From Nov. 22:
Some observations about religious practices in Vietnam... Buddhism is the dominant religion. Ancestor worship is common. Cao Dai is a relatively new religion (est. 1926) that attempts to synthesize the major religions. Cham religion is still practiced by a few, and Christianity (mainly Catholicism) is second after Buddhism. One church we attended in Saigon was vibrant, with standing room only at 7:00 am mass, attended by many young people. In fact, that church was more lively than any I’ve seen in California. The road from Saigon to Mui Ne had many Protestant churches, some apparently constructed in the last decade or two. Phong Nha had more churches than temples (by a score of about 7 to 0), 99% catholic according to our guide. Ninh Binh also has many churches, but I’m not sure how well attended they are. Nha Trang and Da Nang have new large Buddhist pagodas, and we saw temples under construction in most parts of the country. In Ha Giang I saw neither church nor temple, though the mountains themselves made me feel like I was in God’s temple.
Also from Nov. 22:
A few social observations: most people we’ve met are very poor. $5 is a lot of money to them. We asked a hotel receptionist what she thought of the Starbucks down the street, and she replied that she couldn’t afford to try it. They work extremely hard just to survive, 12 hour days or even more. They tend to be very cooperative with each other, recognizing that each person is simply trying to make it through the day. As one person put it, the luxury of the wealthy is that they can plan for tomorrow. The poor have only today.
The words “nice” and “kind” and “gentle” were created for many of the people here. At church in Saigon one woman noticed that we were having difficulty following along in the prayer book so she came over and gently set us straight, not once but 3 times, on two consecutive days! When we went to speak with her after mass she grabbed my wife’s hand and spoke softly with her for a little while, I didn’t follow the conversation but her sincerity and tenderness were obvious. My wife refers to one woman we met as “the little angel”. There are several people we will be truly sad to leave behind. The unsophisticated gentleness we’ve often seen is delightful.
In both north and south I see that Americans are well received. Parents always want their children to learn English before any other language. Chinese are often viewed with suspicion, at best, partly because they’re buying up a lot of land and seemingly taking over, and partly because Chinese tourists are perceived as loud and obnoxious (which I have witnessed often, not only here but in California as well).
Speechless in Trang An Grottoes:
Trang An at the end of the day when the boats (and owners) are at rest:
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