{"id":2618,"date":"2017-06-14T19:04:38","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T19:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/odysseavoyage.wpengine.com\/?p=2618\/"},"modified":"2017-11-13T20:55:30","modified_gmt":"2017-11-13T20:55:30","slug":"vietnam-the-country-of-a-thousand-smiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/vietnam-the-country-of-a-thousand-smiles\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnam, the country of a thousand smiles!"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_button _builder_version=”3.0.85″ button_text=”TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEXT VACATION” button_url=”https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/contact-us\/” url_new_window=”off” custom_button=”off” button_icon_placement=”right” \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.85″ background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n

By Carole R.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

They are individuals filled with resilience, who have learned, the hard way, not to give up.<\/p>\n

After surviving the Indochina war and the American war, after having lived 7 years in long and narrow stone tunnels, how can they smile so much? Do they want to make up for having cried for so long?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When I arrived in Vietnam, I did not know why their smiles fascinated me so much.<\/p>\n

But I know that it’s now the time to go for a stroll in the streets of Hanoi or the charming Hoi An.<\/p>\n

Now, before the call of the too modern, the too industrialized, the too over-consumed come to haunt the Vietnamese and make them switch to the “too many tourists to appreciate”.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s because of Vietnam\u2019s Ha Long Bay, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its 1969 karstic islands. It is to sleep in a junk, to marvel as much of at the sunset as of the sunrise. It is to wake up in the light of dawn to the noises of the fishermen\u2019s boats that left to seek their pittance for the day. It is also to sip a delicious coffee (Vietnam is the world’s second largest coffee producer) while watching life around you awaken.<\/p>\n

We must now see the people who are reborn in life without being afraid of the noises and smell left behind by the wars. We must rediscover with them the temples buried in the forest, the pleasures of a walk-in sampan or by bicycle and listen to them tell us about their joie de vivre.<\/p>\n

Traveling through Vietnam from north to south, I was overwhelmed by the whole story of the boat people and Kim Thuy, a writer that has since set roots in Montreal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

By watching the people live, letting ourselves be surprised by their agility in crossing the avenues, and their lives perhaps, without stopping, gazing head held up high, still straight ahead, admiring them while these women with curved backs are rooted in the green rice fields, I thought to myself that behind these smiles that are given so easily to the lenses of our cameras in their local markets, in their narrow and congested streets, I thought that behind these smiles … Nothing is hidden!<\/p>\n

But nothing at all! Their smile simply expresses their joy of meeting us.
\n For this reason alone, you must go to Vietnam. Now.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They are individuals filled with resilience, who have learned, the hard way, not to give up. After surviving the Indochina war and the American war, after having lived 7 years in long and narrow stone tunnels, how can they smile so much? Do they want to make up for having cried for so long?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

C\u2019est un peuple rempli de r\u00e9siliences, qui a appris, \u00e0 la dure, \u00e0 ne pas baisser les bras.<\/p>\r\n

Apr\u00e8s qu\u2019un peuple ait travers\u00e9 la guerre de l\u2019Indochine et la guerre des Am\u00e9ricains, comme ils le disent si souvent, apr\u00e8s qu\u2019un peuple ait v\u00e9cu 7 ans dans des tunnels de pierre si \u00e9troits et si longs (il y a 250 km de tunnels au Vietnam), comment peuvent-ils autant sourire? Veulent-ils se rattraper d\u2019avoir si longtemps pleur\u00e9?<\/p>\r\n

En arrivant au Vietnam, je ne savais pas pourquoi leurs sourires me fascinaient autant.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

Mais je sais que c\u2019est maintenant qu\u2019il faut aller se balader dans les rues de Hanoi ou de la si charmante Hoi An.<\/p>\r\n

Maintenant, avant que l\u2019appel du trop moderne, du trop industrialis\u00e9, du trop surconsomm\u00e9 ne viennent happer les Vietnamiens et les faire basculer dans le \u00abtrop de touristes pour appr\u00e9cier\u00bb.<\/p>\r\n

Parce que le Vietnam, c\u2019est la baie de Ha Long, class\u00e9 au Patrimoine mondial de l\u2019Unesco, avec ses 1969 \u00eeles karstiques. C\u2019est dormir dans une jonque, s\u2019\u00e9merveiller autant du coucher que du lever de soleil. C\u2019est se r\u00e9veiller aux lueurs de l\u2019aube\u00a0 aux bruits des barques des p\u00eacheurs partis chercher leur pitance pour la journ\u00e9e. C\u2019est aussi siroter un d\u00e9licieux caf\u00e9 (le Vietnam est le 2e<\/sup> producteur au monde de caf\u00e9) en regardant la vie tout autour qui s\u2019\u00e9veille.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

Il faut, maintenant, voir ce peuple qui rena\u00eet \u00e0 la vie sans avoir peur des bruits et des odeurs que laissent les guerres derri\u00e8re elles. Il faut red\u00e9couvrir avec eux les temples enfouis dans la for\u00eat, les plaisirs d\u2019une promenade en sampan ou en v\u00e9lo et \u00a0les \u00e9couter nous raconter leur joie de vivre.<\/p>\r\n

En parcourant le Vietnam du nord au sud, je me suis laiss\u00e9e envahir par\u00a0 toute l\u2019histoire des boat people et de Kim Thuy, cette \u00e9crivaine enracin\u00e9e depuis \u00e0 Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

En regardant vivre ce peuple, en me laissant surprendre par leur agilit\u00e9 \u00e0 traverser les avenues, et leurs vies peut-\u00eatre, sans s\u2019arr\u00eater, en regardant, la t\u00eate haute, toujours tout droit, en les admirant pendant que ces femmes au dos depuis longtemps courb\u00e9 s\u2019enracinent dans les rizi\u00e8res si vertes, je me suis dit que derri\u00e8re ces sourires donn\u00e9s si facilement aux lentilles de nos cam\u00e9ras dans leurs march\u00e9s locaux, dans leurs rues \u00e9troites et encombr\u00e9s, je me suis dit que derri\u00e8re ces sourires\u2026 il ne se cache rien!<\/p>\r\n

Mais rien du tout! Leur sourire exprime tout simplement leur joie de nous rencontrer.<\/p>\r\n

Pour cette seule raison, il faut aller au Vietnam. Maintenant.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vietnam-trips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVietnam, the country of a thousand smiles! - Odyssea Voyage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/vietnam-the-country-of-a-thousand-smiles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vietnam, the country of a thousand smiles! - Odyssea Voyage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They are individuals filled with resilience, who have learned, the hard way, not to give up. 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