Vietnam diaries

Boy Villasanta with young Vietnamese representing Philippines.

By Boy Villasanta,
abs-cbnNEWS.com
12/11/2010

MANILA, Philippines - There’s nothing like the first time—even traveling abroad.

My trip to Vietnam recently was my introduction to the outside world, geographically, that is.

Being a Filipino who has been very zealous about staying put in the land of one’s birth, I couldn't be convinced easily to leave for a brief vacation to Hong Kong or a sojourn to Tokyo no matter what perks are included.

Bonding with friends or colleagues or having fun alone or together with kith and kin could be done locally, so why fly off to other countries?

Shopping or buying goods in fanciful commercial hubs in Asia, Europe or any other continent could be fascinating, but that would mean not "buying Filipino.”

Except for working overseas, being in a foreign land just for the heck of it is quite perplexing.

However, a cultural visit to see the wonders of the world could be educational and a breather as well.

But my trip to Vietnam recently was more than that; it was very important to me.

First, I was a finalist at the 1st Festival of Photos, Documentary Films and Reportage on ASEAN Countries and People, held in Hanoi.

I was cited for my showbiz documentary drama, “Dumagat,” subtitled “Dumagats, Aborigines of the Philippines, Nomads of Southeast Asia.”

The film documents how these indigenous people in Infanta and General Nakar towns in Quezon Province assert their rights through theater to call attention to the unscrupulous land-grabbing happening in their ancestral domain.

The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) of the People’s Republic of Vietnam sent me round trip plane tickets.

It was also in time for the 17th Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN Summit and the 15th year of Vietnam’s membership to the regional organization.

The occasion is also to commemorate the 1000th year of the creation of Vietnam.

As there is no direct flight from Manila to Hanoi, my first stop was Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, at the Tan Son Nhut Airport. From there, I was to take a connecting flight to Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi.

Finally, we arrived in Hanoi.

Land of 'pho'

At the airport, Ms. Houng, one of the officers of the MIC, was waiting for us with a cardboard sign spelling out in bold letters my full name, Julianito Villegas Villasanta, as advised by Poungchi Tran of the Festival Organizing Board.

In a few minutes, I was joined by my fellow finalist in the documentary film category, Ee Anderson of Malaysia, an advertising guy who created his masterpiece “An Ordinary Needle” about true love and the shedding off of one's ego to achieve progress.

Later, we met a finalist in the photo category, Afasyara Binti Abdul Rahman, also from Malaysia.

Ms. Houng then turned us over to Ms. Dwong, also an officer of MIC, and she served as our companion with her driver Tong to Saigon Hotel, also known as “The White House in the Green City.”

Before we were billeted at the hotel, we had a sumptuous pho (noodle) dinner with all sorts of meat and fresh veggies—onion leaves, basil, and celery, among others, in it.

After breakfast, we met the local and foreign authors whose works were competing in the festival's final round.

We boarded a tourist bus together with finalists in the photo and documentary categories who hail from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Malaysia. I was the lone representative from the Philippines.

Our tourist guide was named Vinh, a university graduate of tourism, who was articulate in English and Vietnamese. Vinh related the history of Vietnam from the ancient dynasties to the revolution until liberation from feudalism and neo-colonialism.

On our way to Ha Long Bay, declared a world natural heritage site by UNESCO, we dropped by the vast Hong Ngoc Fine Art where native Vietnamese products from marble carvings to delicacies are sold.

As we sipped tea, Cho Pock-rey, a Korean, spoke to me about the Francis Ford Coppola film, “Apocalypse Now” which she said was shot in the Philippines.

It turned out she was one of the members of the jury of the festival together with the old man sitting across us, Vietnamese veteran filmmaker Bui Dinh Hac, considered a People’s Artist. Bui Dinh Hac received the Ho Chi Minh Prize in Literature and Arts and was former director general of the Vietnam Cinema Department. His films were shown and acclaimed worldwide especially in Moscow.

We feasted on fresh boiled and broiled seafoods on board a ferry to Ha Long Bay, which gave us majestic and breathtaking views of the seas and rock formations. I told myself we also have such views in the Philippines though underdeveloped.

The Thien Cung Cave and Dau Go Cave are two amazing sights.

At nighttime, we went to Hai Pong and later had dinner at Hon Dau resort.

Wine sucks? Brandy doesn't

Contrary to Assistant Secretary Mai Mislang's pronouncement that wine in Vietnam sucks, the brandy served us by officials of the Ministry of Arts and Culture was superb.

There were also many handsome men around, again, in contrast to Mislang’s standards of male beauty.

After dinner, we had a bonfire and delegates sang and danced the night away.

It was surprising that most of the Vietnamese knew the tune of Freddie Aguilar’s song “Anak”. They requested it and hummed along with me.

The Malaysian guy, Ee, did rock and roll, and he was still the subject of talk during lunch the next day over fish soup with dill, deep-fried fish roll and dill, Hanoi traditional grilled fish cake hot plate, mixed fried rice, sautéed vegetables, fresh fruit and Vietnamese green tea at A Taste of Hanoi Restaurant.

We went back to Saigon Hotel and prepared for the awards night at the Au Co Art Center.

Awards night

At the awards venue, the lobby was teeming with people. There were local and foreign artists, students, broadcast and print media members, diplomatic corps like Poland’s Deputy Head of Mission Jacek Kasprzyk and his wife, national and local Vietnamese government officials, arts aficionados, ordinary citizens, et cetera. The distinguished guests were led by the Deputy of MIC, Du Quy Doan.

On both sides of the hall were displayed the works of the finalists in the photo category. Beside each panel was stationed a Vietnamese youth. The Vietnamese teen who was stationed beside the Philippine panel was in barong Tagalog.

A parade of colors representing 10 ASEAN countries—Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia—ushered in the start of the live television broadcast.

Vietnamese traditional and modern songs and dances were performed during the ceremony.

As I was wandering about and glancing around, I found out I was the only Filipino in the audience.

I felt very proud being with my fellow Asians.

The trip to Vietnam, I realized, was worth my time and effort.