The meaning of life

My mother often tells me "Nobody asks you how many countries you've been to, they ask you how many children you have". In my parents' and grandparents' generations, they experienced the French and American wars. Life was very hard at that time and they were happy with having many children, in their cases, 3 to 5 children. My grandmother is nearly 90 years old and she has never been abroad in her entire life. Last year after being convinced much, my mother agreed to travel abroad for the first time to Singapore. It was difficult for her to travel at age 67. She was so nervous before the flights and she had to try to catch up with the tour schedule, although she was pretty tired.

In my generation, we young people have more choices and opportunities in our lives. However, most of the Vietnamese girls I've known are not interested in or cannot afford traveling much. The traditional life style in the big cities of Vietnam is women often get married at age 22-28, have two children, raise them up, then they will become grandmothers at age 50-60, again take care of their grandchildren and when they are old and sick, they will have someone to rely on. The happiness in their lives is to see the next generations with love and hope. Certainly this is just the majority and there are women who travel or study abroad before and after they get married.

Looking back at the past, my poor childhood and hard student's life are sad memories. When I was a little girl, I never dared to dream of traveling anywhere. We were so poor that what we ate every day to survive was the most important thing. My life was really meaningful when I could earn money and started traveling. I always remember the different feelings I've experienced before and after the trips. Traveling solo requires more preparation than going on a tour group. I am so excited and also concerned before the trips and when I step onto a new land, the feeling is very special, like a dream comes true. I enjoy meeting new people and listening to the stories of their lives which I would never know if I only stayed at home. Sometimes I leave with sadness and tears, feeling my connections with and love for the places and people I've spent time with. While going back home safely makes me feel accomplishments from the trips, I always feel I miss so much the happy moments I've just experienced. It always takes time to go back to the regular life and then I start planning for the next destinations.

Seeing poverty, homeless and desperate people makes me feel sad. However, I love to see optimism, smiles, happiness, care and friendliness of the people I've met when traveling. And I realize how beautiful our world is and that human beings have created so many magnificent works. Travel is the best experience to learn, feel and appreciate what we have got in our lives.

Some days ago I heard on the radio someone saying that a meaningful life is when we have something to do everyday, someone to love and something to dream about. There are two things that I am proud of. First, I travel with the money I have earned. My parents didn't give me money, but they trusted me that I would not do wrong things. They also allowed me to travel abroad on my own, especially during the lunar new years which are the time for the family reunion (but long holiday for me). Other parents may not accept that.

The second thing I am proud of is that I have made a little contribution to the community and my country. During my 4 year participation in the Thorn Tree travel forum of Lonely Planet website, I have helped many travelers with advice based on my own knowledge and experiences. I still keep thousands of messages of thanks from different people all over the world. My Vietnam FAQs thread on the top of Vietnam branch in that forum has reached 233,000 views with over 100 replies thanks to the contribution of 60 posters. The thread provides basic information for traveling in Vietnam, for example, visa, border crossings, what to see, how to go from A to B etc.

I know I cannot travel all my life. Someday in the future I will have to stay at home and fulfill many obligations. That's why I take any chance to go anywhere whenever I can. After every trip, I write my diary with details about the places and events that happened. I can picture myself someday reading back those stories with tears in my eyes and remembering the happy days when I was somewhere in this world. And those passing days were truly a meaningful part of my life....

(I'm off to travel in southern Vietnam. I will fly to the Mekong Delta and head south until I reach Mũi Cà Mau cape which is the southernmost point of Vietnam. This route is off the beaten path. Happy travels!)

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