Vietnam

When I made the decision to grant myself a sabbatical, I knew I wanted to go far away, but wasn’t sure what direction. East? West? But one thing I knew was that I wanted to go somewhere that would be so unfamiliar as to make me feel somewhat uncomfortable. I also wanted to see Ha Long Bay. So I bought a one-way ticket to Asia — where I’d never set foot — and landed in Vietnam. I lived in Saigon for four months before moving to Bangkok. My daily breakfast was a bowl of steaming pho in the steaming heat of the city’s small alleyways. And Vietnam did make me uncomfortable… in all the ways I’d hoped.