Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam (Mar 30-Apr 2)

Saigon

We were prophetic in planning our trip, it seems, in making it parabolic in the complexity and modernity of each of the countries on our trip. Australia more than NZ, more than Bangkok, more than Cambodia (the nadir), then rising a bit to Vietnam, and we suppose China then Japan. It’s good to go to Cambodia before Vietnam, because you appreciate where they are in their development. 10 years ago, the communist government started opening doors and it’s amazing how open the society is. Internet, international papers, products from everywhere, tourists from everywhere. As to be expected from human nature, everybody here is pure capitalist through and through. From the vendors, to the street urchins to the business men. “Taxi, Taxi” and “Lady, Lady” harassments are heard every few steps as you walk along the way. But, we had been warned of thieves and danger, and we have seen none of them so far in our stay.

There is no better example of extreme capitalism than the nightlife. Bars and nightclubs frequented by tourists and filled with (relatively) attractive Viet Nam woman dressed to the nines. Many are sitting next to European or American tourists quite a bit older than they are. Some are prostitutes. But many are normal woman, who sideline in dating/one-night standing with men. Some ask for money outright, some just want some drinks. It’s a slippery slope, but 100% capitalistic. It’s all is about supply and demand. They all have trained themselves in moderate to good English and are pretty aggressive. Going into the Penthouse bar at the Sheraton is an experience. If you think Bova in Boca is filled with money-grubbing whores, then probably they are just a few steps above these fine specimens. Capitalism reigns in the new Vietnam.

We arrived in Vietnam on Friday night. Our hotel, the Renaissance Riverside Hotel was advertised as a 5 star hotel, but would pass as a 3+ or 4 star in a first world nation – not bad for $125/night. We learned quickly about the main tourist areas: around our hotel was one of them, De Tram Street another, and then many other areas in the surrounding areas, though not as filled with tourists. Each place is moderately full. Some places like Apocalypse Now, were packed, but with 97% Vietnamese people and very few tourists. Not much to do in those places. The language barrier is huge here. Even those that speak some English are so difficult to understand and have such difficulty understanding English, that it’s almost impossible to communicate even the simplest things. It makes even the most mundane conversations interesting. So, communication with locals is practically impossible except on the most basic level.

The first night we went to a number of places, before winding up in Allez Boo Bar, in the most touristy section. There we met Serpil and her friend, both Germans. Serpil was Muslim, originally from Turkey. Cute, black hair. They were stewardesses for Lufthansa. We talked for a while. They travel regularly all around the world. Serpil had been working for over 10 years for the airline, so had earned significant seniority and traveled a lot internationally – Southeast Asia, New York, Chicago, LA, Middle East and throughout Europe. In all the places, she got to stay over 1-3 days – not bad! From Allez Boo, we went with the Stewardesses to Go Go Bar, then eventually to Conrads, where the DJ was playing good dancing music. We danced for a while. We were out to 5 in the morning, including a night cap with Serpil.

The next day, we had a tour at 9:15, where we went with our tour guide, Hein, to the War Museum. There is not much to see in Saigon as far as tourist things, but this makes up for the lack of quantity. The Vietnamese government used to mandate that all tourists go to it if visiting the city. It’s the war from the Vietnamese side. As we have seen time and time again, history is written by the victors. It’s all propaganda, but probably over 95% is absolutely true. You walk away knowing the insanity of the war. Long after the US knew it could not win, our military turned up the heat and turned down any remnants of ethical behavior. On the other side, the Vietnamese used guerilla tactics that would make Osama Bin Laden look like a kindergarten playground bully. But, you can’t blame either side, once the war had begun. Then it’s just survival.

The real question is – how did we get there? Sun Tzu advises the best way to fight is not at all, terrorizing your enemy without lifting a finger, and the worst, is a prolonged occupation of a country. The wise warrior knows that swords and spirit dull with time. Any country, even one without civil liberties or free press to complain and shed additional light on losing battles, will lose an occupation, as weaknesses in their position create more and more targets for the occupied rebels. Russians learned this well in Afghanistan. The only escape from this fate is either (1) to keep the army intact and put a controlled puppet leader in place, utilizing your enemies strengths for your benefit or (2) completely destroy the enemy, leaving them without a shred of ability to fight, and leave as soon as possible, putting in a puppet ruler that rules with an iron fist. In none of these scenarios, does an invading army actually do the fighting once the country is taken, and the battles to take the country are quick.

Vietnam, and the Iraq war of present were huge failures of strategy and imagination on the US’s part. Without inspired leaders who could see past senseless fear and personal glory, our country went into situations that were unwinnable, without sufficient cause and we stayed too long, dulling our swords and energy.

None of this excuses the atrocities that we afflicted onto the Vietnamese people, or the barbaric tortures and killing methods the Vietnamese armies and guerilla’s inflicted on the US army. Sunday, we went to the Chu Chi Tunnels, an elaborate tunnel system that enabled the Chu Chi townspeople to elude US army capture and move freely to set up and execute attacks on US soldiers. At the site, Vietnamese tour guides show off the many traps and torture techniques they used against the US. All of these actions are praised in the opening video. The place and their methods are ingenious. The tunnels had air holes, disguised as termite hills. To avoid US soldiers torching the holes, they had multiple layers. To avoid detection by dogs, they put US Army uniforms around the entrance to the holes to disguise the scent. The holes went for 10s of kilometers, and were mainly used in daytime (at night, snakes would use them). But, capitalism wins out anyways. For $1 a bullet you could shoot any of weapon you wanted at a shooting range. Glenn and I shot a rifle. It was pretty impressive.

The war museum, as disturbing as it is, is also fascinating. In one room, all the countries and people that protested the US war are shown. All true. Though the real story is slightly more complex than what they say, the facts are still the facts.

The second night, Saturday night, was an early, but interesting night. We went to a bar called “17”, which looked like a Cowboy Western bar on the inside. Dressed in 18 gallon hats, the Vietnamese cover band played an awesome mix of 70’s, 80’s and 90’s hits. From Air Supply to Hotel California (which, by the way, is the most popular song in the country – you hear it everywhere). We were one of 5 non-Vietnamese in the bar and everybody was singing along, while watching Manchester United on the TV.

One more thing: Traffic. It’s unbelievable how people drive in this country. There are 1000s of motor bikes at every turn, and squirming between them, dodging as they come on all sides of cars, is too overwhelming to imagine. I can’t imagine that ANY foreigners could rent a car in this country. It would be nearly impossible to drive, unless you were brought up in this foreign madness. You could never turn, because you literally need to turn into a mob of motor bikes and be just pushy enough to get them to go around you, but not so fast that you hit them.

Looking at this disaster, I guessed correctly that they must be working on public transportation solutions. I read the next day that they were in the process of bidding out a 15, $4 Billion public transportation system.