Jeune Street

We’re rounding the corner into the final stretch of our time here in Vietnam, and on Friday morning we will be taking a bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) in Cambodia. From there we will be trekking across Thailand, mostly visiting friends of Lita’s from when she served for a year with a Baha’i youth project near Hat Yai.

I haven’t blogged as much as I would have liked during our time here, primarily because after working all day on the computer we have both looked for every available opportunity to soak in the culture, people, food and landscape. So, in the spirit of closure and commemoration I offer the nine things I’ll miss about Vietnam (and Lita too — she helped with the list). I’ll put up three a day over the next three days:

1. The Baha’i Community. Both in Da Nang and Hanoi, we were welcomed with open arms by the small and steadfast group of Baha’is who have sustained the community during more than thirty years being unrecognized by the government. The Baha’is have a relatively recent, but very rich, history here in Vietnam. With the establishment of the socialist government in 1976, the Baha’is were banned — primarily because of misinformed government beliefs about connections with foreign powers. Some Baha’is ended up in jail simply for holding community gatherings.

But through the dedicated and careful work of a few people, relations with the government have been restored and full recognition was been given to the community just last year. We had the privilege of attending the public national convention this year, where representatives from government and other religious groups learned about how the Baha’i community functions and its contributions to the social and spiritual life of Vietnam. Government officials observed the election procedures, where the national governing council is elected in a prayerful atmosphere through secret ballot with no electioneering.

We also enjoyed wonderful friendships with the Baha’is in Da Nang and Hanoi, several of whom offered us generous hospitality. And Lita is joined in sisterhood and girlfriendship with Quynh Samila — the tireless young woman who coordinates the training activities of the national community.

2. 133 Nguyen Tat Thanh. We lucked into staying at a perfect studio apartment, which doubled as our office. It has a beautiful view: two balconies with massive windows, facing onto the harbour and looking onto the northern mountains. Not only that, but we have an amiable and interesting group of telecommunications engineers from Malaysia and Indonesia sharing the building with us. We shared meals, swapped life stories, and developed warm friendships. And, the building administrator/problem solver, young Phuong, was our local expert for everything and made us feel especially welcome by having us over to her place for dinner.

3. Honda Wave. For six weeks, I’ve had the chance to fulfill my motorcycle fantasies by renting a small bike to get us around town. Driving around Da Nang is less dangerous than biking in Oxford (no joke), so the nifty little scooter proved to be great fun for zooming about. Probably the best trip on the bike was when we took it for an impromptu 3 hour adventure tour through the Son Tra “monkey” mountains, where we putted along the peaks overlooking Da Nang without really being sure where the road was eventually going to lead us.

To be continued: 4-6 on Monday and 7-9 on Tuesday.