As our Vietnam trip comes to an end, I have to admit that we haven’t completely abolished the guide book but have come to a detente. It’s hard to kick old habits ☺. We’ve had fun, lots of laughs and continuous debates – did you expect anything less from me?!
One of the most exciting things about traveling is to be lost completely in an unfamiliar place – full of serendipity at every corner. I think travel guides have a tendency to take away surprises and unpredictability; rather they routinize the experience. The travel guide tells travelers where to eat, go, sleep, shop etc. We noticed that despite thousands of thousands of neighborhood eateries travelers go to the restaurants recommended by the guide – we would like to examine where different language guides send tourists from different countries. They congregate in the same areas which the locals call “the foreigners’ alleys.” The area invariably becomes a scene.
The more interesting thing is how locals respond to travelers’ predictive behaviors and travel routes. In Hanoi, every alley is full of travel agencies that offer the same package tours like the one James chose for ha long bay boat tour and for which I compromised on the condition that it only be for one day (he wanted to have “romantic” two days boat tour which I declined ☺). Throughout the tour, we saw the same people in the same gift shops, cafés, scenic spots etc. where travel agencies organized. Everyone takes photos from the same places to keep their memories.
On the street, we noticed that street hawkers were selling photocopies of titles that are popular with the younger backpacker set (Life of Pi, Bill Bryson, Jack Kerouac’s on the road and of course Lonely Planet guide etc). In the clothing shops, they carry slightly larger sizes for westerners. In the restaurants that are recommended by the travel books, the menus range from pancakes, beans on toast, waffles, etc. When we ask locals about which eateries we should go to, they often recommend the places that are listed in the travel guides even though they don’t go themselves to those places.
Personally, an interesting experience on this trip for me was people’s reaction to seeing the two of us together. There is no way that James can hide his travelers’ status but I was a little different. Many people thought that I was a Vietnamese so they started to talk to me in Vietnamese. When I was not able to respond to them in Vietnamese they (in particular older people) were a little irritated. Also, I often got harsh looks from some people by being with a white man. I can’t really explain their stares but I’m guessing that they thought that I was a Vietnamese woman providing a “service” to a foreigner. This was a little surprising to me but it was not out of their context. In Saigon we saw many drunken male travelers with young Vietnamese women.
This time we didn’t get completely lost in the travel but for sure we were lost in the heat, motor bikes, and street crowds. I failed to convince James to give up his guide book but I think he admits that there is truth in my travel philosophy. There is always next time ☺.
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