Chapter 22 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The sun rises over Saigon after a night on the train. It seems that the residents see themselves as a cultural counterweight to the gray capitol of Hanoi. The buildings are colorful and it just feels more like a modern western city. They even have a KFC, a sure sign of cultural progress.

The funny looking blue bike is called a cyclo. It's a bike with a chair in the front for driving around tourists. For a lot of these guys, the cyclo doubles as their home and they sleep in them at night.
These girls walk around with big stacks of counterfeit books. Lonely Planet would not be amused. Forty dollar books are selling for about five bucks. If you say that you don't want a book, they counter with an offer for "mamanamwa." Interesting product diversification.

An outside concert in the park. Despite not knowing what the hell they were singing, I was impressed with the singers voices. They could get a huge range of sounds out in a single breath. They were also kinda purdy.

This is an American theme restaurant with great wild west decorations and American flags displayed. The average Vietnamese doesn't seem to hold a grudge against the Americans (at least not on the surface). I was also surprised at the displays of American flags on some of their hats, motorbike helmets, and t-shirts. Initially it seems ironic, but then I remember that many South Vietnamese fought and died alongside the U.S.



This is a game that I often saw. They kick this thing that looks like a badminton shuttlecock back and forth to each other. Some of these old fellas are incredibly agile...and accerate.








Warning: serious stuff ahead. Skip ahead if you want to maintain a good mood.

The War Remnants Museum was both disturbing and valuable. Outside it displayed captured U.S. planes, helicopters, tanks, and bombs the size of a refrigerator. Inside they show pictures that make your heart sink down to your feet. The bodies were obviously disturbing, but even worse were the expressions of terror on the captured and wounded. There are also many pictures of wounded children and those born deformed because of Agent Orange. Some would probably say that the museum is built for propaganda, but I didn't feel manipulated at all. They simply showed where many of our bombs and bullets ended up. No commentary was necessary. Yet I'm aware that the victorious side of any war gets to build the museums and write the history books. Had the South Vietnamese been handed back their country after an American victory the museums would probably illustrate communist atrocities. But any way you slice it, the civilian population suffered more during this war than I had ever realized. I'm not posting the worst pictures because I don't want to bother anybody unnecessarily

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HCMC City Hall

Riverside high-rise area

I found a Bird Flu public service billboard and managed to get a picture before the authorities could stop me. "Cooked chicken is healthier"

This is the famous Continental Hotel which has been in Saigon for like a hundred years. It was the main hangout for journalists covering the war.

Municipal Theater I went into a bookstore for some reason and saw an interesting side to Vietnam. This is the section of books about Ho Chi Minh and his inspiring accomplishments.
Right next to it was a full rack of books about Bill Gates and his inspiring accomplishments. I saw that the busiest part of the store was the computer software section. People were thumbing through books about web development and other popular applications. I'd keep an eye out for the Vietnamese in the information technology business. As a people they seem to have the determination and intelligence to someday compete for American IT jobs, at a much lower wage. This picture is dedicated to my vegetarian readers. Tempting, isn't it?


A crowd had gathered on the street and I heard drums and music. When I got up to the scene these guys were holding a tall poll up in the air with one of their team dancing on top in a dragon costume. Pretty cool and the kids seemed to like it.

Warning: long-winded historical crap. All except history nerds may skip ahead.

I went to the Saigon fine arts museum. There were some really impressive paintings and sculptures that generally had the themes of the common people rising up against the oppressive government. Young men leaving their village to fight for freedom and things of that nature. It was here that I had a sort of epiphany about the Vietnamese people and the wars they've fought. In the U.S. we are taught about the war in terms of a larger struggle between Democracy and Communism. Since coming here I've learned how incorrect that was. Nationwide elections were going to be held before the war to allow the Vietnamese to decide if they wanted Ho Chi Minh in the North or the Diem government from the South. Since South Vietnam was pretty sure they'd lose the elections, they canceled them. There goes our democracy argument. I also wonder if the average Vietnamese were true communist believers. I suspect that the average Vietnamese didn't give a damn about the outside world or global politics. They just wanted a country that was independent of outside powers. Then comes along Ho Chi Minh who wants to unify Vietnam as an independent nation. So that's what they did. They beat out the French, then the U.S., and finally the Chinese (a fellow communist country). They weren't fighting for communism necessarily, but for independence. In this light, I can see how they would take such severe casualties and keep pushing on. The opposition, on the other hand, was largely drafted, sent to a hostile foreign country, and understandably wanted to get the hell home. This is my newly updated understanding of the Vietnam/American War. I don't claim to have it all figured out and I'd invite anyone to provide comments for further illumination.

So I'm leaving Vietnam with the following observations.

1. Vietnam is not the friendlest place for tourists, but they'll keep smiling as long as your wallet is open.
2. They clearly have national pride. They display flags everywhere and monuments are commonplace. They are a proud people, and I can respect that.
3. They generally have a sharp and aggressive business ethic.
4. They seem to have close families with kids running around in all directions.

So would I reccomend Vietnam? Its cool for its educational value. As a vacation spot?...thats a negative. Sorry Vietnam.

Thanks for reading, next stop Cambodia.