Day 112
Location: Ho Chi Minh (Originally Saigon), Vietnam
Since the last entry I’ve left the Middle East and am currently in Southeast Asia. I cannot start to say how glad I am to get a glimpse of the Middle East. Though the countries I’ve gone to are fairly moderate when compared to what others imagine it was a good stepping stone into what I perceived as a complete foreign place to me. I have decided that I must return to the Middle East to learn more about the culture. I’ve gotten many comments during my trip there about people’s fears about the location just to learn that is is really no more dangerous than any other part of the world and though the culture there may differ from what we are used to, that does not deem is wrong or backwards. From my two weeks in the Middle East never have I thought of more than the this quote by James Michener–“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home.”
But that personal memo aside, my time in Egypt was fasinating. As I stated in my previous entry I was on my way to the Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum. The Giza Pyramids are grander than I imagined. Though my image of smooth textures have failed since age has withered away the stones. I did enter the second Pyramid. It wasn’t anything grand. It actually was quite a stuffy bore but I’m not regretful since I already knew it wasn’t great. I just did it to do it. After that I went to see the Sphinx, which was smaller than I expected as well as surrounded by the city and not secluded by itself in the desert as movies have portrayed. That afternoon I went to the Egyptian Museum. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go at first but I’m certainly glad I did as I learned a lot of the Egyptian history that day and saw many beautiful artifacts, as well as King Tut’s mask. Afterwards I took a 14 hour night train (like the one in Harry Potter but extremely cheapter) to Aswan to visit Abu Simbel. Abul Simbel are temples for Ramses that was physically transported piece by piece after the river flooded the temples. I can say it was the most fasinating piece I saw in Egypt (moreso than the Pyramids). Then off to Luxor I went where I experienced a temple burnout by running through Kom ombo, Edfu, and Karnac temples all in one day. The next day I went to the Valley of the Kings via donkey and I can say it’s the funnest means of transportation I’ve ridden. There I visited three tombs: Ramses I, IV, and IX. Afterwards came another night train ride back to Cairo then a flight to Vietnam where I currently am.
I’ve been here a couple of days already and it feels like home with my family. I even met up with my parents since they are here for the Lunar New Year. I’ve done nothing but feast on delicious Vietnamese cuisine and visited local neighborhoods, friends of families, and the Cu Chi Tunnels (tunnels the Viet Cong built during the Vietnam War to combat US Army forces). I’ll probably just lounge here until the New Year then we’ll see where I head throughout Southeast Asia. I desparately wanted to hit 7 more countries and say I did a good twenty, but my funds are low and I wouldn’t do the country justice by only stopping in them for a few days. Traveling isn’t about how many places I’ve gone to, but rather how much I let myself discover. As Daniel J. Boorstin said–“The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes ’sight-seeing.’”
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