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Vietnam
Impressions
& Musings
Journal: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Hoi An,
Hanoi
Many of our impressions
are scattered throughout our journal entries, but for other generalities or oddities, see
below. These are not meant to stereotype all of Vietnam, these are simply things we
observed during our travels. $1 = 15,000 Dong
Coffee: $.50 for instant coffee
Fresh juice: excellent mixed fruit juice for $.30
Bottled water (1.5L): $.25
Typical Breakfast: bread, egg, tea; usually included with room
Typical Lunch: $2 noodle soup, fried rice, fried noodles
Typical Dinner: $4 Vietnamese spring rolls, 'White Rose' dumplings in Hoi An
Accommodations: $8 Saigon, $10 for guest house in Hanoi
At first we weren't sure how
Americans would be received here; we contemplated posing as "Canadians" but
found it wasn't necessary.
Since 1975, the official name
of Saigon has been Ho Chi Minh City. Someone forgot to tell the residents this; everyone
in and around the area seemed to ignore the change. Even the new World Trade Center had
"Saigon" on it, as well as a complex under construction across from our hotel.
A chain of travel cafes made
it very easy for us to get around; they were the cheapest places to eat (although the food
wasn't the best) and you could book day trips, buses, and other excursions simultaneously.
There was a travelers bus
that went up and down the coast, designed so we could hop-on, hop-off whenever we wanted.
Coming from Cambodia, the
roads in southern Vietnam seemed to be in great condition. The first thing we noticed
crossing in at Moc Bai was that the Vietnamese farmers still really wear those straw
conical hats. They obviously still function well, as both sun and rain protectants. Nobody
has bothered to switch to western-style visor hats.
As expected, the majority of
the people here were gut-wrenchingly poor, yet most seemed surprisingly happy.
People selling things by the side of the road would still smile and wave, even if we
didn't buy.
The Vietnamese are still
extremely poor--per capita income is US$200. The economy was devastated in the 1960's and
70's due to the war, and then got worse upon reunifcation. When they lost funding from
Eastern bloc countries in 1991 (due to their independence) they began free-market reforms.
We were told an Asian woman
accompanied by a western man is considered a "Vietnamese whore" by locals. It
doesn't seem to matter if the woman is even Vietnamese, or if she's married to the man, or
they're just walking together as friends. We wondered if the opposite would be true--Dave
is half Asian and many people thought he was Vietnamese. Perhaps he was seen as Kelly's
gigolo?
Vietnam Journals: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Hoi An,
Hanoi
Thailand
Impressions & Musings
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