final thoughts

i'll try to keep this short. really, it's very simple - nothing i can write here will even come close to helping explain what it's like to experience Vietnam. it's a place that can't accurately be described in a conversation or shown in a photo. rather, it's a place that needs to be experienced, first hand, by an open minded person. everything, and i do mean everything, is so different than we're used to in the western world. i found myself amazed by the smallest things - other times i found myself scared shitless. and when it was time to leave, i found myself thinking i would trade almost anything for a chance to stay.

in the few days i have been home, i've been gladly answering a bunch of questions, and it's funny that the majority of them are very similar. the most common? are the people there friendly. YES! from the street venders to the VC veterans missing limbs, i never received anything but courteous, polite, and well, friendly attitudes. they are a special people, interested in respect, a sense of purpose, and family. and with often nothing more than a dirt floor, a few blankets, and a small amount of food, they are a happy people. the western world could learn a valuable lesson from them.

i've been to eastern and western europe, visited japan for a short trip, spent time in the caribbean, and driven through the majority of the united states. while some of these trips were very memorable and i had a wonderful time during these travels, i've always told myself i'd never go back to the same place twice. the world's just too big and there are way more places to see. that changed with vietnam. i know i'll go back. hopefully soon. it's also my hope that some of you may have the chance to experience it was well. it's a place that everyone should be fortunate enough to visit as i was these past two weeks.

throughout these past two weeks, i've struggled with every post i've written to put into words how great vietnam is, and i'm starting to feel i'm better at showing you through my pictures. i'm leaving the link to my webpage below where i've put up a gallery of my favorite images from the trip. i feel the thirty some pictures best capture what i feel the county is and how i experienced it. please do feel free to have a look!

hopefully you've enjoyed following along, and i'm so pleased you have all taken an interest in our trip. i'm planning on adding a blog page to my site to write about future travels, so place it in your bookmarks and check back every so often if you want to see what i'm up to and what i'm thinking about.

chat later,

sep

www.sethalwin.com