Vietnam Redux Redux

Dear family and friends,

I sent this letter a few days ago but for various reasons I don't think it went through to your addresses. Mainly, I think I had too many photos attached for your inboxes, so I am sending this without them. I have tried without success to establish a Yahoo Photo link, but again without success. Sorry. Anyway...

Cupping on the Street, Ho Chi Minh City

I couldn't help but watch as a couple of tourists mounted up on a tiny little Honda Wave motorbike. Between the two of them they must surely have weighed more than 500 pounds. When the woman climbed on the back, it looked like a flour sack full of rising bread dough hanging over both sides, nearly down to the hubs. I thought the poor little Wave might break in two, but off they wobbled into the stream of traffic, shirts flapping in the wind.

Motorbike Safety - Vietnam Style

You are more apt to be killed on the roads of Vietnam than in almost any other country in the world. In 2005 more than 12,000 people met their fate on the chaotic roads, streets, and highways in Vietnam, a per capita rate twice that of China, another country with skyrocketing vehicular sales, mostly inexperienced drivers, and inadequate infrastructure. (The death rate is currently 40 persons per day, which means last year's toll will approach 14,000.) At best, there is very poor public transportation in the cities, so most folks rely on the ubiquitous motorbike, of which there are millions (seemingly billions, when you are trying to cross a street). More than 2 million more were sold last year. So, of course, most accidents in Vietnam involve these swarming hordes.

An article I read in the Saigon Times pointed out that the infrastructure has not kept pace with this large increase in vehicles. Apparently, Ha Noi (that is the way they spell it here) has less than 6% of its area set aside for vehicles, as opposed to developed countries which typically have more than 20% so designated. Moreover, traffic signs, rules, and lane directions are only taken as a suggestion, just the merest hint as to how one should drive. Stop signs have no meaning, red lights are almost totally ignored, traffic goes in both directions on both sides of the street, no speed limits appear to be posted, and if they do exist, they have no effect. And, of course, helmets are only a concept here, almost no one wears one. However, almost all women drivers wear a face mask. When I was here last in 2003, kerchiefs were typically used; now most wear a nicely tailored little mask to protect themselves from the ever-present smog, a miasmic haze that hangs over every major city.

Phu Quoc Island Beach

This is the third time I have visited Vietnam, evidence you can take that I quite like this country and its friendly, hard working people. I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), about three weeks ago and stayed for three days, long enough to confirm why I only spent two days there last time. I had a beer on top of the famous Rex Hotel and revisited the War Memorial Museum (previously called the American War Crimes Museum), a must for anyone remotely interested in that terrible time. I then headed to Phu Quoc,
Vietnam's largest island and current hot spot for tourists. Phu Quoc lies just off the coast of Cambodia and is also claimed by that country, a claim they will doubtless lose. 

When flying into Singapore before coming here to Vietnam, I read an article in Conde Nast extolling the island as a developing paradise, best showcased by the Colonial Mansion style resort of La Veranda. And so I decided to come. (Needless to say, I did not stay at La Veranda at $135US per night, but I did find a nice little resort just down the beach, Thousand Star Resort for $18. Although I confess the garish statuary along the drive into the resort nearly put me off.) The beaches certainly merit the accolades. There are continuous, white sandy beaches for miles, and lovely aqua blue waters lapping up on them.

Phu Quoc is attracting people from all over the world, but it seems to be a major destination for German and French tourists, they are there in the thousands. And it is just beginning to develop. Again from the Saigon Times, I read that more than $5 Billion US is lined up, and approved to develop tourist facilities here. Tourism has increased on average 20% over the past 15 years and is expected to surpass 4 million visitors in 2006. Locals, naturally friendly and helpful, work very hard to make sure visitors are happy, nothing seems impossible for them. And every parting elicits a cheery "Bye, bye. Good luck for you".

The development in Phu Quoc might easily be seen as representative of the whole country; it has had near double digit growth for the past several years, a growth forecast to continue, particularly now that it has been accepted into the World Trade Organization last fall. Evidence of growth is everywhere, construction of new housing, high-rises, and five star hotels, the opening of designer label shops such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton, and major investments by HSBC, Intel and others. It hardly seems like Communism at all.

Life on Phu Quoc Now

After Phu Quoc I flew to the ancient capital of Hue, a city we all learned the name of during the American War (as it is called here). The city was quite a change from Phu Quoc. The weather there had been clear and smoking hot; Hue was cool and raining. On the other hand, pricing here is great! I checked into the Binh Duong III, a hotel pulled from my travel guide. The hotel was spotless; I had a wonderful room with all the amenities including a computer with internet access, all for $12US. And, it is a very interesting city. For one hundred and fifty years, 1802 to 1945, it was the capitol of the South, and hence has many historic sites, most famously the Citadel where the Nguyen Emperors from that period lived. The Citadel was very extensively damaged during the American War and only a small part of the original remains. The city was occupied by the North Vietnamese for 25 days in the 1968 Tet offensive, an event that shocked Americans, who up till then had believed they were winning the war, and was one of the major turning point in that conflict.

Citadel in Hue

From Hue I visited the DMZ, some 80kms north of Hue. The Ben Hai River, roughly at the 17th parallel, was the de-militarized zone when Vietnam was "temporarily" partitioned by the Geneva Accords in 1954. It was in this area that the fiercest fighting and heaviest loses were suffered. The area was completely defoliated with Agent Orange and napalm bombs. It is green again, but not with native vegetation, pine and eucalyptus provide the cover. Native trees are not expected to grow for another 75 to 100 years. There are quite a number of American veterans returning to this area. Our guide on the tour, and others, told me the number of returnees is increasing every year; a great number go to the Combat Base Khe Sanh where hundreds of Americans and thousands of Vietnamese died. They apparently come here to confront the horrors of the past to escape the terrors of their nightmares. The large number of amputees and deformed people one sees is a constant reminder of that time.

Rusting Armaments at Khe Sanh in the DMZ

Inside the Vinh Moc Tunnels, DMZ

In the end I finished up again in Hanoi. I spent five days there, again staying in the fascinating Old Quarter. Like the rest of Vietnam, it is booming. The Vietnamese have put the past struggles fully behind them. People are now totally preoccupied with the economy and getting ahead. Countless people, motorbike drivers, restaurant servers, hotel staff, that I spoke with would bring up the economy and how important growth is. So, if anything, Ha Noi is more chaotic than I remember it. There are certainly more
motorbikes, those not jamming the streets, are parked up on the sidewalk so that pedestrians have to walk on the streets. Tourists are everywhere. Long parades of rickshaws, most sagging under the weight of at least one obese passenger, wend their way in a stately parade through the small streets of the Old Quarter.

But for all its change, fortunately Ha Noi (and Vietnam) resists some change. There are still no Mc Donald's here, or any other western chain, and traditional dress is still worn by many. Vietnamese have small homes, so much of their daily living is spent on the sidewalk, cooking, eating, playing. Many of the quirkier things still persist also. Toilet paper, pulled from the center out of dispenser, is still often used in restaurants for napkins; Christmas decorations are still up, lights and ornaments forlornly hang about, with Christmas carols still being played. In Phu Quoc however, the music of choice is Kenny G. I heard countless playings of his plaintive chords, often on an audio loop which also featured an oompah-pah version of Que Sera Sera.

Well that's it. I have attached a number of pictures which I hope you enjoy. I have not been in touch with many of you since my last year letters home, so I hope this letter helps to reconnect. To everyone, I hope you are well, I wish you a most Happy New Year. And good luck for you!

Merv.

Dong Duong Market, Phu Quoc

Garish Thousand Stars Statuary

Hoan Kien Lake, Hanoi

Sunset on Phu Quoc Island