I make no pretense at being an expert on Southeast Asia, specifically Vietnam and Cambodia, where I am now concluding a two-week trip. But I love to learn, and I enjoy sharing what I have learned, at risk of being corrected by people far more knowledgeable than I.
I loved Cambodia. I loved the warmth and gentleness of everyone I met. I quickly fell into the habit of greeting everyone with my hands clasped in front of me, almost in prayer. The heat and humidity were intense, with the temperature in the high 80s every day, possibly the 90s. The ancient ruins were impressive. I would urge everyone to visit Cambodia at least once in your life. I have posted my pictures of Cambodia on Twitter. One series tells the story of a family “noodle factory,” where the factory consisted of homemade implements, operated by the matriarch, the children, and grandchildren. As the family pounded and ground and boiled the rice into noodles, the littlest ones sold souvenirs. I bought a handmade flute for $1, and Mary bought a silk scarf for $5.
Today we did a whirlwind tour of Hanoi. We drove through the city, which to my surprise, contains beautiful parks, lakes, fountains, and trees. The climate was ten degrees cooler than Cambodia and very agreeable. First we stopped at the Temple of Literacy, a beautiful park in central Hanoi, where there was a school ceremony in progress (it seems to be a daily or near daily occurrence). Several hundred young children in uniforms were gathered at a shrine to Confucius, where a few were singled out for their excellent academic performance. The honorees came to the front of the audience, where a teacher tied a red kerchief around their necks. To the side of the open-air seating area were huge stone tablets, engraved with the names of the nation’s students who had achieved the highest test scores in past years. I looked on the event as a giant test prep rally. Who wouldn’t want to be recognized for such public honor?
Then we went to the Hanoi Hilton to see the rooms where captured American pilots were imprisoned. The guide warned us that the exhibit was one-sided. We saw pictures of some of the pilots who had been imprisoned, including a young John McCain. So handsome. The captions emphasized the humane treatment of the prisoners, making their captivity sound almost like a summer camp, with letters and gifts from home, basketball games, wholesome food, and other amenities. And of course we were reminded of the terrible deeds of the American invaders and the heroics of the Vietnamese defenders.
Then we switched to electric carts, about the size of golf carts, which maneuvered through the narrow streets of the Old City. This district is a teeming marketplace of every kind of marketable goods, cafes, coffee shops, flower markets, carpet shops, fruit vendors, jewelry stores, furniture stores, clothing stores, toy stores—and I have barely scratched the surface. The streets and sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians, vendors, bicycles, and especially motorbikes. Seldom was there a traffic light. Traffic and people weaved in and around and through each other. Somehow, miraculously, there were no collisions.
Whenever our group crossed a street, the tour guides told us to be “sticky rice,” moving in a solid clump, never pausing for oncoming traffic, which always flowed around us. I developed this axiom: “He who hesitates never crosses the street.”
We switched back to tour buses and headed to a restaurant for wonderful Vietnamese food.
In the afternoon, we visited the beautiful grounds of Ho Chi Minh’s Residence, where he lies in state. The trees and grounds were gorgeous, and it was fun to see the elegant autobiles that the Soviet Union had given him.
Our tour guide told us that the economy of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam is a free market and capitalist. At the same time, we saw many signs with the hammer and sickle, the symbol of Communism. Aside from the symbols, it was difficult to see what made Vietnam a Communist State. There are many luxury apartments buildings for rich Vietnamese and expatriates. There are stores representing the luxury brands of the West, like Louis Vuitton, Brooks Brothers, Estee Lauter, Rolls Royce, Porsche, and Mercedes Benz. There is MacDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Many new office buildings are under construction, as are huge residential complexes for the super-rich. Ho Chi Minh must be spinning in his elaborate mausoleum. The only thing “Communist”about Vietnam is the occasional sign of a hammer and sickle. It is a capitalist country with huge wealth and income inequality.
In talking to our Vietnamese guides, I learned that there are no labor unions, no Social Security, no pensions. Medical care is not free. Even public schools costs money. The public elementary schools cost $60 a month, the lower secondary schools cost somewhat less because they don’t provide lunch. In the public s hoops, classes may be as large as 50, while the private schools have classes of only 25, but they cost about $1,000 a month. Every parent saves to pay for education because they know it is the path to a better life. Every young man, beginning in high school, spends 7-10 days of compulsory military service.
The Vietnamese are a practical people. They hold no ill feelings towards Americans. They want tourism and economic development and hotels are everywhere, especially new luxury hotels, financed largely by other Asians, from Japan, South Korea, Singapore.
We then went to a performance of the celebrated Vietnamese water puppets, a show that I cannot describe. It was delightful and performed in water with puppets and unseen puppeteers, accompanied by traditional Vietnamese music.
We had dinner at a traditional Vietnamese restaurant, where we were entertained by an extraordinary troupe of musicians who played instruments unknown to westerners. One is a one-string instrument, plucked with one hand and modulated with the other. Another was an elaborate set of bamboo reeds, tied together and played with great skill to produce beautiful music using percussion tools.
As I put this altogether, I first express my admiration for the people of both countries, who are proud of their history, heritage, and culture.
However, I wondered whether our countries are converging. Vietnam and Cambodia have embraced free market economics. They are unabashedly capitalistic. The Republicans in the U.S. want to get rid of social security, pensions, and government-guaranteed health care. It is a curious irony of history that they are copying us, and we want to copy them.
Consider visiting these countries, if you can find the time and can afford it. The best time to go is Christmas or Easter. Between May and September, I heard, the heat is intolerable. It is a long journey but I promise you will learn a lot and enjoy it. We took a cruise organized by Uniworld, which was e extremely well planned. I recommend it..
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