I just got back from over 2 weeks away to Singapore and my fatherland, Vietnam. It was one of those trips that make you feel great to be home ... in Australia, I mean. The heat was a killer!
However, I managed one of my prime goals: taking my son Liêm to Nghệ An. The Cao-xuâns, my great-grand father, my grand father and my father, were all born there. During the uprising against the french occupation, the Cao-xuân family was scattered everywhere. My siblings were born in Huế, Rạch Giá, and I, the youngest, was born in Saigon. My late father often spoke fondly of his homeland - which we could not visit because of the Vietnam Civil War. I first visited the shrine and graves of my forefathers in 2001. Ten years later, I brought along my 8 year old son. I was impressed that he understood the meaning of the trip, and he never once complained during the horrible bus rides between Hà Nội and Nghệ An - six hours each way.
A week later, we also brought him to visit the graves of my wife's ancestors in Nha Trang.
Many of my friends and relatives did not get why we did this. They all thought I was nutty. To them a holiday must be all for fun and pleasure. The "family duty business" is too difficult to combine with other "fun" events. Perhaps, they were right, but I don't mind being called sentimental.
My frequent response : "The only differences between a trip to Vietnam and a trip to France are the language and the ancestral graves. Good meals, good drinks, 5-star hotels, swimming pools, great services ... you can buy the best anywhere."
(OK. I hear you. The croissants in Saigon and the bánh xèo in Paris are not the same. But you get my drift.)
I also attended a dinner where I met my old highschool friends. Some I haven't seen for over 38 years. Each now has his own agenda. While the chatting went on with the iced beer, the much expected nostalgia was not there. They all have changed, due to the constant stress of the country's poverty and the brainwashing of the ruling regime. It seemed for some the main aim in life was to survive and take as much as quickly as they can: pleasure, money, personal favours, political gains, ... anything.
Afterwards they asked me to join them going to the local brothel.
"But you're all married!" I objected.
"We all do it as a routine here ...", said one I used to have respect for.
Flabbergasted, I left the group with a bad taste in my mouth.
The food wasn't that great either.
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