Vietnam 2012: First (and definitely not the last) backpacking tripYou know how I always attach memories to songs? This one brings me back to our 16 days in Vietnam.
I think of our time in Vietnam often. Replaying the memories in my mind brings tears to my eyes sometimes. I am overwhelmed by my thoughts and feelings during the trip because the experience is still so fresh. I think it also held special significance because it was my last trip with Sissy S before she moves to Japan for work.
Strangely, this feeling of sadness that comes with the realisation that it is time to face the real world didn't hit me until two days after I returned. I was aware that I was oddly nonchalant about the end of a vacation this time because it usually hits me when the plane takes off for Singapore, as was the case for China 2011. I know now that it was because the fact hadn't quite sunk in then.
I loved just being there - away from the stresses of work and the familiarity of our everyday life and environment. It wasn't as if we travelled in luxury - we spent no more than USD8 per person a night on our accommodation, even going down to USD5 per person for one night. We ate from makeshift road stalls. We walked. We travelled from city to city in sleeper buses to save on accommodation. We took a very torturous 33-hour train ride from HCMC to Hanoi. In fact, the entire trip cost me less than SGD1,000, excluding shopping.
It was the simple pleasures - exploring new places, meeting new people, the satisfaction of discovering cheap and good food, relaxing, and just being there with the best travelling buddies. There were pockets of time on the long train ride, Halong Bay cruise and while travelling between cities when I was left with my own thoughts or a clear mind and these were so precious because we can never get such periods of quiet with all the noise in Singapore.
I felt free. We went according to the plan we mapped out ourselves. We didn't need to meet anyone else's expectations. Despite feeling so tired on some days I slept the moment my head touched the pillow, I was happy. I felt like I could do this forever.
True happiness with all my possessions in a backpack and basic living conditions - it has taught me that one does not necessarily need all the comforts and luxuries to be happy. Or at least that's the case for me. It's true what they say - money can't and doesn't buy happiness.
16 days, 3 girls, 3 backpacks, and 1 Lonely Planet - we are officially travellers!
