I'm currently in Dalat in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Tomorrow, I head to Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon). I have absolutely fallen for Dalat. I really can't say why, but I think it encompasses many of the magical qualities that have made Vietnam such a tremendous experience for me.
I have been surprised be the Vietnamese. Their kindness, their entrepreneurial spirit, their industriousness, and their discipline give me great hope for this country of 85 million people.
I have been surprised by the lack of animosity that the Vietnamese have for Americans. After the United States funding and fighting with the losing side in a series of wars lasting from 1945 through 1975 (the US provided much of the funding for a weakened post WWII France to fight from 1945 to 1954 (Indochina War). The US then supported the South Vietnamese with training, arms, and funding from 1954 to 1965. The US had troops on the ground from 1965 through 1973 (Vietnam War or the American War as the Vietnamese call it). The South fell to the communist North, reuniting Vietnam again in 1975) I would have expected to have seen at least an inkling of dislike, blame, or hard feelings over the misery that those wars inflicted on the population. Around ten percent of the population was killed in these wars. I have seen no animosity. In fact, I have felt uncomfortable several times for the extreme hospitality that I have received.
Vietnam is a communist country. There is one political party, the communist party, that determines policy for the country. My understanding is that the population generally is happy with their government (that says a lot since I can't remember the last time that the majority of the US liked their government). Interestingly, from street level, you would think that the US was the country whose government heavily influences/regulates the local market. However, I'm not suggesting that all the controls that the US has placed on its market economy are bad, many have had very positive effects like copyright infringement laws. Capitalistic commerce is alive and well in Vietnam, with shops everywhere. There are hawkers everywhere selling their wares. Every street has twenty different shops selling similar services/products all in competition with each other.
The Vietnamese always seem to be working. Family run shops are open from before I get up until after I go to bed. For example, the same man is working at the internet café now, ten hours after I came this morning. I wouldn't be surprised if he was here from opening, 8:00a.m., until closing, 10:00p.m. It seems like every family with a little bit of money is opening up some sort of small business. Sometimes there will be several different businesses in the front area of a families house. Much to my annoyance, the Vietnamese are always trying to make another sale. Being in Vietnam is like being in a store where all the employees work on commission.
I have been surprised by the order and discipline I have seen in Vietnamese society. I most notably witnessed this in Hanoi, where an enormous crowd of people was out for the celebrations in honor of the 1000 anniversary of the founding of the city. I did not see any drunks in the streets, no one was causing problems, people were orderly, but still clearly having a good time. The police presence was minimal and very soft (directing traffic and not cracking people over the head with batons). Many skeptics may attribute this order to fear of the communistic regime, but I don't believe this. I feel it probably has more to do with the Confucian principles with which the culture is based and the collective spirit forged to bring in the annual rice harvest century after century. Whatever the reason, it creates for a nice atmosphere. I love traveling in a place where my greatest fear is that I will be overcharged. This is a far cry from the violence of Central America that weighed so heavily upon my psyche.
I will only be in Vietnam for a few more days before I head to Cambodia to visit Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat.
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