Leaving Vietnam

The next day was spent by the lapping waters on the beach. Lee did not go roaming and sat reading his book. I swam in the crystal waters watching a shoal of tiny silver fish arc through the water just in front of me like liquid sunlight, a swallow skimmed the water joyfully nearby. I just bobbed about in the water and it suddenly struck me that I could have been in a classroom with 7y3. It seems a lifetime away, an alternative universe; the clocks, the bells, the noise and pressure. I still love to hear how people are getting on. I think dying must be like this. Everything goes on as it always has, its just that you operate somewhere else! Time has ceased to matter in a way, and you live very much in the moment. I realise that I am very lucky.
I was brought back to the moment by the sight of four coconuts being cut from a nearby palm and the hum of voices. This is the beauty of this special place. A group of three local boys walk past happily with their daily catch of fish threaded onto poles. They have had a good day by the looks of it, not so the fish! Conical hatted women offer, "Massage Madam?" I decline, as I sip my papaya shake. At lunch I have my usual egg-fried rice with the local fish sauce, an exquisite spiciness.
Evening. We pop to the 'Hop in' Aussie bar, and order skewers of pork, chips and egg salad. All goes well until the order comes: salad and chips arrive. 15 minutes later my skewers of pork, peppers and onions arrive! 30 minutes later Lees skewer arrives. They do not understand the, 'we eat together idea'! Not good.
After this, things begin to niggle. It is time to move on. The winds of change blow again and with it comes a quiet tension. All the washing has been returned so we pack up. We are heading for Cambodia but I leave Vietnam with a heavy heart: that we did not take more time in the north, that we got washed out in the middle. It is a wonderful, vibrant land, full of little smiling peole, who are immensely strong and not afrais of hard work. I will always remember the colours, the lush green vegetation of the countryside and mountains, the warmth, the variety, the frit and the comical hats.