An Australian in Vietnam
Everyone e-mails holiday diaries home from internet cafés or wi-fi hotspots in exotic 
places these days, many of them decorated by holiday snaps taken promiscuously with tiny digital cameras. This Vietnam diary, though, collated from e-mails sent from Vietnam by Jill Greenwell a few weeks ago (in June 2007), is out of the ordinary. Jill, an old friend from two postings in Australia, is a much travelled lady, like many Australians, with an experienced and exceptionally observant eye. Moreover she writes with the clarity and precision of a classical scholar, which is exactly what she is, having been for many years involved in the classics programme at Canberra Girls’ Grammar School, one of Australia’s prestigious schools for girls (not surprisingly our own Patricia Hewitt was educated there, although not, I hasten to say, in Jill’s time…).
You can read Jill Greenwell’s Vietnam diary, and see a couple more of her Vietnam photographs, by clicking here. Enjoy!
Brian
E-mailing and even submitting opinion on sites when on the backpacker trail is a type of insurance. Hopefully someone will connect the dots and figure out the date and location of your last message, should you drop off the edge of the map. Myanmar (Burma for the UK based) is one place lacking Internet cafes. Although I have to admit, the last time I looked in was 2006. Usually it’s not worth taking a laptop, but that said the Starbucks or “posh” hotel Wifi connection offers a two-way method to stay in touch. I recently covered much of the same ground in Vietnam as Jill. You just don’t realise how much you’ve been influenced by Western propaganda till you see the “case for the defence”. Same in Laos. Another bonus is you don’t run into low-life Anglos particularly Brits, especially when you get up-country.
If you’re looking to join the Angels in the battle between good and evil, forget it. Because from my perspective there are only bad guys and worse guys. But hey, live for the day. Third-word Asia; the last playground of the English gentleman. So get into character, guys.