I returned from my first visit to this country in late September. I brought "Fire in the Lake" with me, a book by Frances Fitzgerald published in the mid-1970s that outlines the complex history of Vietnam, its colonization by France and subsequent conflict with the U.S. I went with my friend, Chi, a native of the country now living and designing jewelry in Los Angeles. Chi has a house and a jewelry factory in a small village a four-hour car ride south of the city.
I cannot say what it was about the journey that I loved the most: The warm, unexploited waters of the South China Sea, the lovely countenance of the people I met, the buzzing excitement of a country on the verge of an economic renaissance? In truth, all of the above.
More to come about this mythic land. I will be returning soon, that's certain.
