Valuable Takeaways From My Trip in Vietnam

2 weeks ago, I had a wonderful vacation in Vietnam with my girlfriend. It was my first time stepping foot on another Southeast Asian country in over 7 years. The weather was great, the food was mouthwatering, and above all, the experience was extraordinary.

Perhaps a travel blog is more conventional than a reflection journal. Still, in addition to the fun I have had, I also had a lot of interesting encounters and little stories to share. Here are 5 essential lessons I have learnt throughout my 7 days in Vietnam.

All it Takes is Baby Steps

Being able to communicate and connect with the local people is something that I enjoy doing every time. Not only do you learn a new language, you also get to know a new friend temporarily.

Of course, the easiest way to communicate is to supplement simple English with gestures and expressions. Most of the time, it works, but then it will only last for a very short period of time. Once you run out of gestures, you immediately stop talking.

That was not the case for us on our way to the hotel during the first day since we arrived. We had a pleasant experience communicating with the driver despite being stuck in the traffic for quite a while. Initially, it started with a simple “Xin chào” (“Hello” in Vietnamese) and “C?m ?n” (“Thank you” in Vietnamese), where the driver then later shared that he was learning Cantonese, and asked us how to use the words “唔該”and “多謝” (both meaning “Thank you”). He then later shared that he and his wife loved Chinese food such as dim sum and chicken rice.

That was a moment where I instantly felt I was connected closely to the driver. It was not just like any random “follow” or “add a friend” on social media. It was more like opening up to a stranger and sharing a precious moment with him; and all it took was just 1 or 2 simple Vietnamese words to connect with him.?

It also applies to people we already know. The only moment we get emotionally attached to one another, is when we actually understand what the others were telling us, and we feel that they understand us well. We only read things that are written in our own language, do things that best fit our own interest, and of course, believe in things that are aligned to our own values. The way for communication to be most effective, is when both sides decide to take a small step forward, minimize the gap between each other. We don’t need to be too close to one another. We don’t need either side to compromise for the other person. One step at a time can already alter the situation.

Do Whatever is Necessary

Do you ever feel bothered by the constant car horn noises on the roads? Imagine you are on your way back home after a long day of work. It is 6:30pm, you are stuck in traffic and decided to take a quick nap, but you find it challenging because car horns are honking fiercely. You pulled out your earphones attempting to block out the noise but only to no avail. How would you feel?

I am the type of person that easily gets annoyed by long car horns. I was expecting to experience this a lot in Vietnam, given they have thousands of millions of cars on the road every day. Yet, I was surprised by the way Vietnamese used car horns. Instead of using it as an expression of frustration and impatience, drivers there only use them in emergency situations and when they overtake other cars; and even when they use them, they do not push down hard onto the driving wheel. It would more likely just be a gentle honk and that’s it. They were just doing whatever is necessary, which is the thing I liked the most. I couldn’t have imagined having a peaceful car ride even during rush hours over the course of 7 day!

Never Interrupt Without any Context

To try something new (and to save the cost of one night’s accommodation), we decided to take the overnight bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat on our third night in Vietnam. The bus departed at midnight, and was scheduled to arrive at 8am in the morning. Surprisingly enough, the bus arrived around 2 hours earlier than expected, implying that I would only get a maximum of around 5.5 hours of sleep on the bus, which turned out to be 2 hours of deep sleep due to all kinds of disturbance as the bus sped its way into the darkness, whether its bumpy roads, announcements in the bus, the constant bus horns, etc.

What turned out to be the most disturbing of all, was how you eventually get woken up by the staff. Towards the end of the bus trip, I was finally able to get some quality sleep, when all of a sudden, the staff hurled off the curtains and shook me violently, while speaking Vietnamese at the same time (I later figured he was trying to wake me up at the time).

I acknowledged the staff for waking me up and getting me prepared before getting off the bus. What I did not appreciate though, was the way he did that to me. At least they could have given us a sign with some music or announcements or something. Though I was physically awoken, I was still trying to gather myself for 5 straight minutes.

Just look straight. Don’t Get Sidetracked by Other Things

As its name already implies, Crazy House is a crazy place with a crazy design that nearly drove both of us crazy. When I first arrived, one of the things that truly scared me was the fact that some of the bridges only had railings up to my thighs while I was 2 or 3 storeys above surface level. One misstep could easily cause me to fall down to the ground at any point! So can anyone else!

Fortunately, that did not happen to me. As we continued to explore the place, my fears gradually decreased, partly because I was more familiar with the setting, but more importantly, I started to figure out a way of living with the fear: tunnel vision.

My fears were triggered because of the insufficient railings, which I heavily relied on. They were amplified because I was further from the ground, so any drop would result in an injury if not anything worse. Now if I took the railings and the fact that I was high above surface level out of the picture, all that was in front of me were the steps.?If I can focus on the ground, I will see the risk of falling down; if I can focus on the steps ahead of me, I will see the other side of the bridge.

Don’t Stop in the Middle

The late great Kobe Bryant once said, “Rest at the end, not in the middle”. On the 5th day, I went to try out the high rope course in Dalat. Even though I had a slight fear of height, I was determined to finish the whole course.

The course was divided into 7 levels, and we had 2 hours to complete all the challenges. The first 5 were relatively easy, and it took us only around an hour to finish, meaning we had a full hour to complete the last 2 levels. Towards the middle of the last level, my energy level dropped significantly, when I slipped and failed to cling onto the climbing net. I lost momentum over there, and spent nearly 10 minutes just to climb to the top of the net.

And then, there was the one obstacle that I feared the most, by stepping onto the pedals attached to the ropes to cross to the other hand. Over there, I spent nearly 2 minutes just to make one final step, and after that, my body gave up on me. My arms were burning, I had scratch marks all over, and so I had no choice but to forfeit. I just couldn’t make it to the end, even though I was just 3 challenges away from the finish line.

To be frank, it was quite disappointing, as I had a mental rehearsal over how satisfying it would feel to finish the entire course on my first attempt. As I reflect, I drained too much energy while holding onto the ropes, due to the fact that I did not have the confidence to make the next step. Even though it was just 10 steps from one end to another, I had to take 3 to 4 rounds of rest in between, and the longer I rested, the more energy I drained. The one important lesson I learnt is do not stop in the middle, because you will lose your momentum. Just like Richard Brunson once said, “If you are stuck in the middle, there is only one way to go, forward.”?

So these were my 5 major takeaways from my short trip to Vietnam. If you have also gone to Vietnam and have fascinating stories to share, do let me know!

Hope you all liked the content! Feel free to connect and provide any additional readings for me! I am always open to learning more!?

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