not yet ready to let go. I’ll be back.

xxx