Sunday, February 25, 2007

Travel adventure part 1 - Vietnam

Hello friends, family,other world Nomads...

(Introduction note: This is my first time tryin the blogging thing so bare with me. Go grab a cup of coffee, and a comfy chair, Vietnam is definitely one to read about. I'll work on future blogs being fabulously entertaining in a shorter period of time ;)

Okay so Vietnam! The first destination on my round the world tour. A land of contrasts, where noise and beauty collide. A great place to start off due to small challenges and annoyances reminding me to use my patience and return to my center daily. Preparing me for the road ahead, and giving me an example of the beauty and diverse cultures we encounter while travelling.

I spent 17 days total in Vietnam travelling from North to South. My comfy pace allowed me to see the change in culture and appreciate the different locations as I moved through this beautiful land. You may think that 17 days is actually quite short but its definitely an improvement to my insane 6 countries in 24 days fiasco in Europe! So, my intentions with Vietnam were really to wrap up the South East Asia circuit as well as to see the progress the country had made since the war. Being completely ignorant about history in general has given me a large incentive to experience different countries and learn for myself. Throw away the textbooks, I'm goin in!

I'm in no position to give you an accurate overview of the county's progress, so instead I will simply give you my impressions. From what I know of communism, it didnt seem as though the people are under any harsh government regimes and had to adhere to any strict rules. I often had to remind myself of the fact that there was even a war 30 years ago! I did notice a difference in the people from the North to the South. I warmed up both physically and metaphorically as I moved South. The people definitely grew on me and I found them to be very warm and caring.. They often gave me a reminder, much the same as those in Cambodia, that there are people much worse off than some of us claim to be, and yet they are incredibly happy. Many examples for us to live by.

As far as my experiences go, I left Saigon with a warm fuzzy in my tummy, feeling as tho I had experienced 2 months of travel rather than 2 weeks. I met some awesome people reminding me that the world is a very small place and that after that initial hello, friendships are easily created. I had a blast in the middle of Vietnam in the mountains of Dalat and the beaches of Mui Ne, went tobogganing down huge sand dunes, and motorbiking all over the countryside, celebrated Tet (Vietnamese new year) with the locals in Saigon and slept on a boat in the middle of the bay of dragons (Halong Bay.) Pictures are a must see.

So I guess thats one down and many more to go. Each day I travel I am reminded of how fortunate I am to have this amazing opportunity to see, taste, feel and experience this beautiful world of ours. I know that each step I take is one towards a greater future and a lifetime of fulfillment as I am pursuing a dream and living out part of my purpose here on this earth.
Much more to follow in the near future. Until then enjoy my updates and photos (which will be sent along shortly.) Please keep me posted on your lives, some with great comfort of which I am sometimes envious ;)

Love and Peace


Tiffany aka Kusuma xo
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