The No Duong Left Behind Tour
Vietnam 2007
Prologue
When I sign on to ride my bike from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, I am downtown sitting behind my desk looking out the window at snow-laden trees in the park. It is January 2007. Hard to say exactly what motivates me. I can't hear the word 'Viet nam' without thinking about my classmate Tim, who came back from from Viet nam as a decorated Navy Seal, but never came back the same. I think about Joe Montana's cousin, Butch, one of the best guys you'll ever know, who suffers still from Delayed Stress Syndrome as a result of his two tours of duty there. And of course, I think about the 60,000 people on the wall, most of whom I never knew. Viet nam has been on my mind a lot in the last five years, because it was the heartache of my generation, a mistake of mammoth proportion for which we grieve still. And now our new heartache is that we find ourselves in much the same position as we were in the days of our budding adulthood; only this time, we know much, much better and yet, it has happened to us again. Read that 'Iraq'.
But I can't say for sure if this tragic irony is what leads me to email my credit card number to a New Zealand travel company on a snowy January day; I don't know why I sign up in a flash. But I do. And so on the day after Thanksgiving 2007 in Seattle, Washington, I climb on a plane to Ho Chi Minh City for the adventure of a lifetime. I have no idea what to expect; what lays ahead.
Just as well. Just as well...
JBelle
Bellemaison
The 'Kan EWA
3 comments:
Two words: tortuous bitch.
Okay, and maybe these. I can't wait for the next installment of How the Ho Turns.
Girl, back in rare form I see. If you don't pursue that book publishing agent business I'm going to, well, I, uh, let's just say you've got a gift and are letting it slide, letting it slide.
(wink)
So very happy to know you're home safe. Expect a call when I get the psychic vibe you're easing back into this gravitational field.
Love.
____
Welcome home. I also look forward to hearing more about the bike trip.
Awesome.
Welcome home adventurer. I look forward to reading more entries like this, and seeing pictures, and hearing stories of the people, the land, and the personal insights encountered along the way.
That last bit is what travel is all about, in my opinion. If one doesn't grow during travel, one doesn't travel well.
Again, welcome home.
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