Off to Asia
after hiking the Olympic Peninsula
I’m sitting in the Seattle airport at 11:30pm waiting for my very early flight to Taipei en route to the Philippines and then to Vietnam. It’s been a wonderful week of vacation and relaxation with family and visiting the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. We hiked on the Dungeness Spit and in the Hoh Rainforest and kayaked on Lake Sutherland. It’s been rainy and beautiful! It’s so green compared to New Mexico.
You know how people say they need a vacation from their vacation? Well, I did the vacation first and now will be traveling for business and self-education. We lived in Manila for two years in the late 1990’s when our children were small, so the Philippines will not be a new experience. Back then we were able to explore the archipelago, including making several trips out to Negros Occidental province and the Gustilo family hometown of Manapla. On this trip, after a couple days in Manila, we’ll be returning to the province.
Vietnam, on the other hand, will be a first time visit for me. Before heading to the airport this evening I downloaded a couple history books, and I’ll be diving into Brian’s posts at:
I’m especially interested in the many recent biographical posts on Hồ Chí Minh. Since reading Pankaj Mishra’s From the Ruins of Empire, The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia and Erez Manela’s The Wilsonian Moment, Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism I’ve become fascinated with learning more about the many leaders worldwide who sought self-determination for their people. So many intellectuals and revolutionaries were inspired by Woodrow Wilson’s speeches — and then they were sadly disappointed at the Paris Peace Conference and Treaty of Versailles.
Was Hồ Chí Minh disappointed enough to turn to Communism instead of allying with the west? Lenin had offered a hard critique of imperialism, and the Third International was happy to promote world communism. The Wilson Center, on the other hand, drawing on newly digitized archival sources, says, “No.” Hồ Chí Minh was already radicalized. Now I find myself on a bit of a mission to find out!
There’s much more to Vietnam today, of course, than the War and the country’s tragic 20th century history. Like the Asia tigers and as one of the cubs, since 1986 Vietnam has undergone a major economic renovation called the Đổi Mới, leading it to become a major developmental success story, despite remaining Communist.
We’ll be traveling mostly in the south on this trip and plan to explore, soak up the local culture, and eat!
Will keep you posted!
excellent, have fun!