“To Live in the Real” by Kaz T. Yoneda
Woman at the Beach (photographed by the author)
Finally, After Covid
For me, the “workation” sojourn marked the end to a long hiatus of international travels upended by the Covid pandemic. The decision to go to Vietnam was quite simple as I’ve never been there. It was always high up on my list of places to visit, for its complex history, cuisine, and vibrant culture. While there were usual options of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, it was finally settled with Danang as a destination for several reasons. As a bonafide city boy, I knew being in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City would be quite distracting with monuments, museums, lively communities, bustling restaurants, and markets. As far as sojourn goes, and not to forget the “workation” aspect of it, one does need some down-time to reflect, relax, and of course, work in this case. I thought Danang would be perfect since there would only be pools and beaches, and usually I get bored of those quite quickly. Was I ever wrong…
Taking advantage of a two hour time difference, the typical day went like this: 5am rise and watch the sunrise from the ocean; 6am move to a pool for a morning swim and Vietnamese coffee or coconut juice; 7 am breakfast; 8 am start working; 11:30 am early lunch and quick swim; 12:30 back to afternoon work session; 17 pm wrap up work and early dinner; 18 pm walking on or dazing off on a beach; 20 pm rooftop pool for swim and nightcap; 21 pm bedtime; and, press the repeat button. I am not a morning person but this lifestyle proved to be quite refreshing, healthy, and wanting to be replicated, but alas no such beach or pool in Tokyo… Striking a highly productive and consistent QOL is much more difficult in reality.
Canal of Hội An (photo: author)
Bà Mụ Temple, Hội An (photographed by the author)
To Hội An
During weekends and on occasions where there were no meetings or tasks scheduled in the afternoon, we were able to sneak in short day-trips to neighboring areas, Hội An and Mỹ Sơn sanctuary, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites. The historic district of Hội An is located centrally in a lagoon, and recognized as an exceptionally well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th Century. Its buildings and street plan reflect a blend of indigenous and foreign influences. Japan had a trading post at one point in its history and one can observe the legacy in what is dubbed as a “Japanese Bridge” or Nihonbashi, literally, not to be conflated with one in Tokyo. Many buildings retain the original rustic charm, and although most had been converted to tourist shops, some conscientious tenants have preserved the original programme or converted these historic buildings into well-designed restaurants, cafes, and galleries. All non-religious buildings are exclusively a varying hue of yellows, which gives this port city of chimeric fusion of vernacular, Chinese, and European architectural styles an uncanny unity.
Temple Complex in Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary (photo: author)
A Holy Font in Mỹ Sơn (photo: author)
Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary
Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary was another extraordinary discovery. The sanctuary was built over almost a millennium, spanning 4th to 13th Century CE, owing its spiritual diaspora of Hinduism from India. The expansive site is dotted by several clusters of monumental temple complexes, resonating with similarly Hindu-based but much larger and fabled Ayutthaya, built to the divinities such as Krishna, Vishnu, and above all, Shiva. These complexes were constructed in fired brick with stone pillars decorated with sandstone bas-reliefs depicting scenes from Hindu mythology. Dramatically sited on an elevated geological basin surrounded by a ring of mountains, acting as a watershed for the sacred Thu Bon river, Mỹ Sơn served as the religious and political capital of the Champa Kingdom for most of its existence. Notwithstanding the knowledge of hydrology required to make the network of water channels and fountains, the temples themselves are evidence of the Cham civilization’s sophisticated engineering, architectural craftsmanship, as well as iconographical mastery. From here, the abundant water flowed out of the ritual fonts in each temple, through the historic heartland of the Champa Kingdom, and into the South China Sea near the ancient port city of Hội An.
Hindu Deities of Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary (photo: author)
Epiphany
For me the biggest epiphany was experiencing the difference between “knowing” and “understanding”. Former is about knowing the intellectual rationale or mental process embedded in the reality, but the latter is about physically and sensorially experiencing the phenomenon firsthand and thereby understanding through skin the qualifiers that attempt to encapsulate the reality. The first can be tacit or implicit, and the latter is rather explicit. I thought I knew the world as I can gather through images and imaginations thereof. But in reality, the real world sensed by human corporeal sensors is equally rich and information laden. Both invariably require us to imagine the world beyond what is projected onto our retinas, but the great irony is that even the real world has the capacity to allow us to fantasize what can be. Not-so-easily accessible Real is an equally stimulating, simultaneously beautiful and potentially ugly, vision of the world we live in. In the world of VR’s, AR’s, AI’s, Meta, and game worlds, I prefer to live in the Real, and the “workation” sojourn made me doubly confirm this intuition.
Author: Kaz T. Yoneda, FRSA
Editor: Hinako Izuhara
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Thank you for your time and kind attention.
Until next time!