the voyage is winding down. we're at that stage where we start looking back and thinking about the highs and lows. vietnam is definitely a high. and, not just because i'm sitting in the cafe terrace (just a one dollar motorbike away from the ship), drinking a singapore sling (preceded by a cheeseburger, fries and cappuccino cake), and enjoying their hi-speed internet connection. well, that has a little to do with it. but, day one i was captivated by saigon (apparently only the government calls it ho chi minh city).my first day here i did a s@s trip, where we visited a vietnamese man (name in my notes, not with me) who was an upi (united press international) photographer during the "american war", and the war remnants museum, formerly know as the museum of french and american war crimes. what made the photographer visit interesting was that the photographer and our tour guide, (from a younger generation) had two very different perspectives about the the government. the guide, phoung, translated the photographer's answers to our questions, but later made a point of saying that he was strictly translating not interpreting, and everything the photographer said about the government, civil rights (like free press) issues and what it's done, or hasn't, for the people, were lies. according to the tour guide, "he's just bitter". since according to phoung, the photographer is much better off, financially, than he portrayed himself to be, he must only be bitter for being unjustly imprisoned. similarly, our tour guide on the mekong delta overnight trip, discussed how him and his father viewed the government differently. the father doesn't trust the government, but the son believes that the government has done much for the people.
only 2% of vietnam's 84 million people are actually communist party members. however, i'm sure marx is rolling over in his grave at the thought that they call themselves communists. the country has been open to foreign investment since 1986. health care and education, even grade school, is no longer free, which of course isn't a problem for the folks hanging out here at the cafe terrace, but for the families selling produce in the floating markets on the mekong delta, and other rural areas, it probably is - this is an aspect of globalization that i've seen at every port, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer (mostly as a result of less government support - jobs, housing, education, etc.), and the gap between them getting larger.
photographer:
ok i got a little side tracked. saigon has this incredible mix of old world charm and modern sophistication. the museums are more old world - climate control isn't a priority, even in the fine art museum, but the old funky building is gorgeous, especially looking out to the inner courtyard, from the inside. the tile and iron work, not to mention the stained and other colored glass, add to the idyllic charm, definitely a holdover from the french.
fine arts museum:
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in the tropics, one advantage to going to a museum, should be ac. not here. the modern aspects of vietnam are cool because they are uniquely asian, they don't attempt to import or imitate the west. instead of the garish high end hugo boss, gucci, and louis vutton stores i saw in kuala lumpur (these stores may be here, but they don't dominate the landscape), alongside street vendors, you have these quaint little boutiques selling nice high end asian style clothes and accessories. the key word here is little. i'd have to lose fifty pounds before even considering doing more than window shopping.
i found my own way home from the war remnants museum, passing the palace, where the tanks crashed through the gates on april 30, 1975, the defining moment of "the fall of saigon". i also stopped at the ben thanh(?) market (major censory overload, but bought fresh ground coffee and a one cup filter to make my own coffee on the ship); and passed the legendary rex and continental hotels; and a jazz club - "sax and art". during my wanderings that first day i experienced saigon rush hour. the key word here is rush - what a rush. i thought la was the traffic capitol of the world. not. what makes saigon traffic such a rush, is that there's probably ten times more vehicles on the road than in la, mostly motorbikes, and it's not bumper to bumper, but a flood of traffic rushing around at crazy speeds. i had no idea how to capture it on film, but i found a post card by someone who did.
i haven't taken many pictures of myself, but i would love to have one of me on the back of a motorbike, attempting to make a left hand turn in the middle of an intersection, with traffic coming directly at us with no apparent intention of stopping. there was no traffic signal in sight to know who actually had the right away (i'm sure that the concept doesn't even exist in vietnamese driving vocabulary). the oncoming traffic didn't stop they just went around us. so basically just walk or drive out into oncoming traffic and the traffic will skillfully, actually quite gracefully, maneuver around you. i wasn't quite as graceful, but i learned to be. i'm not sure what it says about me, but i'm sure one of my favorite experiences of the voyage will be crossing the street in vietnam - i eventually relished every opportunity to do so.
my battery is low, and i'm sure it's getting late, so i should head back to the ship. tomorrow i'll try and fill out this saigon post and post something about my mekong delta trip, which will feature the floating markets. the $5 full body massage was a treat too.
this time you can blame all the typos on the singapore slings.
