Living my best life, in Vietnam

Around this time 12 years ago i was winging my way to Vietnam. I was coming up to my 30th birthday and life was looking nothing like I expected it to. I always imagined I would finish uni, get married, buy the house, head overseas then have babies. In reality it was, failed uni, got married, bought the house, headed overseas, got separated then divorced. Something about 30 make me so aware that life hadn’t gone to plan, and I totally dreaded it, wanted to avoid it and run away. So I bought tickets to Vietnam, and turns out it was the best thing I could have done. Rather than wallowing in what I perceived were my failings and hiding at home, I was out there doing something I loved, enjoying my life and was able to embrace the new decade rather than trying to hide from it.

I joined a G adventures 12 day tour and loved that I didn’t need to think about the planning beyond getting there in time and getting home afterwards. I also had ready made travel buddies which as a solo traveller on my first real trip alone was a definite bonus.

We started in Ho Chi Minh city and made our way north. After joining the group we had some optional side excursions. The first one offered that everyone took was to the Củ Chi tunnels just out of the city. Absolutely mind blowing experience, especially knowing people had lived in there. I was able to go through some of the bigger tunnels but couldn’t bring myself to go through the smaller ones! The museum in Ho Chi Minh city was pretty amazing too. Especially since so much of what we hear regarding the Vietnam was is from the American side, hearing it from the other side was a very different experience. Seeing the long lasting effects of agent orange was absolutely heartbreaking!

From Ho Chi Minh city we caught an overnight train to Nha Trang. I got to spend my birthday lazing on the beach, which I have to say, as a winter baby was an absolute dream come true! I always used to be so jealous my brother who was born in February could have pool parties for his birthday (and confused why he never wanted to!) but a pool party in July in Christchurch is definitely not so appealing, unless there is a heated indoor pool around, which there wasn’t anywhere near us.

After Nha Trang it was another overnight train to Hoi An (with plenty of card games!). I had been told about the beauty of Hoi An and I definitely experienced it for myself! I fell in love and would love to go back and spend a lot more time there! A side trip I took by myself was to My Son, a UNESCO world heritage site. Most of the group were in Vietnam as part of a larger trip and had been through Cambodia, seeing Angkor Wat so weren’t interested in this visit, but I loved it.

A bus drive over the pass took us to Hue. A highlight of our time in Hue was a motorbike tour through the city. Some of the tracks they took us on didn’t seem that passable, yet we still travelled them! Exploring the city was fantastic. I definitely want to go back and see it all again!

Another overnight train found us in Hanoi, then on to Halong Bay. Unfortunately the weather on the boat trip didn’t make for the most memorable pictures, but I enjoyed exploring the older parts of Hanoi.

It’s cool to look back and see how far I’ve come personally in the last 12 years. So much growth and development. So much more security in who I am and what I bring to the world. Much less trying to be something I’m not, and wearing the mask, deathly afraid of how I will be received if I dare to let it drop. I have more to write on this topic but will allow it the space of its own blog post to explore it more. Aside from the personal growth that has happened in that time, I’ve completed a bachelor’s degree as well as other supporting qualifications that allows me to work in a field that I absolutely adore and feel like I’m making a real difference in the world around me. I have an incredible husband and a fantastic son, and we have some great adventures planned ahead of us. I’d like to think my photography skills have developed some too, but who knows. I’m definitely making more of an effort to appear in photos rather than just taking them of everything else!

Sometimes I wish I could have looked forward to now, back when I was in my peak of fear and insecurity and darkness, to see the light that is still to come in my life. To know that even if it doesn’t feel like it right now, I’m on the right path.

If I was to give you one piece of advice right now, it would be to make the most of whatever stage you’re in even if it’s not what you dream of right now. There are definite benefits of every stage, and there are ways to live elements of your best life no matter what is going on around you. If it doesn’t feel that way right now, I’d love to chat!