Our trip to Vietnam was not the typical tourist/vacation type excursion. That would be too easy...and that's just not how we roll. Instead, we went with a close friend from Vietnam and had a completely different experience than we would as a tourist.
As a tourist, we would have stayed at a hotel, with glass in the windows, hot water and air conditioning, and would have paid for this luxury. We stayed at our friend's house in DaNang...for free. There was no glass in the windows (just security bars), the front door was a metal accordion door, no hot water (woohoo - cold showers!) and no air conditioning. This was a little hard to get used to, as the weather there is very tropical (hot and HUMID). I have to say, the cold showers were not so bad in the afternoon/evening, but a little shocking in the early morning LOL.
As a tourist, we would have eaten at hotel restaurants, making sure we knew WHAT we were eating. We ate at small area "restaurants" that the locals frequent. I use the term "restaurant" loosely, as many of the eating establishments are small store fronts with some tables and chairs, and NO menu. They only serve one dish. You sit down, they bring food, you eat. For someone like me that has a hard time deciding what to choose from a menu, this was great. The food in these places was actually pretty good and mainly consisted of different types of noodles served with mystery meats, and some in soup form.
As a tourist, we probably would have taken some excursions to touristy areas. We were able to go to the a couple small villages outside of DaNang for memorial services for family members. Dai took us to the "temples" which were burial plots in the family's village and we gave offerings (incense, flowers and fruit) and said prayers to honor the memory of his family.
As for touristy-type stuff, we did get to Hoi-An, which was filled with tourists. The streets were lined with vendors pulling on your sleeves trying to sell their wares. While there, we sat by the river, enjoying the view and a Coke, before moving on.
We also got a chance to go to China Beach which is in DaNang, just a 10 minute drive from Dai's house. This area is beautiful. We took a walk down to the water which was SOOO warm! We pulled up our pant legs and played in the water for a while, enjoying the beautiful day.
As a tourist, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet all of the wonderful, gracious and generous people in Vietnam as we did. Dai took us around to his family and friends, and we met some absolutely wonderful people. Most of the people we met did not speak a lick of English, however there were a few that we were able to speak with, and they posed as translators for us. The language barrier did not keep any of us from enjoying our time with each other. They even had a surprise party in our honor!
We had originally planned this trip because Randy was asked to address the Orthopedic Surgeons at the DaNang General Hospital regarding the benefits of Chiropractic for their non-surgical patients. I wish I could say that the presentation went off without a hitch - it did not. The translation of his power point presentation was not there, and the person who coordinated everything was gone too. Our electric adaptor did not fit our computer, and we barely had enough juice in the laptop to get through everything. Luckily there was a translator for Randy, but the translations took so long that time ran out before the presentation was done. There was question and answer time at the end and it seemed that they understood what Randy was trying to get across to them.
We did not think this was a "success" due to all the things that went wrong, but this presentation led to meeting some influential people which then led to a last minute formal meeting with the Department of Foreign Affairs. We went to the government building and met with government officials. Randy was able to explain what Chiropractic is and how it can benefit their patients.
I need to back up...one thing I have not mentioned is the traffic. There are few, if any traffic laws. The streets are loaded with so many motor scooters (and some cars) going in all directions and very few stop lights/signs. It truly is a madhouse. Because of this, there are many traffic accidents and injuries, with many of the injured not requiring surgery. With their current health care system, these people have no treatment options other than pain meds.
Recently we received a call that the Vietnamese government in DaNang would like the student docs at Palmer to come to their hospital as part of the Clinic Abroad program. And while the Clinic Abroad program already goes to Vietnam, they do not treat nearly as many patients as they could with the cooperation of the hospital. This can be a great benefit to the Vietnamese people, as well as a great clinical experience for the student docs.
So, all in all this was a great trip and an experience that we will remember forever.
