First published on November 20, 2011--here is the third most popular post on this blog. Vietnam was a dream, a thought, an idea. And it happened in 2009. Just like that. I still remember my joy--which manifested in an outward calmness, when I first saw the rice fields. It felt like I was gazing into a green ocean.
There is a whole book on that year that can be written. Hopefully some day soon!!
Sapa, Vietnam, June 2009. This woman was stunning. Later in the week, I saw her picture at a tourist bureau. Apparently we were not the only ones who were enchanted by her beauty.
One of my favorite image of Vietnam. This form or a variation of women in traditional Vietnamese outfit were everywhere. Hanoi, Vietnam, 2009.
J & M, on the roof top, in Hoi An, Vietnam, June, 2009.
A young boy carries freshly cut branches on his back. Possibly for his goats? Sapa, Vietnam, 2009.
Children show off their play-skills as we point our cameras at them. Sapa, Vietnam, June, 2009.
This little one caught my attention, his cheeks were as bright as the tomatoes in the bowl beside him. May be because he was growing up, far far away from the pollution of the city. Sapa, Vietnam, 2009.
Terrace Farming, Calm Valley, echoes serenity. Sapa, Vietnam. June, 2009.
Stepping into the valley. Sapa, Vietnam. June, 2009.
As is the case with my travels, I knew I wanted to go to Vietnam, but had no clue from there. I had a few things in mind. Hanoi, Ho-Chi Minh, and possibly the Mekong Delta. What happened once I entered Vietnam was just mind blowing. Strangely, I had dreamt of the country for several years. I knew little about vietnamese food. Although I had been to a few Vietnamese restaurant, both in Washington DC and in State College. Often times, people know countries through food and art. Two things that directly reach our hearts. For me though, it was the greenery, the simple faces. And an interest in its history, its struggle with the US and even more importantly, its old name-Anaam. Anaam, which in Sanskrit means without name, no name, was the old name used for Vietnam before 1945.
Once I arrived in Vietnam, I met two young Dutch people. A young man and a young woman. My two weeks in Vietnam were spent with them. Both of them turned out to be great companions. But more than that, their presence highlighted a great combination of learning---since we talked about cultures, languages, histories and continents. One of my favorite memories is stepping out of our hotel window and sitting on the roof, discussing the idea of friendship.
Vietnam, was also one of the most exciting countries I have visited. Definitely more tourist in so many places, and limited by what tourists expect of it....there was a level of efficiency and productivity that I had not encountered anywhere else. In addition, I found the culture in both north and south to be markedly different. Hanoi, the place that has not, in the modern history, ever known anything but communism, was not as vibrant as its southern counter part, Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh city. Ho Chi Minh, was alive and much happier, in a way that showed in its wide roads and slightly more organized traffic.
The above picture was taken in Sapa, Vietnam. Sapa, is where one goes to experience rice fields. Vast span of terrace farming. As you walk up, your mind stills, and all you can do is admire the human-industry that must have been employed to work on these fields, year after year. A country where three meals and possibly even snacks are rice based, rice is a life-line. But beyond that need, there is a beauty to rice fields, which are very different from the wheat or mustard fields that people know in north India or have seen romanticized in Bollywood films. Terrace farming, looks like a green-silk carpet that was laid out for some royalty to walk on. While the wheat and mustard crops, when ripe, sway and dance, in the wind, the rice fields merely show a ripple. I remember taking a deep breath there and thanking my stars that I was so lucky to have seen that. Although I had seen that in Indonesia the year before, Sapa is known for its rice fields that tourists come to see. In addition, these guided tours that are given by the women dressed in traditional clothing, as shown in above picture, cover miles of the valley, and end up in small villages alive with the chuckles of young children and barks of stray dogs.
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