Sad, happy... "Tet holiday tickets"

(Baonghean.vn) - As the clock ticks down to the end of the year, train stations and bus terminals are crowded with people, each with their own emotions and longing to return home to reunite with loved ones in their hometowns, places they've yearned for all year.

That's when the city streets suddenly seem to narrow as people rush back and forth. The familiar roads, the traffic lights at the intersections, yet today they feel strange, unfamiliar. Because at that moment, my heart is pounding with anticipation for a homecoming... Will I make it in time for the bus, will I find a ticket for the last day?

That's the feeling of those returning home. Meanwhile, those back home are filled with anticipation. Ms. Vu Thi Duyen, from Thanh Tung, Thanh Chuong, has two children studying at universities far away, one in the South and one in the North. Both children have part-time jobs and this year they will have to stay until just before Tet (Lunar New Year): "Because the family is struggling, they have to try their best. The one in the South booked train tickets online, but heard it's still difficult, so she bought tickets on the black market. The one in Hanoi is simpler; she said on the day of return, she'll just go to the bus station, catch a bus, endure the crowd, and it will take 6 or 7 hours to get home." Her children haven't returned yet, but the worry has been in the mother's heart for months before Tet, ever since she saw the news about train and bus tickets on TV.

The trains leave the station carrying the heavy burden of worries and anxieties about securing a Tet holiday train ticket.

In a conversation over a cup of coffee on a chilly afternoon, Mr. S, a man who had spent about 10 years wandering through life, experiencing many ups and downs, to the point of "not having money to go back home," now owns his own car and is the owner of a business in his hometown, confided in me about his indelible memories: "Tet in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) doesn't seem to belong to those who live in this city, because everyone has a hometown to return to. I also have a hometown, but I and many others have to stay in this city during Tet because our meager salaries can't afford the travel expenses for the journey back thousands of kilometers."

One night in late 2007, as the scent of Tet (Vietnamese New Year) was drawing near, he felt helpless, unable to board the trains heading north. He wandered alone through Saigon's train station, blending into the crowd of people bidding farewell, "even though I wasn't seeing anyone off." He stood there, as if wanting to send his fleeting thoughts along with the train as it departed.

For three years now, I've experienced the "Tet (Lunar New Year) far from home, burning with the scent of a foreign land" (a poem by poet Van Hien). "I long for the crisp coolness and the light, fine raindrops, like tiny droplets of water, settling only on the shoulders and hair of those visiting to offer New Year's greetings on the morning of the first day of Tet. I long to hear New Year's wishes, simple, ordinary words, the genuine sincerity of my hometown people reflected in their eyes, which have followed me throughout my years away from home."

He remembered the image he saw at the Saigon train station: a woman, around 30 years old, with a strong local accent, packing her belongings into a large bag. Her hands carefully held a plastic toy car and two children's shirts, her eyes shining with happiness. "Perhaps she was thinking of the joy of her children waiting for her back home, after months of working away from home, bringing back new clothes for them to wear before the 30th day of the Lunar New Year."

Until the whistle blew, shattering the lingering farewells of those leaving and those staying, the waving arms, the hurried goodbyes, he told himself: Witnessing and hearing these farewells at the station before the journey might ease the gnawing feeling in his heart. The train slowly rolled into the deserted night. Those leaving and those staying could no longer see each other. The people who had seen them off began to leave the station, each with their own emotions. "As for me, I just want to stand in the corner of the waiting area and look towards the North. There, at this very moment, my father is lying in his sickbed. And then, I and many other 'immigrants,' still unable to get used to the sunlight on the golden apricot blossoms, still let our steps wander aimlessly towards the station, our eyes following the license plates of buses numbered 37, and together we burst into tears when the fireworks welcoming the new year blazed red at Nha Rong Wharf..."

Also, one late afternoon at the end of the year, I happened to meet Mr. Nguyen Van Thang at Vinh Airport. He's from Hung Nguyen, and works for an agency under the Ministry of Science and Technology with its headquarters in Hanoi, but he's in charge of the branch in Ho Chi Minh City. Traveling between Hanoi, Vinh, and Ho Chi Minh City is like eating a meal for him. He recounted: "Meetings, seminars, briefings, signing ceremonies... are always scheduled daily for me. When it's time, I get in the car, go through the procedures, and enter and exit the airport without any emotion or thought, except in cases of flight delays or weather preventing me from landing at Vinh Airport and requiring me to go to Noi Bai, which is very time-consuming. Yet, on the last day of the year, holding my ticket in my hand, preparing to board the plane to go home, my heart still swells with a strange, indescribable feeling."

He recalled that the first time he returned home for Tet after being away from his hometown, he couldn't sleep the night before. All the hardships of queuing for tickets, jostling at train and bus stations, theft, delays... couldn't diminish his longing for home. "Luckily, those kinds of difficulties are gradually passing, as now when I go home for Tet or business trips, I can choose my mode of transportation. I can travel by plane, bus, train, or even private car. In places with better conditions, they organize trips for people to go home for Tet, with proper transportation, attentive and thoughtful service, avoiding the problems of illegal taxis, unlicensed vehicles, and all sorts of passenger exploitation. I'm extremely busy with work until the day before Tet, and since I'm going home alone, I often choose the last flight for that reason. And it's not just me; many fellow countrymen in Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Vung Tau... also choose that flight. Without prior arrangement, we meet up in Ho Chi Minh City after Tet to discuss investing in our hometown. No matter how difficult it is, we have to do it; if we can't, how will we explain it to our neighbors and ancestors? It would be difficult to explain clearly..."

Every year, Mr. Thang returns to his hometown at least twice: during the Mid-Autumn Festival (the 15th day of the 7th lunar month) and the Lunar New Year. Even at nearly 60 years old, each time he returns for Tet (Lunar New Year), he feels like a child again. Each time he sees so many changes; his relatives and neighbors are no longer suffering from poverty, and even if they are, the local authorities find ways to ensure everyone can celebrate Tet. Beyond simply visiting his birthplace, relatives, and ancestors, he and his business associates have also visited and extended New Year greetings to the Party committees, governments, and people of the localities where his business partners operate. They express their gratitude for the favorable mechanisms and policies that attract investment, the support in land clearance, the training of local workers, and the attention to security and order. Furthermore, Tet is also an occasion for organizations to congratulate business partners and close associates, and to visit families receiving government assistance and the poor... "I return to my homeland, to reconnect with loved ones, to cooperate and move forward together, and to gain more spiritual strength to continue in the new year. The more difficult and distant things are, the more I must return. The more successful I become, the more I must return to the poor places where I started. Having lived in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and many other large cities, I know that Tet cannot be as joyful as in my hometown. Traffic jams are common in cities on weekdays, but during Tet, traffic jams are also common in the countryside because almost all vehicles, big and small, flock back to the countryside. The roads, cars, and people are bustling, making Tet in the countryside, which is already colorful, even more vibrant and attractive..."

So, the story surrounding that ticket will be a long one, with those who jostled to buy it, those who couldn't buy it and watched helplessly, those who could freely choose the most modern means of transportation for themselves... but most importantly, it's a profound and sacred longing to return to their homeland. And then, holding that "passport" in their hands during these last days of the year brings with it a flood of emotions...

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