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August 31, 2009
A Veteran’s Return
Just as I often leave Alan at home when I travel with my girlfriends, Alan has made his share of journeys with his guy friends (and without me). Vietnam was one of them—and while I still haven’t been there myself, his experience inspired me to place Vietnam on my “bucket list.”
Like so many Americans of our generation, Alan once associated Vietnam with grainy wartime images from unsettling nightly newscasts. And even though OAT has offered an adventure in Vietnam since 1992, Alan hadn’t been there personally—until 2003, when Geof Childs, a Vietnam veteran and close friend of both Alan and his colleague, Mark Frevert, asked the two men to join him on a journey to retrace his wartime steps.
Alan, Mark, and (most incredibly) Geof were all amazed by the warm welcome they received from the Vietnamese people everywhere they went—even though some of these people were Geof’s former enemies. For Alan, this revelation was far sweeter than the intense beauty of the country’s landscape, though he certainly appreciated that, too. And his descriptions of the Vietnamese people's genuine friendliness and generous hospitality have me looking forward to making my own journey one day.
Have you ever had your preconceptions of a culture turned upside down? Send your stories (and photos and videos, too) to
harriet@oattravel.com
Next in Harriet’s Corner, I’ll be focusing on Central America—including Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Panama. But, as always, I’m interested in your stories from all over the world.
Harriet Lewis