It was almost 5 am when the night bus left me in Hue. Night buses in Vietnam always arrive too early in the morning. Usually, one would book a room to sleep until daylight, but I had only enough time for one day and wanted to make the most of it. I had some breakfast, rented a bike, and made my way to the imperial city. There, I walked around the old temples for a while, enduring the worst audioguide I had ever come across. Then, I met with a friend, and she took me to try my first egg coffee; I couldn’t believe I had been missing it all this time. I had some extra time before calling it a day, so I biked to see a couple of local points of interest until sunset and made my way back along the riverbank of the Sông Hương. It was there that I witnessed this scene. Dozens of people were jumping in the water, playing around.
One of the things that surprised me the most on this trip is realizing the numerous unnoticed advantages we have in life, which we often take for granted. Such simple things, like being able to afford swimming classes, or even having the infrastructure in our cities and towns to be taught how to swim. It never occurred to me how other kids that grow so close to the ocean or the river couldn’t swim properly. Most of the people here use life-saving jackets, or anything that they could improvise to keep themselves afloat. However, one thing is universal for all species: our love and passion for water, whether it be rivers or seas.
One of the things that surprised me the most on this trip is realizing the numerous unnoticed advantages we have in life, which we often take for granted. Such simple things, like being able to afford swimming classes, or even having the infrastructure in our cities and towns to be taught how to swim. It never occurred to me how other kids that grow so close to the ocean or the river couldn’t swim properly. Most of the people here use life-saving jackets, or anything that they could improvise to keep themselves afloat. However, one thing is universal for all species: our love and passion for water, whether it be rivers or seas.
