Good Morning, Vietnam!

I am checking in from Vietnam. It has been over a week. I hope no one was too worried. I joined a tour group on 31 March in Hanoi, Vietnam and, like with most tours, we have been kept ridiculously busy. I am on the fifteen day Reunification Express tour offered by Intrepid Travel. I can’t say I have enjoyed all of the stops on our itinerary, but just being able to hand over the transportation and accommodations responsibility to someone else and to someone with a lot of experience in Vietnam, has made the whole trip worthwhile. I have also had a great time getting to know the people in my group. The group consists of seven Aussies and myself. Luckily, everyone seems to get along pretty well. Our tour guide is a twenty-something Vietnamese guy from Hue that goes by the came Charlie.

We are twelve days into the trip so there is so much to tell and so much I have probably already forgotten. Today we are in Nha Trang and hop on an overnight train around 8pm for a nine hour trip to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). I am really not looking forward to the train, but it is our second night train so at least I know what to expect. Our first night train took us from Hanoi to Hue. Each city along our well travelled path down the eastern coast of Vietnam is known really only for one or two things. Whereas a tourist could spend a week in Rome and not scratch the surface, I have been pretty much ready to move on from most of our stops after two days.


Hanoi’s main draw is the General Ho Chi Minh (Uncle Ho, for short) mausoleum and surrounding complex. Yep, it is possible to see the man himself. Against Uncle Ho’s final wishes, he has been embalmed and put on display for all to see behind bulletproof glass, surrounded by eight guards and inside of a several million dollar square shrine made entirely of marble. His wishes had been to be cremated and he insisted that the government not spend any money on a monument to him because he felt it would be better spent on the people. He was right. The mausoleum comes off looking like a dull, gray stone cube reminiscent of the Soviet era.

In contrast, Hue is known for its imperial Citadel. The ancient walled city and vast grounds for the royal family is taken straight from their Chinese ancestors down to the eunuchs used as male servants to the king. Everything is painted in the imperial colors of yellow and red. Most of the city was destroyed, though, by bombings during the American War and is just now starting to get slowly reconstructed. Both to my Australian group members’ relief and chagrin, the Vietnam War is referred to here as the American War despite the heavy involvement and casualties by several other countries including Australia. Strangely, I am something of a novelty as an American touring Vietnam. Once my nationality is noted, though, no obvious judgment is passed on me and not much more is spoken of it. Possibly because it is pretty clear that I was not even born during the time of the war, but I also think that most Vietnamese are very happy to keep that part of their history in their past. They see themselves as the victors and the survivors. They just want to get on with life. It probably also helps that much of the country consists of farmland and rice fields. On the surface at least, it took much longer to rebuild the cities of Europe bombed during World War II than it did to grow crops to cover the Vietnamese countryside ravaged by bombing campaigns. It is the difference of a war taking place in a developing country. I don’t mean to downplay what were probably herculean efforts to restore Vietnam. I am more trying to make sense of why there seems to be very few signs of war here. Or maybe that is exactly the government's goal.

The poverty here, though, is overwhelming at times in its scale and its assault on all your senses. Buildings stand half finished or half demolished depending on slight variations in the structure or possibly just depending on one’s outlook. Trash lines sidewalks and sewage flows freely along the curbs. Exhaust fumes clog the already humid air. These are not war torn cities. these are impoverished communities struggling to meet basic needs. In some cases, the government has started to demolish houses in the hopes of building five star golf resorts to draw foreign tourists, but has stopped mid-stream for reasons our guide can only speculate about. In the vast majority, though, people are living in small, one room structures with walls of concrete and roofs of corrugated steel sandwiched between neighbors in much the same arrangement. Shopkeepers have a slightly better lot as they oftentimes live out of their stores. Running toilets, hot water and sometimes even electricity are unknown conveniences. There are nice parts of each town, especially in Hoi Ann, the city of tailors, with nice houses, but their luxuries are what we would all call modern essentials. Most striking, is that most of the people don't seem all that less happy than anywhere else.

So far, I have enjoyed Hoi An the most. It is a quaint little city trying very hard to lure in tourists looking for tailor made clothes and get them to spend more money on knock-offs – everything from books to dvds to jewelry to shoes. Several shops also make Chinese lanterns and someone seems to have had the great idea to adorn the streets and cafes with them. It gives the whole town a festive and friendly atmosphere. I couldn’t resist the idea of, for the first time in my life, having clothes tailor made. I ended up purchasing three linen dresses and two pairs of handmade Capri tights to wear with the dresses. I think they look rather nice with the fake Rayban’s I picked up in Hue and the light tan bolero hat I also bought in Hoi Ann for $3. I will post a picture so you can each see what you think.

We are now in Nha Trang, a world renowned beach destination that I just don’t get. It is filthy. Everything is filthy – the water, the beaches, the streets, the hotel rooms, the restaurants – except for a half kilometer strip along the beach lined with reasonably nice deck chairs and umbrellas. That is where all the Westerners are to be found…or out on Vin Pearl Island, most know for hosting the Miss Universe Pageant a handful of years ago. It is only accessible via an incredibly overpriced funicular ride across the bay. I opted to just hang-out in the hotel for the afternoon. Tomorrow we get to Saigon and go on a day trip to the Chu Chi Tunnels.