More of Vietnam

So Hue was pretty fun with the Citadel and the tomb of past emperors. It was interesting, because in all honesty, the only history I really associated with Vietnam was the war, which was pretty stupid and ignorant, to say the least.

After that, I made my way up to Hanoi, which I must say has been the most interesting city I have been to to date. The Old Quarter is absolutely stunning. I stayed at the Hanoi Bacpacker's Hostel, which is basically like an international frat house. The next day I finally met up with Hanna, her brother Laas, and his girlfriend Lisette. Hanna and I giggled our way to Sapa on the night train with the help of wine and diazepam, where for the first time in like three months I was in a climate that did not provoke profuse sweating. That changed drastically the next day, however, as we embarked on a two-day-one-night trek in the mountains where we visited a few hilltribe villages. Meeting the minorities would have been a little more interesting if the tribespeople were not hell-bent on selling us handicrafts at every turn. Day two was particularly hell with an hour-and-a-alf trek upwards that almost killed me nine-point-five times over.

During the trek I asked our guide a question regarding the relationship between tribal minorities and the national government in Vietnam. However, the answer I received was what the Vietnamese government did for the minorities, which eventually progressed to how only the Part truly understands the needs of the Vietnamese people, tribal or otherwise, an understanding which is essential to their "thrival". This was further argued with an account of a testimony of a tribesmember going abroad to seek a better life, only to find alienation in terms of language and culture. To be poor is better than to be not understood and alone, our tour guide said, which is why it is best for all Vietnamese to live in Vietnam, a Vietnam guided by the Party, which knows best.

Throughout my time in Vietnam I have been wondering what was particularly "Communist" about this country- if anything, the only thing most of this country seemed to share was poverty, although not of an extreme sort per se I must admit. It seems though that Communism in Vietnam rules particularly strong in idealogy by offering a sense of community that will unite the Vietnamese and lead them to success and prosperity. However, or at least in my so-called liberated Western understanding, I wonder how much of the latter has actually been attained.

Tomorrow Hanna and I head over to Cat Ba Island in Halong Bay, where I intend to regain some of that nice color that I have lost over the last few days. Saturday I fly back to Bangkok, but only to fly to Macau on Monday - it's actually cheaper to do it that way as opposed to any other way, including overland. Another day in Bangkok! And with Hanna, too, as it seems so far! Yippee!