A PARTY OF STRANGERS

A COMPANY OF STRANGERS                                                Virginia Gow 11/12/12

As the capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi is imbibed with elegance and refinement. It is peopled by a hard working folk who offer conversation to strangers as a matter of politeness. This city has a life span of one thousand years already and has managed to hold on to its character despite the tragedies of its struggle for survival.

Having freed itself from China, it was ruled by royal dynasties until the French conquest, which allowed this foreign power to rape and pillage the land and its people for over 100 years.  After a draining Vietnamese War, Hanoi emerges, a swan gliding on the rivers of time. To say that its people have suffered in their bid to govern themselves would be feeble. One only has to visit the ‘Hanoi Hilton’, a notorious prison now a museum, to weep at the inhumanity of mankind and admire the resilience of this race.    

Strangers come to visit this city. They are housed in an expensive hotel. Over dinner, Ginny absorbs the fact that this group span four continents, are aged between three and eighty, have different ethics and maintain different cultural beliefs.

A party of six Americans, grandparents, son and daughter-in-law and a girl aged five and a boy aged three are meeting up in Southeast Asia for a holiday. The grandparents hail from Texas, own cattle farms, support Bush and are Christians. Their son is a fighter pilot stationed in South Korea, responsible for bombing raids into Afghanistan.  This trip is their family time together. They want to blend in with a company of strangers. Both men are over six feet and stride with military precision. Beacons to be seen for miles in downtown Hanoi, they feel less conspicuous in a group and are generous with their conversation and money. Their wives are sweet and attentive. The two children are delightful.

From Israel there are two Romanian Jews. The husband is in charge of airport security at Tel Aviv, the wife is a chemical engineer and suffers from anxiety. This trip is her birthday celebration. Also she wishes to distract herself from the fact that their children have been called up to fight in the Lebanon’s war.  Her gold is as flamboyant as her hair is red. Why anyone would wish to call attention to wealth whilst traveling through an impoverished nation is beyond Ginny.

The guide is eighty and has been specially chosen to lead the group. He introduces himself as Kar, quietly, simply and he stands at the edge of the foyer. His eyes are cast down. A small elderly man, he has agreed to be the guide for this unusual blend of tourists. Fortunately, there are not many in this group.

Two from Australia are schoolteachers from a hospital school traveling under a study grant. Their views would be of a liberal nature, philosophically Zen Buddhist. They are independent women. Ginny, the younger, takes the lead and goes forward addressing the guide as MR. KAR. This sets up precedence and all follow suit and likewise show their respect. Now that the lead is established, MR KAR smiles and bows to them all. With a springy turn, he leads them off to the awaiting mini-van, ready to take them adventuring. Time for good learning!