SAIGON, VIETNAM—IMPRESSIONS (3/15/12)

∙ WHAT WE DID/SAW/EXPERIENCED

          ∙ Time in port: 15 hours

          ∙ We arose early for a tour organized by Louise, aka “happyglobetrotter” on Cruise Critic.  We docked at Phu My Hung port, located a couple hours away from Saigon, next to a an extremely smelly fertilizer and chemical plant.  This was the ugliest, smelliest port that I’ve seen.

          ∙ From Phy My, a bus transported us along a long road cluttered with trash, cars, scooters, slum-like buildings and people until we reached Saigon (now called “Ho Chi Minh City”).  Our guide, Ms. Thi of Smile Tours Service, was only 3 when the War ended and has grown up educated under communist rule.  This became apparent as she answered a few questions that I posed with little conviction, but heady precision:

                    ∙ Do you have freedom of speech here?  “Yes”, she declared, “but you can’t speak without evidence”.

                    ∙ Do you have freedom of religion?  “Yes”, she said – adding that communists “have no religion” and “believe in themselves” instead of a God.

                    ∙ On the subject of birth control:  the Vietnamese government will only allow a family to have two (2) children (a rule inspired by China, no doubt).  If one is communist, they must strictly follow this rule, or they cannot be in the communist party (those in the “private sector” can do “whatever they want with their lives and family”).  Benefits are also denied to a third child (just like China).

                    ∙ Do you have the right to own property?  No – they can only “use” the land, and no more than two hectors (app. 4.9 acres).  The land belongs to the Vietnamese government!  She spoke of “buying” property, but explained that means to “use” only.  (You “buy” a house to “use”, i.e., everyone rents in Vietnam from the government.)  It does appear they can purchase personal property, such as their motor bikes, TV sets, etc.

                    ∙ Do you have the right to travel?  Yes.  During the War, Ms. Thi explained that they couldn’t cross the river from north to south, but after the War “we could travel wherever we wanted”, “even to Cambodia or Laos without a Visa”.  She didn’t mention travel to countries in, e.g., Europe, the Americas.

                    ∙ What do you like most and least about living in a communist country?  “I would not say a communist country.  I would say Vietnam.”  She likes that it’s stable and they’re not being killed anymore.  (They lost 2 million people in the war.)  What she doesn’t like is the ongoing corruption and bureaucracy, but added that they’re trying to reduce that.

                    ∙ What do the local people say about America’s involvement in the War?  Ms. Thi responded that Vietnam has “a history of fighting against empires”, recounting that they spent 1,000 years fighting with China, which was “always coming to invade, and never successful”.  Then, they spent 100 years as a colony of France, which “took everything and left us in poverty”.  “Then, we had to spend years fighting off the Americans”.  She told us they were glad that the north “liberated” the south, but they have no lasting hatred or hostility toward Americans.  She spoke fondly of Ho Chi Minh as a man who never married and was always sacrificing for his people.  (There was no mention of America trying to curb the flow of communism, improving the lives of the South Vietnamese, or the adverse consequences of a country devoid of individual property or civil rights.  They’re alive, and that’s enough for them, at least that’s what Ms. Thi wants us to think.)

          ∙ The Road to Saigon:  Life on the Streets in “Reunified” Vietnam

 

          ∙ We arrived at the City Center and visited Thien Hau Pagoda in Chinatown.

 

          ∙ We next took an app. one-hour ride on a “cyclo” (human-propelled three-wheel cycle) from the pagoda to Ben Thanh market, riding along out in the middle of traffic.  What a trip!  The cost?  $5 + tip.  Amazing how cheap everything is here, because the Vietnamese “Dong” has so little value.  These people are underpaid, big time!

 

          ∙ We ate lunch at Pho 2000 restaurant, where Bill Clinton ate once.  They had great lumpia’s, but no air conditioning.  We walked through Ben Thanh market and sat around waiting for our bus to return in the sweltering heat and humidity, as scores of people tried to sell us stuff.  We sat there, trying to imagine what it must have been like for our soldiers, who had to be there in full military regalia in that mind-blowing heat.  The pollution was daunting, too – people could routinely be seen wearing face masks to protect them from the toxic air.  (Our eyes are burning tonight.)

 

          ∙ We visited the former Presidential Palace (built in 1963), now called Reunification Hall: made famous when a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the front gates on 4/30/75, signaling the end of the Vietnam War.  They now have communist flags flying all over the Hall and a mock tank pointing at the Hall.  Some might find the tank offensive.

 

          ∙ We next visited Notre Dame Cathedral (built in 1877), an homage to France, and the Central Post Office – also built by those French (who took everything from them, except the best architecture in the city).

 

          ∙ After stopping at a lacquer shop (more shopping), a deluge of rain came and persisted for about an hour.  This is the pattern here – buckets of rain, lasting only one to two hours.  That hour fell as we traveled through the heart of the city, passing (among other things) the site where American soldiers fled on helicopters in a scene famously depicted in photographs and in movies.  That building has since been demolished and a consulate built in its place.  My photos were marred by rain, but here is the site:

 

          ∙ We traveled through the heart of the city and the famous Rex Hotel, which has been rebuilt, but was popular with soldiers and journalists during the War.  Nearby we found the French-built Hotel de Ville (the former Town Hall), now housing the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.  A park in front now dons a sculpture of Ho Chi Minh – holding a little baby, no less.  Ms. Thi explained, he was “so good with children” (unless a citizen wants to have more than two, of course).  Yes, there is really a stone sculpture of a politician, holding a baby, in the center of Saigon!

 

∙ THOUGHTS/IMPRESSIONS

          ∙ Well, I’m glad this visit is over.  We saw some interesting things and met some pleasant people, as we do in most places, but this visit was vexing for all sorts of reasons.

          ∙ I’ll just say that I’m grateful to every teacher and professor who emphasized the importance of critical thinking and questioning what we read, hear and learn – even from authority figures.  I’m thankful to every member of our military who served in Vietnam, and elsewhere (including my dad).  And I’m thankful that I was born, raised and live in the U.S.A. – and all that it means (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, the right to acquire property and to pursue a better life, to bear and raise children as we see fit, to vote, to be treated equally under the law, etc.)!  Without these things, our lives might look more like this: