Vietnam , Drowning Under Its Own Trash
Mountains of Waste
Vietnam is a country of scenic beauty, the friendliness of the people reflects the calmness and serenety of the nature.
There is however a big catch!
Wherever you go in Vietnam, be it in the north, the central area or the south, you will find yourself wading in trash. Empty drinking bottles, beer cans, plastic bags and leftover food. The garbage is not piled up in heaps ready to be collected. It is spread all over the place and nobody seems to care. Even the most beautiful beaches or inland areas are literally covered in filth and debris. There were no signs of any organized garbage collection. It was hard to understand. Why was nothing done about what must surely be a major problem?
One day however we took a hike through a local recreation area on a national holiday. There were people picnicking everywhere, under trees, on the beach, on the riverbanks. Everybody was enjoying the open air and the natural beauty of the countryside. We soon discovered that practically nobody bothered to clean up after themselves. All the waste, the empty bottles, the remains of the meal were all left on the beach, on the forest floor or even in the water.
There are hundreds if not thousands of these scenic places and beautiful nature being completely ruined this way. It’s both sad and infuriating to see and nobody seems to care.
Of course, we choose to come to Vietnam and it is not for us to say how the Vietnamese run their country, but it still makes me sad to see so much beauty wasted by neglect and indifference.
Where will it end?
There can be no doubt. This is a problem that Vietnam shall have to fix, not just for environmental reasons. When we visited Vietnam ten years ago things were very different from what they are now.
Tourism has become a major contributor to the Vietnamese economy but how long will tourists come if the garbage heaps keep growing?
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The Travelling Daddy
There are many different ways to travel – by air, by train, by boat, by car or on foot. You can travel alone or with a companion, in a group or with children. You can bring a bag, you can carry it all on your back or you can bring a suitcase.
Our way is with companion, and as far away from backpacking, from children, from dolphine clubs as you can possibly get.