“I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.”
- Bill Bryson
VN has become that to me. My daily grind in Saigon, may not be an epic adventure to others, but finding your feet to its norms, to its language, to its culture, to its food, to its coffee, to its people was that beautiful adventure I sometimes miss. I sometimes wish I’m back there peddling my way to survive the day to day challenge of working as an expat in a world totally different to mine, if only to experience again those times when everything can be as spontaneous as playing pool last night and fillin your backpack in the next hour in the attempt to sail the Mekong River and cross borders the next day. I miss the spur-of-the-moment invites of fellow expats to taking the motorbike to spend lazy weekend to some low-key islands further South. But I’m thankful to have these things written to my notebook, my moleskine. I just need that little corner in my room, raise my feet up and I can relive once more each adventure whenever I please.
“This is an entry to Wanderlass Adventure Partner Contest”
hello!
too bad, i didnt get the caretaker’s number.
Nina has it. justwandering.org
=)
Awesome! thanks for the nostalgic entry. :)