Ninh Bin

In 1998 Dennis and I attended an Adventure & Travel Show in Chicago. At that show we met the owners of Thompson Safaris and in 1999 we went with them to Kilimanjaro and then on safari in Tanzania. At this show we also met two men who were promoting tourism in their country of Viet Nam. We were awed by that. It was only thirty years earlier that Dennis was drafted and sent by our government to Viet Nam. Even in 1967 he found the country to be a beautiful place but one of which he knew very little.

In 2017 he returned for the second time. We visited all of the major cities and stayed in an AirBnB in Vung Tau near where he had disembarked 50 years earlier. We very much enjoyed the trip

Lunch in Ninh Bin

but he didn’t have a chance to visit the small villages he remembered. So here we are again.

Today in Ninh Binh we had a very lovely lunch at a home which does a small business serving meals to 6 - 8 tourists at a time. The lady told Tommy our intrepid guide that a North Vietnamese soldier lived just next door. While we ate Tommy and our host paid him a visit. After lunch we had tea with Bui Van Thong in his living room.

Dennis showed him an album of pictures from Viet Nam in 1967. Bui knew just where he had been as he had come down from the north to fight the Americans in the south. Bui was 15 years old in 1972 when he was fighting in the south.

His cause, fighting for independence and the reunification of his country was so much more powerful than what our drafted soldiers carried with them. 

As an outsider, seeing Bui looking at Dennis as a young soldier and telling him how handsome he was, was an extraordinary moment. I was taking photos and videotaping. I was unusually nervous because I wanted to do such a good job. I got some great shots of the underside of the coffee table and sown the hallway.

The World According to Dennis:

OK guys, I’m starting to think dementia is kicking in big time. Hopefully, it’s just sensory overload. I had to check our itinerary to remind me where we were and what we saw yesterday. Two days ago? If I say we visited a pagoda, I’d be safe. I think we’ve visited about 236 pagodas and seen Buddha in every size, shape and facial expression: smiling, grinning, winking, scowling, grimacing, and sulking. I think I can say that me and the Buddha are now “buds.” We know each other well but I believe he’s seen enough of me and me of him.  Don’t get me wrong. We’re friends but even friends need a little space every now and then.  

After lunch yesterday, I made a new friend. I mentioned to Cindy once that I’d like to be able to talk with a North or South Vietnamese soldier (but one who fought for the North) to see what they were going through then and now. I was in Viet Nam in 1966-1967. Cindy mentioned it to our guide Tommy at lunch.  Tommy left the table to talk with our host. He came back later and said the host’s neighbor was a former North Vietnamese regular and he would ask him if he would like to talk with me and he agreed. Cindy, Tommy, and I walked next door and I met Bui Van Thong. Bui was 15 in 1972 and related how he had fought in the same area I did but 5 years later. With Tommy’s help I was able to ask a number of questions I’ve wondered about since leaving there in 1967.

It was a memorable meeting. Bui was very friendly and gracious as he related his experiences. Fifty years later, we were now just two grandpas who could share our thoughts about what once was, now is, and part, shaking hands as friends. I believe life is “making memories” and thanks to Cindy, Tommy, and Bui I’ve made another one that will last for the rest of my life.