I leave China today.
My next stop is another country that was never on my must-visit list: Vietnam.
Growing up in the 70s, Vietnam entered my world through headlines, films, and later the musical Miss Saigon. None of it painted a picture that made a young mind curious to visit. It was heavy. Complicated. Frozen in a moment of history that didn’t invite nuance.
But most things in life refuse to stay frozen.
Vietnam has changed.
The world has changed.
And so have I.
I’ve learned, slowly and sometimes reluctantly, that places deserve to be met in the present, not judged by the shadows of how they were introduced to us. What once felt distant or intimidating can become welcoming when viewed with fresh eyes.
I know the contrast will be felt.
Japan. South Korea. China.
Each with their own rhythms, rules, and quiet order.
Vietnam will be different. And that difference is not something I’m bracing against —it’s something I’m welcoming.
Travel, at its best, isn’t about checking off destinations. It’s about allowing your assumptions to loosen their grip. Letting new experiences replace old narratives. Giving yourself permission to be surprised.
I don’t know what Vietnam will show me yet.
But I’m ready to meet it where it is now —not where history once left it.