... in response to Re: Re: Petition Approved, posted by Keith NC on Jun 17, 2005Thanks Keith.
My fiance is still in Vietnam. We are going the fiance visa route. I will be visiting her the end of July, but being apart is miserible.
I have been to Vietnam three times now for an agreggate of about two months. I have been mostly to the South. Uyen lives in a village in Long An province about 70 miles southwest of Saigon. I did spend a weekend in Hanoi during my first week. Uyen and I spent about a week in Dalat. It is in the central highlands and a popular vacation destination for the Vietnamese. In Dalat, the weather is nice and temperatures moderate. We plan to visit Hue on my next trip.
Vietnam is beautiful in some areas, but it is very much a third world country. The government is dysfunctional and the infrastructure limited. There is little if any environmental regulation so some beautiful areas are jeapordized. For example, some of the smaller rivers, even the Saigon River in places, are filled with garbage. The big cities seem to fill with smog from the motorbikes and wood stoves. I am no tree hugger, but it is striking. Despite all that, there is something about the place that draws me back (in addition to the woman I love). Just little things, like school girls wearing ao dais and riding their bikes to school, streets clogged with motorbikes, kids holding hands walking down the street (boys with boys, girls with girls, no boys with girls), brilliant green rice paddys, an orange setting sun. As much as I miss some of the conveniences of American life when I am there, when I fly into Saigon I have a genuine happiness that is hard to explain.
I agree with you on the work ethic. A six day work week is normal and many work 12 hours a day. I have great admiration for the Vietnamese I know. They have enormous inner strength combined with a great capicity for love and kindness. The extended family and strong family ethic is still present for many.
I wish I could say that my fiance is a great cook, but.... It was just not her job. She has 9 brothers and sisters. They all have different roles in the family. Uyen is the youngest and the only University graduate. Her role was to get an education, find a good job and help provide financial support. Siblings do the cooking, cleaning, home maintenance and work. Some are married and have children of their own, but still come home every weekend and help support the parents. I love being around on Sundays when the whole family and all the grand kids are there. Vietnamese food is unique. I really enjoy a number of dishes and dump the hot sauce and chili peppers on everything I eat at home. Uyen is undergoing intensive training in cooking and promises to be an expert by the time she arrives here 
Want to share some of your travel experiences?
Congratulations again and good luck.
Craig
