TRYING TO UNDERSTAND VIETNAM TODAY
As regular readers of my OTRWJ blogs know, I usually do a wrap-up sharing special moments and favorite photos. But this trip is kinda hard; Vietnam is a complicated place.
The differences between North and South, between Hanoi and HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City as it’s called by the North Vietnamese or Saigon, if you’re in the south) versus the mountain highlands make it difficult to think of one opening photo that can capture the diversity.
SO! I’ve chosen a picture I took on an early morning walk in Hanoi.The tag line for the hotel struck me as…er…funny. Exactly what kind of hotel is this??! Anyway, the line DOES capture my feelings about this trip…the memories will last forever. I’ve been challenged mentally, trying to understand the many aspects of this country.
Contrast the noise and pollution and chaos of crowded motorbike-filled street with the peaceful quiet places. Ha Long Bay in the early morning midst. The steaming Mekong Delta.
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Of course, there were many many thoughts and memories of the Vietnam War. Some things I’d forgotten, and some things I never knew. I’ve been a bit surprised since I came home, talking to people under 40, who really know nothing about the Vietnam War (the “American War” as the Vietnamese call it). I found the quote on this sign on an exhibit on the Presidential Palace grounds amazingly prescient.
Motorbikes might be the lifeblood of Vietnam. They are cheap so nearly all can afford one. There are SO MANY!!! It’s hard to even describe it. There is a helmet law. But oddly, it only applies to persons over 10 years old. So it was common to see helmet-wearing parents on a bike with helmet-less kids!
Definitely street food and small restaurants with flavorful noodle soups will be a memory! Every table with its own small trashcan…for bones, for the horrible thin napkins the size of a square of toilet paper. And somewhere near the entrance, a bucket with a pipe for any who wanted to rest and have a smoke alongside a pot of tea available to all who stopped by…and of course, an altar.
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Apple Photos Clean Up
And then there are always funny signs. Maybe the translation is a bit off. Maybe it’s just unusual to me…a foot massage with your cappuccino??
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The skinny buildings! I must have taken a zillion pictures. So weird (to me). I get the narrow frontage in Old Town Hanoi. But out in the suburbs? The only answer I got was “land is expensive.” And, like in the city proper, there are no/few windows on the side. In the city, it’s because buildings are so close together (think brownstones in NYC). But, again, in the suburbs? Supposedly it’s a concern that someone will put up building right next door and then you’d have to wall over your window. I can’t explain it.
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And so, why do I feel Vietnam is a complicated place? First caveat: pretty ethnocentric of me to suppose I can understand a country’s culture in 3 weeks while only able to communicate well with a half dozen people. But…
There is still a North and a South. It is one country but the South is extremely more affluent and cosmopolitan and “Western” than the North. And I think the Vietnamese know it. My guide in the North as I was boarding plane to the South: “Please. Be careful. It’s not the same. Watch your purse. Watch your phone.” Certainly the South had a “head start” on the current market-driven economy after the 1954 Geneva Accord which separated North, led by Ho, from the South, under an Emperor and befriended by the French. Also, many, like my guide, experienced and remember the North sending family to re-education camps, experienced losing a family farm as northerners migrated to the south and displaced hundreds of thousands who were forced to relocate or leave by boat (boat people, as we refer to them).
This country has seen many wars with other countries seeking to colonize or divide or conquer. This, going back to the Mongols. The ability to have persevered through these centuries of conflict (including up to today with China re: a chain of islands in the South China Sea) is -- I think -- regarded with some since of pride as well as a sense of resigned perseverance.
Trying to understand Vietnam’s history with data and statistics is tough: how many war dead from ’65 to ’75? How many Buddhists are there? How many died of starvation during the famine under the French? The statistics are all over the place depending on the source and who’s doing the counting.
Attitude toward America? The American War was terrible, but it was war and both sides killed and were killed. The French?? Different. They were here for roughly 75 years. They occupied Vietnam. They took natural resources. They enslaved Vietnamese. They tried to make Vietnam a French colony. It was very, very clear that the French are disliked today. That said: many, many, many suffer from exposure to Agent Orange. Today, it is children and grandchildren.
Today? Corruption is perhaps the #1 issue. It impacts every aspect of daily life and of the economy. It is acknowledge by all, from the Communist government to the average daily worker. Pay off the police. Pay to get the job opening. Pay to see a doctor on a timely basis. Corruption has impacted the lack of solar power, coal imports from China, and factories like Intel opting to build elsewhere. There seems to be some resignation that this is just the way it is. Supposedly, the Communist government is taking steps to reform.
Socialism? Well, Vietnam has many billionaires. It is one of the fastest growing economies in the world! All the local shops and restaurant owners keep their profit, although they pay a share (a tax as we would call it) to the government….like us. Yet while there appears to be no homelessness and no hunger, many live a subsistence lifestyle in minimally basic housing.
Private farms are encouraged, although one only owns the “opportunity” to farm a piece of land; the government owns all the land. My guide received a letter notifying him his land was being taken to widen a road. While he was confident the government would give him another piece of land, he was concerned about moving his family away from current friends and schools, saying “he would have to negotiate” with the government. This is an improvement versus previous times when the government would simply take the land.
“Equitize” is what current economic reforms are called as the Party privatizes portions (10 to 30 percent) of previously government controlled businesses. All has led to more and increasing foreign investment, factories, etc. There is medical care, albeit not free. And timely access is difficult. This is where corruption comes in.
Communism. There is no freedom of the press. However I had CNN in the hotel, albeit no commercials. My link to Amazon would not work. The internet is supposedly monitored and yet EVERYONE is on FaceBook. And people seemed surprisingly willing to complain about the government and all the corruption. Those expressing dissident options are arrested. Vietnam is a one-party state. While multiple people may run for an office, all are part of the Communist party. People vote, but “everyone know who will win.”
All this can maybe described as an authoritarian political control with a state-influenced socialist/market economy. Complicated, right?
Closing out, many big hugs and much gratitude, as always, to Kathi at Elegant Island Living who gamely says “yes” when I ask does she want to take on another of my OTRWJ blogs. I think, at the least, I owe her a couple margaritas! This year, she managed this blog in the middle of the busy holidays and putting the January issue to bed. And she hung in there despite when I mis-labeled a bunch of photographs! The pretty stuff you see is her doing…I just send emails with the text and a jumble of hopefully downloaded photos. (Editor's Note: Janice is modest. She does the travel and the heavy lifting with words & photos. I just correct the rare typo, delete extra spaces & try to keep her photos in order. It's an honor to "share" these journeys, even virtually.)
The trip became much more than learning about the ethnic groups in the highlands. It was a history lesson and a lesson in global politics. I have also found the comments from readers fascinating…from Vietnam-era adults, from vets, from those in their 30s/40s. But to all, thank you for traveling along with me! I love sharing my experiences with you. For me, the new places, new sights, sounds and tastes wake up my brain! Meeting strangers, hearing new languages and strange signs…it all stretches my comfort zone and makes me grow a bit. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey. Next year: Western Sichuan!
