VIETNAM
From India we sailed out of Chennai to Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City --- old Saigon. In every way this city is impressive---- with modern development, an excitement and vibrancy of bustling city life -- but most of all in the wonderful resilience of its people.
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| Mekong River Delta |
On the surface Saigon appears totally recovered from the devastation and the ravages of many wars although agent orange has seeped into water tables and contaminated soils and rests in the DNA of many of the people. And like everywhere we have been, capitalism is the omni present trump card. The U.S. dollar is accepted and is strong---- everyone shopped 'til they dropped for shirts, dresses, copies of designer handbags and watches and DVDs etc. and etc.
I saw outstanding art in museums and galleries. Vietnamese artists are using their ancient lacquer techniques and have taken them to new heights! Wonderful artwork. I will do a blog of exciting art we found at every stop if I can in the next few days or perhaps when I return home with journal entries from my classes.
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| Modern art using ancient lacquer techniques -- Saigon Art Museum |
Vietnam was just one more of our visits to countries touched by colonialism. Here we found French history and the old Saigon largely supplanted by new skyscrapers, fancy shopping malls and banks, and high rise apartments. But there was something about Saigon that evoked memory despite it being so very modern. With chaotic traffic and never-ending stream of motor bikes --crossing Saigon's streets was terrifying and an act that only the Gods can bring you through safely. In fact, one of our group was actually clipped. She is recovered but had to go to the hospital with the driver who was obliged by law to pay the medical expenses. In the end, despite the crazy traffic, there is something about the energy of Saigon that is just fun.
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| Saigon government building, showing French influence. |
Interesting though, it was in Hanoi where we saw the beautiful old Vietnam with lakes and the old French architecture still intact. The main drag in the French quarter is reminiscent of Paris' Champs Elysee. And in some ways, around the lakes, Hanoi reminded me of Zurich. I did see propaganda posters and billboards and actually bought one---supposedly an original. But then in Vietnam everything is copied and the designation " original" has new meaning which is ever evolving.
I was introduced to Pho and on the streets of Hanoi. David Yu, one of my ship family, and I had a wonderful bowl of pho on a side street in Hanoi. I loved the the untouched Vietnamese culture still vital in the back streets of this city.
I also had the opportunity of driving from Hanoi through exquisite spring like green rice fields and small towns with tall skinny houses on the way to Ha Long Bay--- a beautiful place that embodies the the perfect elements of a Chinese landscape painting. The rock/mountains of brown/black rise up mystically from the blue waters of the bay. Lazily one day we sailed back and forth in a rustic fishing boat in the full sun. And looking out at the horizon we saw China.... the next stop on our peripatetic schedule of Asian visits. I loved Ha Long Bay---its tranquility and iconic Asian beauty. And I became attached to the wonderful Vietnamese people---so forgiving, so quiet and humble. And the beautiful women are always dressed impeccably.
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| Farmland outside of Hanoi |
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| Ha Long Bay |
I had expected to see more signs and symbols of the war years, but apart from the powerful displays in the War Museums in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and the small marker designating the urban lake where John McCain dumped his plane, they were largely out of sight. In Saigon, in front of an old landmark, the Rex Hotel, where the foreign press and dignitaries often stayed during what is called the "American war" by the Vietnamese, we all met for our shuttle bus. While on its doorstep, we could stand and contemplate the memories, but the Rex has been upgraded and today anonymously fits into the architectural landscape. So these memories of the war years were clearly in the shadows.
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| John McCain's commemorative statue in front of the lake where he ditched his plane, Hanoi |
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| Diorama in the Hanoi War Museum |
Many of the students visited the CPU Chi Tunnels, a 200 km network of tunnels only 20 miles from Saigon --evidence of how stealthily the Viet Cong infiltrated into the south during the war. Others went to the "Killing Fields" and Cambodia. All hard to see and process. With understatement, the Vietnamese have made it easy for foreigners as well as their own population to see and experience the horrors of the war. And now Vietnam seems to have moved on. They have achieved independence from colonialism and foreign control and have re-unified into one country and are now very capitalist. The Vietnam we discovered is looking forward--- anxious to achieve 1st world status, negotiating trade agreements with countries like the U.S. and integrating itself fully into the global economy.
Also interesting, I had brunch with an American entrepreneur living in Saigon with his Vietnamese wife and child. He said the incredible growth so evident and the success of new ruling ideology --com/capitalism (communism and capitalism)-- is just a facade. He maintains the widespread evidence of growth was really just made possible by a giant ponzi scheme. Wow! Don't know if this is true.
Either way, we saw how thoroughly communism has embraced capitalism in this first stop in Asia.
And at first blush --- it looks like success. But I am saddened by the resulting emphasis on commercialism so evident in Saigon.
And what is amazing is how far Ho Chi Minh City is from the South China Sea. Navigation is possible for big ships all the way up the Mekong and Saigon Rivers but it takes about 4 hours to go from sea to city. Close to the sea, we were surrounded by the mangroves and vegetation of the rural countryside of the famous Mekong Delta. Today the Delta is the place for fish farming. Let us hope the aquifers are not contaminated with Agent Orange. And as we passed the end of the Vietnam coast, it was ironic to see a tall statue of Jesus saying goodbye as we sailed on to Hong Kong and China.
I hope someday I can come back to Vietnam - a fascinating place and a beautiful people.
