Month 10 came with a week-long-adventure through Vietnam.
My team was exploring a new border crossing for our organization from Vietnam into China, and thus when we drove from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam we immediately got on a bus to drive straight through the country. We drove from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi, Vietnam on a 42-HOUR BUS RIDE. Let me tell you… after that bus ride, no travel has ever seemed long or uncomfortable.
Here we are happily traveling to the bus in Ho Chi Minh:
As my teammate Morgan wrote, “Team Fine China finally made it to Hanoi, Vietnam!!!!!! 56 total hours of travel— 42 of those hours were spent on one “fancy” bus. We are very, very sleep deprived, sweaty sticky popsicles, and super duper hungry.
Let me tell youuuuu, it was not for the faint of heart or anyone above 5 foot 5. This is what you missed—neck cramps, no leg room, tiny beds, more cargo than people, bruised shins, lack of bathroom breaks, loss of feeling in limbs, chickens and birds, possible hit and run, box falling on CC, sleeper bus seat stuck in upright position, yellow moped under bus, hot Cheetos for breakfast, tired laughter, sleeping in fetal position, smashed bananas, the Shrek outhouse, “do people on this bus ever have to pee?”, watching 2 sunrises from the bus window, and baby wipe showers. Don’t you wish you were with us?”
And although no one spoke English, many of the locals invited us to eat meals with them, and showed us how to eat community style in Vietnam!
One of my favorite moments was when Rob and I played “What Are The Odds?”
Rob lost. He had to eat a horrifically spicy pepper that the locals even refused to eat… but while he was crying and sweating, we became friends with some of the men on the bus who joined me in laughing.
It just reinforced that you don’t need words to communicate, and you certainly don’t need them to form a friendship. Life is pretty cool, y’all.
Though it wasn’t a comfortable experience at the time, I love being able to look back on this memory now.
Vietnam was so beautiful to drive through!
Next, I’ll share a snippet of my favorite part(s) of Hanoi.
love y’all,
rebecca
