The Great Little Experiences in Vietnam

2018 has been one of those years when I mostly kept wondering that why this year existed on the calendar at all, until very recently, when I found out why.

One more solo trip added in my travel bucket - Vietnam. The underdog destination, which is not usually in the 'to do' list of most of the Indian tourists, I sincerely don't know why. I am glad that I chose it, for several reasons.

Much has been said about the places to visit and stuff to do in Vietnam. This blog is not about that. It is about those experiences which made my trip truly awesome.

During the trip, I met people from United States, England, Canada, France, Germany, Poland, Israel, Denmark, Australia, Chile, India (Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra), and Vietnam of course.

Nice group of welcoming westerners:

During a walking tour organized by my hostel in Hanoi, I met a bunch of European and American people. Being an introvert person that I am, I did not start conversation with anyone. It was them who drew me into the chat while having famous Vietnamese egg coffee at a cosy little cafe. The things which usually matter while striking an "impressive" conversation with a stranger back in India - appearance, clothes, looks, fluency in English etc. - to my disbelief, did not matter there at all. And once you start talking to people, you realize that they are, in many ways, same as you. They also wanted to interact and be a part of it, and make their time worthwhile, just like I did. And once you break the ice, you know that everyone wants to talk, and it is so easy to do that, contrary to how difficult we imagine it to be in our heads.

A young German couple:

When I first met them at my hostel in Hanoi, this perfectly-made-for-each-other guy and girl from Germany appeared to be just about same as other European people whom one meets during such backpacking trips. The guy had a full beard, and both of them looked quite matured, but were only 22 and 20 years old. As I interacted more with them during our trip to Halong bay, I came to know that they were much different than what I made of them by first image. They were indeed very matured for their age, quite unlike the people I know back in India who are of similar age. Among the group of people with drink-till-you-pass-out kind of attitude during our Halong bay tour, talking with this couple about their responsible career choices, and choice not to drink/practicing responsible drinking felt very genuine.

German guys in hostel room:

There were 2 guys in my hostel room in Hanoi. They were having a general chat which I was not even a part of, as I was resting. Soon, I found out that both of them were German, but were still talking in English just because I was in that room, so that I didn't feel left out. This made me compare my experiences with people back in India (in Hyderabad and Maharashtra) which were polar opposite to this experience. In India, people often talk in their regional language purposefully to keep someone out of the conversation. They often talk nasty things about the other person in their presence, but in the language that the person doesn't know, and also feel proud of themselves for having done that. We need to improve folks.

The Vietnamese:

I travelled by flights, trains, buses, taxis, and bike taxis, rode motorbikes and bicycles, rowed a kayak, walked on the streets, struggled a bit finding vegetarian food options, and blew nitrous oxide balloons in Vietnam, but did not have any unpleasant experience. I might have been lucky to have met almost all nice people on the trip. But, I have read some other travellers' unpleasant experiences as well. Also, I have been to Hanoi, Halong bay, Hue, and Hoi An cities only, and stayed there only for 10 days. So, I can't really generalize, but I would like to generalize to some extent.

-- While many westerners consider cleanliness an issue in Vietnam, I feel the opposite, for obvious reasons. I found the public places (e.g. Hanoi railway station), hostels, and roads very clean. Though some places were also dirty, but still they were either cleaner than or almost as dirty as those in India. So, I have not much to complain about cleanliness.

-- Almost all the Vietnamese people I met were very welcoming and friendly in nature. Especially, those in smaller towns (Hue and Hoi An) appeared more warm and welcoming than those in big cities (Hanoi). The hosts at my hostels in Hue and Hoi An were real gems, especially the lady at the homestay in Hoi An. She had an amazing work ethic, always smiling face, and willingness to walk an extra mile to help others. She treated her guests like one of her own. These people, despite living in small town, and not being particularly rich, maintained their homes in a very decorative and asthetic way. Their way of life was both humbling as well as inspiring.

-- Language was bit of a barrier in Vietnam. However, young people in Vietnam who could speak even a bit of English, always made a very good friendly conversation. Middle-aged men in my train coach from Hanoi to Hue, a software engineer whom I met at the office of a travel agency in Hoi An (who had a similar passion for travelling as me), 2 university teachers who became friends with me during the train journey from Hue to Hanoi, and an automotive engineer whom I met at Hanoi airport - all of them talked with me very openly without any prejudices, the likes of conversations which I hardly ever had before while travelling.

Made new friends:

Well, I always read and heard people talking about making new friends on such trips, but I always doubted its feasibility. And I am very happy that I was wrong after all, for I made 3 new genuine friends on the trip. A journey bonds people in a way that nothing else does. And when I think about my social awkwardness back at home, all these seem to be unreal. Friends are made by the stroke of destiny perhaps.

Personal growth:
-- As a non-drinker, non-smoker, I felt a bit out of place in the drinking and partying culture on Hideaway Island (Halong bay). While it is easy to withdraw from the place and sleep in the room, sticking around for a while keeps you going. While smoking and drinking might certify you to be a part of "cool" group, not drinking and smoking doesn't make you unfit to be hip.

-- Of all the voyages I have done, this one was by far the most enriching in terms of meaningful human interaction. During my trip to Thailand last year, I hardly made much effort to interact with people. Even during this trip, I noticed that I was not talking to the fellow passengers during my onward flights to Vietnam, but was talking with mostly everyone around in Vietnam and while coming back to India.

-- It is so strange that we can talk freely with strangers from other parts of the world, but can't do the same with the people of close proximity. For instance, in my last connecting flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad in which most of the people were from my own state (Gujarat), again the prejudices, judgements, and pre-conceived notions came into play, and I did not talk with anyone, neither did they.

-- I also realized the best thing about solo travel, which was till now only a theoretical concept for me - that only while travelling solo, you can interact so freely with other people. It is hardly possible if you are travelling in a group.

Experiencing natural beauty, culture and traditions of the locals and their way of life, and tasting the local cuisine are usually what such trips are set out for. This trip did all of that and more for me. It enriched me, and added a layer of perspective to my being.

Vietnam is beautiful, and so are the Vietnamese. I so want to go back there :)

An Open Letter to Policymakers of India

And it was announced - the Union Budget 2018. Highlights and figures are already all over the media. So, without going into the numbers, I will focus on 'What's for me in it?' Well, I may sound selfish by doing 'me'-centric analysis, but then who isn't selfish – at least I am being honest.

Sorry in advance for the length.

To clarify few things:

• I have never been a dedicated follower of news channels and debates.
• I condemn politics.
• I am often more cynical than optimistic.
• My name is 'Hardik Patel', but I condemn every kind of reservation.
• By far, I have always voted for BJP either due to faith or due to lack of better options. But, I am neither a 'bhakt', nor otherwise.
• I belong to a salaried middle-class.

I understand that no government can make a 130-crore population happy. In a democratic country like ours, me being on the unhappy side doesn't matter as much as the fact that how many are on the happy side does. And by 'how many', I do not mean just the numbers, I mean the magnitude of tax payers.

Photo credits: https://sbitutorials.com

I have some important questions to ask:

• By announcing schemes for agricultural and rural development, whom are you trying to please? The farmers? Good. I am fine with that. But were we not already paying Krishi Kalyan Cess (before GST)? Anyway.
• You announced the biggest healthcare scheme which would cover 'the poor', which by the way are 50 crores (out of 130 crores). This obviously doesn't cover middle-class people like me, who pay the highest tax, to whom no relief was given. Tax slabs were untouched. The fixed deduction of 40,000 INR is also nothing but just 'jaggery on the elbow', as it is in lieu of medical and transportation reimbursement which already constituted 30,000 INR.
• Whatsoever small savings the middle-class people do in equity, you introduced a tax at 10% on that too, as if the tax slabs were not unjust enough.
• In simple mathematical terms, % itself is a relative phenomenon. So, equal % of tax for any income would levy a higher or lower amount of tax to the individual proportionate to their income. Then what is the need of slabs, and why a high-earning individual is supposed to pay more tax?

I have the answer. To provide the freebies to the so called 'poor', and thereby creating (and reinforcing) the vote bank.

• You also increased stamp duty on some imported goods. This will also make basic necessities such as mobile phones costlier for us.
• On the top of everything, I do not understand the need of 150 crores budget for Gandhi's 150th anniversary. Are the living countrymen less important than one overrated dead fellow?

All in all, as I understand, we (the middle class people) are supposed to:

• Pay maximum taxes,
• Give up subsidies,
• Stand in long queues for your dictatorial non-productive decisions like demonetization,
• Pay more for everything due to GST,
• Pay more for fuel because it is not covered under GST,
• Be preached maximum about keeping India clean,
• Make all the efforts to keep India clean, and still pay Swaccha Bharat Cess (before GST) even on internet packs,
• Gain less from bank deposits and provident funds (thanks to demonetization),
• Gain less from real estate (thanks to demonetization),
• Gain less from equity (thanks to the new LCGT),
• Pay for our houses, education, healthcare and all other expenses on our own,
• Hear the lectures on patriotism from 'bhakts' while criticizing any policies by current government, and
• Always remain ‘middle-class’.

So that you can give gas connections, healthcare, and even houses for free to the few.

You claim to improve the overall economy of the country, and hold the fiscal deficit of the country, which is very good. We are willing to contribute to that.

You claim the budget to be oriented towards ‘easy to live’ principle, but for whom? Why do you want to please one set of people by taking away from another set of deserving people who contribute the most to the economy?

Isn't this (for lack of better term) exploitation?

I do not have anything against the farmers or the poor. But these acts of yours are only making me apathetic towards the pain of the less privileged, whom I am supposed to consider 'brothers and sisters' by the 'National Pledge' which I read my entire childhood on the first page of all text books while studying. You are indirectly promoting classism.

Exploitation of the middle-class is not something new that this government is practicing, you may argue. Well, you are right. But the sad thing is that the current government is continuing the trend of previous governments, and thereby contributing heavily to my pessimism.

Again, this is a debatable topic, and I might not understand fancy economic statistics. But, I understand the sentiment based on what is practically in front of my naked eyes. I bet majority of the common population judge the governments by the visible outcomes than by their electoral manifestos. I may not be able to see the long-term picture or the so called 'vision'. But, so do you. You also seem to be more worried about short-term upcoming political events focusing only on your tenure.

I know that this letter will only be seen as a negative outrage, and nothing more. The exploitation of middle-class will prevail as always.

• Because we are so busy earning our breads, and rightly so.
• Because we have to be ready and equipped to face potential exploitations in future as well.
• Because we can only show our outrages in debates and social media platforms for a short duration.
• Because we suffer from chronic short-term memory loss.
• Because we get accustomed to each and every situation.
• Because we get so easily carried away in the name of (pseudo) patriotism.
• Because we are seriously short of genuine options to vote for, and you are leveraging on that fact.
• Because after every such discussion, we do not reach to any conclusion.
• Because we truly believe in 'Mera Bharat Mahaan' (My India is great) due to our inherent respect for our nation, but we are now growing skeptical about 'Saare Jahan se accha Hindustan hamara' (India is the greatest in the world).
• Because we are gradually and systematically losing all the points to pursue the youngsters to take active interest in ‘constructive politics’, because it simply doesn’t exist.
• Because I can no longer judge a person for their lack of love for nation when they move to abroad for better future.
• Because the fact that this country is still in working condition despite this dysfunctional political dynamics, inclines me to believe in God.

I rest my case.