There are few more predictable ramblings, than those of the ageing nostalgic traveller. As a younger person I recall older travellers reminiscing about the wonders of their travels in the 1960s and 1970s. They were the first generation of backpackers so they had special bragging rights. They’d lament the explosion of tourism in places like Bali, and across Thailand and India and share tales of adventures through Africa and the Middle East. They experienced places few venture to these days, like Iran, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The cycle continues - and now it’s me rambling. And the places are Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. These three countries spent a few decades off travel itineraries during the 60s, 70s and 80s, in the grip of war and its aftermath. They tentatively opened their doors to the world and tourism in the early 1990s - when I first visited. I was so taken I stayed for a few decades.
In recent months, I’ve posted three videos of sentimental reflection on three decades of living and travelling in Vietnam. Those decades represent the biggest chunk of my adult life.
In the most recent piece (above), I take a look at nostalgia itself.
I was probably prone to nostalgia even when I was too young to be so. As I’ve looked through photos and videos reflecting on 1990s Vietnam, I’ve also had a chance to think about nostalgia itself.
Some nostalgia is pure sentimentality - totally personal and a delight. Some nostalgia reflects on measurable things - environmental, political, musical or artistic shifts or relationships and family changes. Those things can be quantified.
Like any indulgence, nostalgia is best subjected to a little scrutiny. Simple reflection on past bliss is probably harmless enough. And if you think you’re identifying happier times that might contribute towards creating a better present, that should also be healthy - providing you’re memory is serving you well.
There’s always an amount of narcissism and self-delusion in those rosy 1990s memories.
A nostalgia for youth and adventure is common - almost unavoidable. In my mid-twenties I was able to add the special gift of becoming immersed in captivating foreign lands to my list of adventures - Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, China, Burma, India and others. They had special impact because these countries were all in a time of rapid transformation. They were hopeful times and the memories are beautiful and life-defining.
Then there are the reflections on travel itself and how it’s changed. Did we travel better in the time before the internet, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube?
Finally, there’s the context - the political, economic and environmental settings that are the backdrop every place we visit. The 1990s were globally a more optimistic time to be travelling than today. I’m sure that colours nostalgia too.
There’s good reason to be skeptical about travel nostalgia. Sometimes it might seem to romanticise colonisation, war and poverty. At its most indulgent, it can be stubbornly stuck in a past that needed to change and diminish your capacity to notice and appreciate positive things in the present. This is something I notice in many nostalgic reflections on Vietnam in the 1990s and early 2000s. Older returning travellers often only notice the losses, the negative changes. One of the benefits from my contact with first-time travellers to Vietnam now, is being reminded of the profound impact the place still has on visitors. First-time travellers see and appreciate different things.
The enduring nature of Vietnam’s impact on visitors was especially apparent for me on our Vietnam by the Book tour earlier this year over at Old Compass Travel. The clearest message from our guests was the Vietnam's greatest superpower is its people. We had amazing encounters with great characters across the country. We heard extraordinary stories and met remarkable people everywhere we went.
Vietnam has been lifted from the dire poverty of the 1990s, availing its population of opportunities unimaginable back then. It’s a modernising country of amazing cultural richness - still packed with stunning places and captivating people. Of course the changes have not all been good. And there are big challenges ahead. You need only look at how the world's most privileged countries are faring right now, to understand progress can be patchy in these messy times. Enjoy the videos!
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