The resilience and strength of human beings can be tested in many ways, and the way that certain people respond to testing times differs often as well. I have travelled to Vietnam six times over the last ten years and even knowing the little amount I do about their history and in many ways the heartache and tragedies many Vietnamese have suffered I have always been blown away by their welcoming and open- hearted acceptance of outsiders visiting their homeland.

I was hesitant to jump right in and start clearing the cobwebs from my passport and saddling up…