The Second Last Word- Editor-in-Chief’s Address

By Abeer Yusuf

Photos by the Photography Team

Love.

If there was one word to sum the entire trip up, this would be it.

This trip began with most of us in our somewhat knitted groups embarking on an expedition that was to bring us to the land with no Facebook access. Through our prep meetings we knew more or less the faces we were expecting on the trip, but none of us knew what the faces would mean by the end of it.

Most of us were actually anxious about leaving our native soil, as that fated day on the 9th of July, Malaysia and her people were to be put under a tremendous test- it was the day of the Bersih rally. But by the end of the day, the 19 travellers would have undergone their very own tests - walking endlessly from place to place, tired, sleepy and perhaps already ruing the decision of coming on the trip – a taste of things to come in following days. 

Spending 24 hours with 19 strangers was going to be a task- imagine walking, sleeping, eating, shopping and living with them.Everyday was as peculiar and fascinating as could be. The first two days devoted to doing ‘the tourist thing’ – visiting the Chu Chi tunnels, War Remnants museum, water puppetry show among others- allowed travellers to bond with and know each other better. Having been on two previous trips I was wary of the work ethic that was about to be displayed on this trip; while the previous year (Chiang Mai) we operated from the confines of the hotel thanks to WiFi, Indonesia (in 2009) was where I had bonded most with my peers because we had to commune at the cybercafés just a walk away from the hotel. Luckily for me, this year one room became Command Central- Room 501, where everyone would be calling for information, checking up on whereabouts of others to even sending messages to other people and generally hanging out. The itinerary design and setup therefore lead to smooth functioning when the weekdays came with its official trips to various institutions. 

A little guest we encountered during one of our many photocalls.

They say that it is only at our worst that we get to know someone the best- and I say this without the slightest hint of exaggeration that conditions indeed became very tough for us. Waters were as testy and murky as the Mekong Delta- through minimal hours of sleep, tough editorial deadlines and tons of activities, it was truly a test for us all to see what could be the resulting end of this. And it gives me immense pride in being able to say that this year’s travellers have gone beyond all sorts of hurdles, even risking their health at times, to bring forth their personal pieces, reflections and love affairs with the city that is Saigon. It is no easy task to come home after a long, endlessly tiring day only to plop yourself in front of the computer to produce words- and words that make legible sense to an unacquainted reader at that. Yet grammatical and logical sense prevailed, and thanks to the likes of Andrea, WuiJia and John (all members of the Blog team) the blog was updated, without fail, every night, making the rest of us look good!

Despite being rained on, spirits remained high on the trip.

Another very important cog in the wheel that is the ‘In Search of Saigon’ excursion is the role of the student guides. Perhaps the most resounding understanding of what the student guides meant came inadvertently in one of our formal sessions, at Doi Rat Dep, where we, able bodied individuals were shown how even the most easiest of things that we take for granted, like navigating city streets or basic access amenities, are a challenge for those with disabilities. Having come to a country where even communicating in English was a challenge, our student guides were nothing less than God sent. Signage, roads, customs, foodways all so different from a country that we are neighbours to opened our eyes as to how crippled we would be had our guides not been there. To them we owe pretty much our entire trip, which would have otherwise gone down with extreme difficulty and made Saigon all the more foreign, rather than the home it came to be.

One of the reasons why we fell in love with Saigon was the culture. Our evenings were spent walking around parks, some travellers even bonding with locals over a game ofda cau (the local shuttlecock game), eating street food, packing off to Ben Thanh market for spots of shopping and so on. I in particular won’t forget the ‘Paddle Pop song’ blaring from every alternate motorbike vendor on the roads. Transportation was another thing that caught our fancy. Having thought that we had seen the worst of the rempits and motorcycle stunts in Malaysia, Vietnam served as a reminder that we hadn’t seen anything yet. Francesca, herself a capable biker, enjoyed the many thrills and near-death experiences of the easy-going, vicarious lives motorcyclists in Vietnam live. I find it important too, to remark that the mark Vietnamese roadways left on us was quite literal- within 10 days of our time there, students were beginning to looking left to right while crossing roads-  the American road system, rather than the right to left we more commonly favour in Commonwealth countries.

Unequivocally we all admired the close-knit community that makes the Vietnamese people – people come out huddling on tiny chairs and tables, sitting and talking as days and tourists go by. We replicated much the same- huddling around our laptops in the hotel’s computer area, talking, giggling and chatting with our work tapping itself away. We formed a little community over time, the Saigonners- each with our little roles in place. Our hotel provided quite a lot in terms of making this possible- from the sweet Uncle who would open the doors to those coming back from late night travails of Saigon (at 2am no less) to Son, the building’s handyman who was ever ready to help provide us with whatever it was we needed. The hospitality offered by Vy and her mother (owners of the hotel) is one that deserves extra mention not only because they bore a young adult racket like ours, but also because they went out of their way in making us feel welcome. Seeing that some of us were staying up late at night to finish work, we were coerced into eating biscuits and bananas to keep us going, and despite having no obligation to do so, Vy’s mother came out to our bus on the day we were leaving for our overnight trip to the Mekong Delta only to see us off (it warmed my heart that she said ‘see you later’ to Dr.Yeoh by touching her palm to his and saying “Goodbye teacher”). On our last night in Saigon, we were given a farewell party in the hotel lobby, replete with lychees, French bread and drinks. If this doesn’t show the love of the people for us, I don’t know what does. 

The fruits of friendship: Christyna Fong and Sabrina Kamaruddin at the Mekong Delta

They say it’s the people that make a journey worthwhile. There is no ‘In Search Of’ trip where this testament has stood true-r. From Jia Wei the bun producing video-man to John (who unleashed his inner Mona) the man that was always there, ready to lend a helping hand whenever one asked for it to WuiJia, the woman who went beyond the call of duty only to help others in every which way possible. Nate (Audrey) the thoughtful and caring one to Joanna the maternal figure, who along with Farah, forms one half of the Medical Mary Poppins team; Farah without whom the trip wouldn’t have been half as interesting and lively (you must have her on EVERY one of the forthcoming In Search Of trips). Fei the eternal nonchalant dude to Cyren the lepidopterist who can churn articles in minutes; Sabrina the most dedicated Video Head and culturally aware personality. Francesca the hopelessly addicted Saigon-lover to Mumbi the bestest ‘bestie’ who made an amazing bus seat buddy, Christyna the lovely dainty friendly soul. Andrea the one with a voice which seems like it has been copy-pasted from a Disney animation to Nadia the child-like Korean doll. Bonnie without whose critical inputs during sessions we’d probably fall asleep, to Lochna the tireless and sweet Bhangra choreographer-cum-editor, this trip contained the most vibrant and personality-diverse melting pot one could ever ask for. From mere acquaintances to fast friends, this trip did what it set out to do- make us stronger, wiser and knowledgeable in the various ways of the world and its people. It ought to be known that this trip also had the largest concentration of LGBT community members, a feat I assume would be hard to replicate in the future study trips.

Awkwards-R-Us.

Unfortunately with love comes heartbreak, and at the end of our remarkable 10 days here, we had to bid Saigon adieu. To say that tears were shed would be an understatement. The trip came to an end with a feeling of morbidity, that this camaraderie, chemistry would never be found again, no matter how hard we attempted to recreate it back home- it wouldn’t be the same. Promises made to meet each other and stay in touch, we said our last goodbyes to the city that became our second home, and will forever more be referred to as the city where we found love. Adele’s lyrics come to mind:

Nothing compares, no worries or cares

Regrets and mistakes they’re memories made

Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?

Personally this marks the end of my official sojourn on board the ‘In Search Of’ series, having now been a part of three. If I can attribute my altered life perspective to anything, it would be this series, which showed me the bounty and difficulty both of teamwork, the beauty one can find in the smallest of places and meekest of people, and the open-mindedness and tolerance which I feel I lacked prior to undertaking these trips. I can now walk incredibly long distances without giving in to fatigue all the while actually taking in sights and sounds and having a whale of time with peers. For the incredible journey this has been, thank you. To the editors aboard this trip, thank you. Had it not been for your dedication and motivation to see the best of the articles featured on the blog, this blog would have been fundamentally lacking. To Bats, the chaperone for this year, thank you for taking such good care (and with such good demeanour) of us despite being ill. You’ve been the coolest chaperone! To Dr Yeoh, thank you for undertaking this trip year after year tirelessly, to educate and enlighten us, put up with us and bear us. If it weren’t for you and your brainchild, we’d literally not be here. And to you, my peers- you ought to applaud yourselves. This year’s blog has beaten all past years’ with a record 44 entries minutely describing everything you have come to learn and love about Saigon. And lastly, to Saigon, thank you. You were happiness- amplified.

Abeer Yusuf is currently midway through her fourth year in Honours, researching on South Asian Third Culture Kids, and would one day like to be credited with making the term ‘desi’ more commonplace in Malaysia.