I went to Danang, Vietnam in early April. When I told people I was going there, I received two very different reactions:
“Oh, cool,” from most people, and
“Why the hell would you go there?” This reaction was from anyone who had ever served in the military.
Danang is one of the coolest places I’ve ever traveled to, and yet most of you have probably never even heard of it! The entire city is a maze, with the best restaurants hidden in long, hidden alleys.
It’s the third largest city in Vietnam. It’s large and bustling with skyscrapers and a busy downtown area with lots of restaurants. The city is split into two sides by a river with fantastic bridges spanning across it, so there’s the “city” side and the “beach” side to the city.
We went on a private tour with July Venture Travel, and we visited a “minority ethnic group” about an hour west of Danang called the “Co Tu” people. They are a population of about 50,000. The residents live in small houses scattered over several small farming villages. They have a communal house in each village for socializing.
We met the oldest Co Tu man. He’s like 96 years old, but he looks 70. The oldest person in each “community” is adored. When I met him, he was sitting on his floor carving wood, but he got up to hang out and drink coffee with us!
While on this tour I met a group of women in a village who were sitting on a floor, weaving. I had this sense that, if I sat down with them, I would instantly become a part of their community. I’ve never felt that way in any part of the world, even in the U.S. Even with my friends!
In Vietnam, there are many, many religions or spiritual beliefs. Everyone seems to have their own. However, many of the locals will claim, “I don’t believe in religion.” I think what they actually mean is: they don’t believe in organized religion.
The most common “spiritual practices” I saw there include: Catholicism, Buddhism, pagan folk religions, Hinduism, and Cao Dai, which is a local Vietnamese spiritual belief system.
All of the spiritual practices had a common theme: they respect their elders and their ancestors. Many homes have shrines for their ancestors. We also noticed that tombs we saw were extremely fancy and detailed.
We also went on a bike tour with Hoi An Cycling, where we spent the day cycling through rice paddies and we even rode on one of those circle boats!
As an English speaker, I could get around Vietnam pretty easily. Their English accent was somewhat Australian, and a little hard for me to understand. But I felt like a spoiled American, being able to travel in a foreign country and speak my language!
Right now, I can’t wait to go back, but there’s so many places I’d like to see that my next trip will probably be somewhere else!