As I flew out of SGN I wasn't quite sure how I felt. Vietnam's always fascinated me and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to spend three months there. I left the country with an album full of great experiences and a peak into Vietnamese culture but also with a multitud of questions and sad truths that confound my perspective on Vietnam.
As tourism is still relatively fresh in Vietnam, it's still easy to get that "raw feel" lacking in places like Thailand for example. Riding a bike not 5 minutes outside of Hue's congested city center grants you a scene of Vietnam stuck decades in the past. The idyllic Vietnam, with farmers willing their water buffalo forward to till their rice fields, women weaving baskets from bamboo, etc. At the same time however, the repercussions from Vietnam's lack of development undoubtedly mar your experience negatively from time to time. From what I've learned, Vietnam was mired in absolute poverty until the mid 90s or so, around the time when Clinton reopened "friendly relations" with Vietnam. Before then, Vietnam had forged through a handful of wars in succession (French, American, Cambodian) without mentioning their own civil conflicts during and after WWII. The wars, coupled with the whole "communism doesn't actually work" thing, made Vietnam a pretty miserable place to live.
As a result, the Vietnamese have developed a remarkable ability to survive. They take Machiavelli's "the ends justify the means" to an entirely different level. When you spend time in Vietnam, it's easy to see why they won all those wars, including a beatdown of a much more powerful American army. The Vietnamese are incredibly resourceful, making sandals from old truck tires, for example. They're also admirably resilient, working through and overcoming obstacles that most Westerners would wilt at. And discomfort? Not in their genes. You think an American citizen would live 60 feet below ground in a tunnel 3 feet high for 6 years? Oh and you need to call reception because you think the hotel's 400 thread count sheets feel more like 300? Chances are the receptionist sleeps uncovered on a bamboo mat on top of a wooden "bed". So sorry if she doesn't understand your pain and agony.
But there is no war in today's Vietnam. Yes, poverty is still plentiful and government corruption impedes the advancement of many of the lower classes. But in the cities of Vietnam today, there is no concern for a B-52 raid or rationing of rice or complete destruction of the city's water system.
The younger generations that inhabit the cities of today have transformed, have bastardized this enviable ability to survive into a vile sense of greed that drives them. Of course not everyone is like this, but in my experience many Vietnamese in and out of the tourism industry work under this unspoken law of "greed is king". Nobody trusts each other. Everybody thinks that the other is lying to them or trying to rip them off. So they try to exploit the other person first. Yes, it's tough to do business with that kind of environment.
Petty theft is routine, tourist agencies charge one customer double the price as another just to skim off the top, college girls work as hookers on the side. It's not because they need to buy food for their family or because their dad has cancer. Teenagers steal purses, tamper taxi meters, lie about guest commission, etc. not out of necessity but greed. It's because they want to buy an iPhone or a new motorbike or a nice flat screen.
Is it that much different than Western cultures? Yes and no. I don't indemnify bankers that give out predatory loans or used car salesmen for example. But the extent to which greed rules is surreal.
Which leads me back to the war...why were we so worried about this "domino effect"? How would things be if the US had won the war? What is communism today? Well honestly I think communism's worst enemy is itself. It clearly doesn't work and nobody, except for those in power, actually believe in it. Vietnam is developing exactly like China. It's technically communist but as lil Wayne says, everything goes "to the almighty dolla". Communism in Vietnam isn't this "everybody shares everything" policy. To me, communism in Vietnam means that there's only one party, the elections are rigged, they censor some things and government officials have free reign to do as they please. Which, again, I would argue isn't entirely that far from what we have in the States, though we do a better job of hiding it. If you have money, you can do whatever you want. If you don't, you're a slave to the state.
I also have to wonder what Ho Chi Minh would think of today's Vietnam. He's basically a god in Vietnam, with his face all over billboards, their money, names of schools, cities, whatever. He accused the American "hamlet" campaign of providing infrastructure to rural villages to stave off communist influences as nothing more than concentration camps designed to indoctrinate villagers. But he himself oversaw "re-education" camps where they sent citizens to be tortured into submission, into preaching the Communist gospel. And what would he think about kids today putting "iphone" stickers on their helmets or watching MTV? What about how government officials go charge random "taxes" to rural peasants?
Like most Asian countries (maybe all), respect for elders and of general customs is of utmost importance. Things like handing money over with two hands, bowing to say hello, never sticking your chopsticks in the rice, you name it and many customs that go unnoticed to Westerners are used to show respect. This is def something I wish would transfer to our culture. But for all the respect given to elders and traditions, women are still second class citizens. They need to be submissive to men. They should aspire to be a good housewife and pump out many children (hopefully boys) for her husband as he spends his evenings chain smoking and downing beers with his friends. Men only want to marry virgins (maidens as they call them in English) yet obviously young men need to relieve their "urge" from time to time and pay a visit to a whore. Which of course is totally respectable somehow.
So yeah. Vietnam continues to be a fascinating place and one I will continue to go back to. I don't mean to paint it in such a negative light in this post, but you can refer to past posts to reaffirm my love for the country.
Flew down to Kuching in Malaysian Borneo yesterday. So far I'm loving it. They speak English, nobody's hawking me and there's a silly variety of sinfully delicious food be it Malay, Indian, Chinese, so forth. Heading to Bako tomorrow for a couple days getting weird in a remote jungle.
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