Good night, Vietnam

Lotus position 07.05

This, more than any other photo, represents what Vietnam means to me.

Never mind what's in the picture; it's the moment that's stood out.

If I had to use a single word to sum up Vietnam, it would be: noisy. There is indiscriminate use of horns/bells by cyclists, motorcyclists, motorists, rickshaw drivers...it's amazing. The sights and sounds and smells were all interesting - thanks, or no thanks, to the French colonists, depending on how you look at it - and not easy to forget.

And the people...it's hard to imagine that the reserved, refined Northerners and even their brasher, louder kin in the South had to fight big burly American GIs, and three million died in the Vietnam resistance against, first the French, then the Americans. It's a terrible cliche, yes, but this is a country and people whose identities are shaped almost entirely by conflicts.

So after 5 days of utter contentment and soaking in the history, it's back to the daily grind.