Vietnam Trip - 1st Day

We will be in Hanoi until the 5th and then fly into Qui Nhon where we will see my grandmother and some family. We'll spend a few days there and then fly into Saigon on the 10th where we'll stay until we leave on the 13th. The highlight of the trip will be an outing to Halong Bay on the 4th. They pick us up early in the morning around 7am, drive us to the harbor and then we'll take a boat tour all day until 5pm.

I don't know how to describe everything so far. It feels like I'm so far from home. Even though in a few more days, we will fly into Qui Nhon this feels too alien to be my birthplace.

There are moments that I feel like just another traveller, exploring a new land. It feels like any other trip I've taken abroad. Different smells and sights but there is a sameness about it. People going about their every day life. But being so far from the familiar, I have pangs of homesickness and many moments where I mourn the loss of my sweet baby. It seems harder to bear the pain now that I'm so far from my family.

All around me is the hustle and bustle of the city, which is relatively calm compared to Saigon, I'm told. But I feel so alone still, just a person, wandering, filling my days. Every day I long for home. I long for something cooler than 92 degrees and 82% humidity.

We walk all day, stopping to sit by Hoan Kim Turtle Lake with it's mysterious tower and pagoda in the mist. Gentle breezes blow in the morning and later in the evening. Then it's more walking broken up by meals and window shopping. I feel like I'm searching for something. Connection? Belonging? Peace?