10 Photos 10 days (Lunar New Year)
VIETNAM
Halong Bay, Vietnam
Aldous Huxley famously said, “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” As an American traveler, I’ve heard many people speak of the many countries that are worthy of tourism, and what places are romanticized as ideal. I’ve come to realize that within those very suggestions there is layered implicit bias. When Tam (maid of honor, travel companion and decades long friend) decided to visit Taipei for three weeks, we knew that we wanted to travel beyond Taiwan to celebrate the Lunar New Year. I had been told by many locals, that the Taiwanese spend the holiday celebrating with family so Taipei would be relatively quiet. Deciding where we would visit was largely determined by the the places between the two of us that we had yet to visit. She had been to Japan, Bali, and Singapore. I had already visited Hong Kong, Bangkok, and South Korea. We also wanted to remain generally in the region and travel toward warm weather. As a child, I heard the country Vietnam always in the context of War. So when we decided to visit Vietnam, I had to release my own preconceived notions. Hanoi has an urban energy surrounded by frenzy of scooters, tall buildings, and a density of people. However, just an hour outside of the city we traveled to Halong Bay. The natural landscape was absolutely stunning. We spent the day on a boat taking in the natural landscape throughout the bay. We also explored Sun Sot (Surprise) cave and were even visited by a family a monkeys. (I’m pretty sure that was the highlight of Leila’s day.)
French Colonial Architecture – Hanoi, Vietnam
At first glance, I could immediately see the French Colonial Architecture throughout Hanoi. Stylistically, it reminded me of New Orleans. While visiting, we stayed in the “Old Quarter”. While you can see the beauty in the architectural fenestration, I was also deeply aware that the presence of European architecture also represents colonization, erasure of culture, and annihilation to anyone who disagreed. French colonist came to Vietnam in the 1886 and established a council to “turn Hanoi into a European City’. There are French styled villas, tree lined boulevards with traffic circles, beau arts decorative motifs, and interior courtyards.
St. Josephs Cathedral, Hanoi Vietnam
One of the first structures designed and constructed at the direction of French Colonists was St. Josephs Cathedral in 1886. The church was designed in the Gothic Revival style to resemble Notre Dame in Paris. The cathedral is located in the Old Quarter in Hon Kiem Lake Square. The original site was a Buddhist Temple Baoh Tien Pagoda. French colonist demolished the previous temple to build St. Josephs. The square multi-colored flag in front of the temple is usually displayed in religious space. This is a space that we happened upon on one of our walks throughout the Old Quarter. It is fascinating that French Colonists first built a church. It is a reminder to me how Christianity has been used over and over again as a tool to reinforce cultural oppression and genocide.
Hoa Loa Prison – Hanoi Vietnam
We continued to learn about the dark side of French colonization at Hoa La Prison. Shortly after the French Colonist began construction on St. Josephs Cathedral, they started construction on Hoa Loa prison so they could jail Vietnamese residents who resisted colonization. The museum shows how women and men who fought for independence during French occupation where tortured and executed (guillotine not photographed but present). I was a struck by a quote from Comrade Ngo Gia Tu, ” . . . I’m determined not to accept any action that is assigned to me. I’m not the one who founded Communism. Communism was created by circumstances or by the oppression of the capitalists in the world that harms the interest of workers and peasants!” Ironically, this is also the same prison that housed American POW’s during the Vietnam War. It is often referred to as the Hanoi Hilton. The photograph above shows the American POW’s that were located here during the war including late Senator John McCain.
Climbing 1000 Steps – Ninh Binh, Vietnam
We traveled outside of the city to Ninh Binh Vietnam, and Leila and I climbed 500 steps to access this breathtaking view. I mention this as a reminder that although Leila sometimes appears much older, she is only five and sometimes, I ask so much from her. She is an adventurous spirit ready to tackle any activity that comes her way. We went to several places in Vietnam, and some places that were not so exciting for a five year old. She was with me every step of the way although not photographed in many of the museum photos. Our travels givers her access and an introduction to history, culture and geography in the spaces where they took place. This is valuable access that I hope will be shape her understanding of the world.
PHILIPPINES
Hotel Not Accessible by Car – From Busuanga Airport to Sunlight Eco Tourism Island
Our trip to Palawan was a test in patience. From the airport, we were picked up and taken 45 minutes away to the dock. After boarding the speed boat, we had an additional 45 minute ride to our hotel. Once we arrived on the island we all immediately sensed that all of the drama of the journey was immediately worth it. We had an island to ourselves. There were other patrons but the space was so generously allocated that we had moments of seclusion.
Infinity pool + White Sand Beaches
This pool is equivalent to heaven for Leila. The past three years, swim lessons have been a consistent activity in her Saturday schedule, but since we moved to Taiwan it was one of the activities that I eliminated from her list so that we could maintain some balance. While in the Philippines, she lived in the water during our visit. After breakfast, she went directly to the pool and remained there until sunset.
Beautiful Sunrises and Sunsets
According to John Berger, ‘The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled. Each evening we see the sun set. We know that the earth is turning away from it. Yet the knowledge, the explanation, never quite fits the sight.” Our individual villa with personalized balcony gave us easy access to breathtaking sunrises each morning and star gazing at night. Leila and I often say when we watch the sunset, that we are sending the sun over to wake up our friends and family on the other side of the world. The sun is our global connector. We imagine that when we are saying goodnight to the sun that our friends are saying good morning at the same time.
Finally Relaxing and unplugging
It took several days but I finally allowed myself to relax and unplug. Thanks to a spotty WiFi connection, I was forced to disengage and it was absolutely worth it. I returned to Taipei energized and ready to begin the semester. Rather than documenting every moment, I decided to live in the moment.
Settlement Near Cebu Airport
On our return, we had a lengthy layover in Cebu and decided to get lunch at a restaurant just beyond the airport. Seeing this settlement located adjacent to the river with access to beautiful views of the mountains immediately brought me back to my research on urban settlements. The restaurant attempted, with little success, to obstruct the visual access to the settlement by applying translucent glass. The contrast is striking, and I’m certain that the reality beyond the tin roofs and the dynamic roof lines is a fascinating story about resilience.