Crossing a downtown street, often without the aid of a traffic light, is a study in blind faith. The immovable object (me) marches forward as the irresistible forces circumvent a collision. No one stops. Even at the occasional traffic light, riders time their deceleration to when they think the light will change, so as to avoid a complete stop. The city center of Saigon is very much like Paris. A grand opera house, ornate city hall, monuments, statuary, multi-storied buildings with new and seasoned upscale hotels, and many lights that embrace the modern or classically French architecture and flood the fountains and city parks. American brand names join the international companies displaying their wares in attractive downtown shops. Although the name of Ho Chi Minh (“Uncle Ho”) pops up everywhere, this city is as far removed from its communist center as is imaginable. Streets are crowded at all hours into the night, with revelers of all ages, even children. The parks are well lit, vendors are everywhere and capitalistic enterprise is booming.
THE LOCAL PERSPECTIVE
The entire tour group celebrated our Thanksgiving dinner together with a meal that included traditional Pilgrim fare: spring rolls, stuffed sea bass and spicy shrimp over rice. (I’m certain the Pilgrim’s would have preferred this if they could have gotten it.) Earlier in the day, we spent a few hours at what this government calls its “War Remnants Museum.”
That’s the post-1995 title, when the government began turning to the west in an effort to emulate its economy and encourage internal enlightenment and tourism. Prior to that, it was called the "American Imperialist War Crimes Museum." I think you can imagine the theme and tone. It is said, quite accurately, that history is written (or rewritten) by the victor. Here, there is no attempt to avoid bias. These people suffered brutally, first under the French and, after 1955, by an alliance led by our country in support of South Vietnam’s position in its civil war. This museum made no excuses, and depicted the horror of home turf warfare in its most graphic form. It was sobering for all of us, including the Vietnam veterans on this tour, and reminds us that in war there are no winners. WITH THE COEDS
The previous day, we spent several hours on the campus of Dalat University, visiting with English-speaking students. It was an opportunity for them to practice their language skills and for us to ask some pointed questions about life, and career options, in Vietnam.
Once again, I was surprised at the extent of free access to information allowed by this government. All the students use the internet for research, and are familiar with the media choices we enjoy in the west. Although fully indoctrinated to the party line (“We love Uncle Ho”), I was aware of none who spouted communist doctrine, or whose parents embraced party membership. All high school kids take a compulsory national exam at the conclusion of their final year, with the highest ranked kids then allowed to continue on to college, if affordable. Public college is only $250 a year; private school $400. But that paltry amount, plus room/board/books, is often unachievable to families whose annual income hovers at $1200 for city workers; far less for the majority of people who live on farms. Also, since girls prepare more efficiently, resulting in higher high school compulsory scores, for the past thirty years colleges in Vietnam have been skewed 2:1 in favor of female attendance. The professor who spent time with us, a Fullbright scholar who studied in the U.S., was candid about challenges facing their educational system and the concerns in academe about the future of education in Vietnam. 
HIGH HOPES
Just what makes that little old ant
Think he’ll move that rubber tree plant
Everyone knows an ant, can’t
Move a rubber tree plant.
AN UNDERGROUND CITY FOR THE SKINNY
We took a trip today about 25 miles outside of Saigon to the town of Cu Chi to explore the remarkable network of tunnels built from the 1940’s through 1975, and used by the Viet Cong during the war. It’s an underground complex that runs for about 125 miles throughout the area, and once housed up to 12,000 fighters. We crawled through a few sections of the tunnel system, which must be navigated bent over so that your arms almost reach the floor (a lot easier for the shorter population here). VC mounted nighttime raids from these tunnels, escaping though camouflaged hatches that are unperceivable to the naked eye. The system is so large that it housed a surgical hospital and large meeting rooms and kitchens, functioning much like an underground village, with a portion of the system ironically located beneath a U.S. air base. Gen. Westmoreland was frustrated by his efforts to locate and destroy the complex. The Cu Chi Tunnels is worth looking up in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cu_Chi_Tunnels .
BANGKOK IS REVOLTING
No, this is not a commentary on that lovely city. But it is a description of the political imbroglio that may prevent me from returning to fly back via the Bangkok airport to Tokyo and home next week. No problem being rerouted from our final stop in Cambodia through some other major airport, like Hong Kong. But what about the custom made suits awaiting final fitting in Bangkok? Hmm … stay tuned.
Next: Mekong Delta and on to Cambodia
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