AND SO WE RETURN
Well. The visa extension here in Vietnam proved to be quite difficult. To extend for one month you have to pay over $100 and give your passport to a tourist agency for about a week. To extend for 3 months it is closer to $350 for each extension and you have to mail your passport to Hanoi. We thought the idea of being away from our passports was a bit unsavory - I know it is the norm here, but if for any reason we did not get them back or they arrived very late we would be in a very difficult position. No matter who we called we could not get the documentation to take to the immigration office ourselves. And of course, not so many borders are open right now. Even if we stayed here for another month or two, what would we do then? Traveling on tourist visas, as we have been, may prove tough for the next year or so. Difficult to tell. So, after much debate, we've made the difficult decision to pause our international travels (officially canceled Hanoi, India, Istanbul, and Greece) and return back to New York. We fly out May 5th. Long flight, but it could have been worse. We were able to book a decent one and we leave Da Nang today. The last week and a half has been busy and strange, but we've still been able to enjoy the beach and noodles as much as possible.
Looking at the prices of apartments in New York City was, of course, horrifying, so we settled on a very nice apartment upstate in Hudson, NY - about 2 hours into the city by train. Different for us, but the town seems nice and the apartment has a lot of space. This will (hopefully) allow us to work a lot, pursue interesting ventures, and save some money during our time back in the US, all of which would be good. We hope to return to live in Tangier, Morocco once there is a little less uncertainty, perhaps sometime next year. But who knows! We would go to Morocco now, but their border is closed indefinitely. Until things are calmer, we will enjoy New York and seeing family and friends for a bit before we take off again across the ocean. We miss some American food too - like BBQ and chicken wings. It will be nice to enjoy that for a while. Hudson has a lot of organic farms nearby so this summer will include some good produce and roast chicken.
I can’t say we are thrilled to return to the US. Or least, I am not. I have enjoyed hearing and seeing less election coverage than normal. And of course, the US is infinitely higher in COVID cases than here in Vietnam, which hasn’t had a new diagnosis in weeks. And we’ve had an amazing year plus living abroad. The people we have met, the food we have eaten, and the places we’ve seen have been so memorable. This time abroad was better than I could have imagined - although I guess I didn’t go into it having many expectations. In truth, it has gone by quite fast. It will be a little sad to no longer be on the road, but nice to be cozy somewhere to weather the storm. It’s 90 degrees here; I assume the cold of the Northeast and living upstate this winter will come as a shock.
The places closest to my heart, and I think Ben agrees, are Tangier, Sicily, and the Cyclades in Greece. The calm, the quality of life, and the quality of the food were the best. Our daily routines in these places were the most relaxing, even when we had work to attend to. Even so, everywhere we went we met kind, thoughtful, hospitable people who made us feel comfortable and ensured we were well fed. I think the biggest take away for me was this - well two. Firstly, you can live in the world joyfully with almost nothing. I thought not having access to certain things would be hard - it wasn’t always convenient, but it wasn’t the worst. Secondly, while globalization has made food traditions and exports easier than ever before, food is best experienced regionally. This is not to say that replicating recipes from afar is a bad idea - it’s not - but experiencing food at a local level is the most thorough way to understand a food tradition, and the best way to understand people. Some of my favorite food was in Thailand - where I was so much less familiar with the dishes and flavors than I had expected. Oh, and I guess third - I have mixed feelings about the state of tourism in the world. I assume things will perhaps change with travel based on recent events, but I've had an interesting experience as a respectful guest and observer. I have a new perspective on the ways in which travel and experiencing other places can be dangerously minimized or disrespected by tourist activity. I guess I'm not quite done coming to a conclusion on all of that, but I am glad to have a different understanding of what it is to "travel."
We left New York having never spent more than 2 weeks straight together (on our trip to Mexico in 2018) and embarked on a trip where we are together nearly all day every day (a practice well-honed for present times), in accommodations of various sizes, in a bunch of places we had never been, carrying only what could fit in a carry-on suitcase and a backpack. Ben took care of me through random migraines, when I had what I can only assume was salmonella in Portugal, when I had a meltdown last week about having to return to the US, and the various times I unknowingly ate gluten. We took care of each other when we simultaneously came down with fevers and a head cold in Casablanca and during all those times when travel and logistics became stressful. We did a lot of adventurous exploring, a lot of work, a lot of eating, a lot of creating, and a lot of relaxing this year. And so for me, any day, in any place, is made much better by being able to spend it with Ben. We plan to keep exploring, trying new things, learning, and being cozy no matter where we are in the world. Starting sometime in May we will begin our Hudson Valley adventures. I’m extraordinarily thankful to have had this opportunity to engage in life in so many different places, eternally grateful for having the best person to do it with, and honored that you all followed along on our journey.
Stay well, stay safe, and stay curious even in these strange times.
