Glenda's travels: Chuc Mung Nam Moi

That means Happy New Year. The Vietnamese New Year is not a bacchanalian like the American New Year. It is closer to Rosh Hashanah. Maybe not so serious, but it is a family rather than a public holiday. Everyone goes home and spends three days to a week with their families. That was why the Tet Offensive was such a surprise. It was kind of like the Yom Kippur War except that both sides observe Tet, so no one expected the North to stay mobilized. Nowadays, all of the shops and restaurants close for several days. Some have already closed as the employees are already on the road home. I took a quiet walk through the French Quarter today. On this street, all of the local stores are closed; only Apple is still open.

Then I walked through the normally bustling Old Quarter with its millions of shops for the tourists, but it was only at half bustle. A lot of the tourist shops were already closed, but the flower shops were doing a booming trade. It is traditional to decorate houses for New Year's with kumquat trees and peach blossoms. For days I have seen motorbikes going by with trees on the back. Today I walked through the section of the Old Quarter where you can buy them.

Kumquat trees

Peach blossoms for sale

Getting the peach blossoms home

Getting a small peach blossom home

Getting a large peach blossom home

I saw on Facebook that Devin Mills was travelling in Cambodia and Vietnam, too, so I texted him and we have been trying to figure out if our schedules will put us in the same place at the same time. It seemed close for Luang Prabang next week. Today is my last day in Vietnam. I am leaving tomorrow since there will be nothing to do when everything shuts down for Tet. After my last walk through the French and Old Quarters, I was sitting by a lake, reading, and watching people walk by when ... you can see where this is going. I looked up and there was Devin with two friends. Even though we are in the same city, what are the odds that we would run into each other? Unfortunately, Devin did not get the message about Tet. He and his friends are staying in Hanoi for two more days and have just figured out that there will be nothing to do and nowhere to eat. Actually, I think they are more concerned about no place to drink. I expect to see them again next week in Luang Prabang when they finally get there.

I have been very amused by the various signs I have seen in Vietnam. You would think that they would get a Brit or an American to translate, especially in museums, but the translations are often the way that Vietnamese speak English. Also, I find some of the things they find necessary to put into signs just plain strange. Here are some of the signs of Vietnam.

My all time favorite: warnings at the swimming pool, including not to litter or split anywhere. And the ever important reminder to wear a bathing suit.