All good things must come to and end, and sadly day 14 for Hannah, Deb and Glen meant we were voted off the trip and it was time to come home. Pretty uneventful trip home, again via KL, so no need to go into detail about that.
What I will say is what a great time we had and to sum up the trip as best I can.
Vietnam is an enigma in many ways. It’s quiet yet loud, small but overtly large in areas and poor yet capitalist. It doesn’t conform to anywhere else we’ve been in that it feels that everyone works as hard as each other – there are no passengers. The women do as much if not more manual work as the men, the children are well behaved and have that hard work attitude drilled into them from an early age.
My fear for Vietnam is that they’ll be exploited by the West in the next decade or so. Clearly there’s little in the way of money within the country, so to grow, they need outside help. Vietnam has what the west want: beaches, warm temperatures, an interesting culture and cheap (and desperate) labour. The resorts, golf courses and brand new international airport in and around Da Nang show where the country is ultimately headed. I just hope that Vietnam retains what makes it special and doesn’t become even more reliant on the tourist dollar to get them through.
If you’re thinking of visiting Vietnam, I’d do it sooner rather than later. I have no doubt that Vietnam in 2020 will be a great place to visit if you’re keen for a fairly cheap and enjoyable resort-style getaway, but if you want to get in and really see a country, I think you’ll be too late. Already people are saying that Cambodia is what Vietnam was 10-20 years ago and for the more intrepid traveller, my bet is that’s where the backpacking tourist wanting to see SE Asia will head.
My other tip for Vietnam is to do your research before you go. There’s heaps to see and do, but getting around isn’t always simple. It’s not necessarily a country made for tourists who are used to the luxuries that say Europe can offer – so make sure you’re fit and healthy before you go.
One last thing – on behalf of Deb and myself, a massive thanks to Laura, Ben and Hannah for being great touring companions. Not an argument was had and given we did almost everything together – that’s quite an accomplishment. We had a fantastic time and look forward to reliving the memories for years to come!