Observations On Vietnam

In the north it was hilly.  In the south it was flat.  In the middle we went through a mountain pass.  Everywhere there were rice paddies in the north, in the south and in the middle. A comment was made by someone in a van on the way to Halong Bay that there was no machinery on the farms.  My guide in Saigon pointed out that in the rice paddies, it is too muddy to have modern equipment.  It would just get stuck in the mud.  Vietnam is the second largest grower of rice globally.  There are fields covered in water everywhere.  Along side the fields are village cemeteries, each community has their own little area.  The Vietnamese worship their ancestors. They bring offerings of fake money to those passed away.   

On the road I saw motor scooters with cages full of live chickens, families of dogs(in the north they eat dog), a truck load of live pigs, motor scooters piled high with fresh produce, motor scooters with assortments of brooms and basically every product for sale in the cities.  In Vietnam the scooter is like our car.  Everyone has one and there are parking facilities throughout the cities.  I am amazed I survived crossing the streets.  It is the same everywhere although there are more traffic lights in Saigon.  It seems if a North Vietnamese moves to the South all are friends.  If a South Vietnamese moves to the north he sits at a table and eats alone.

There are also many boats as the country has many waterways.  Before they built bridges it was necessary to take ferries to reach the islands of the Mekong Delta.  There are boats of many sizes everywhere throughout the country which has many areas on the sea.  By the water there are shrimp farms with shacks built on stilts so they can guard from poachers.  They take turns guarding their shrimp farms during the night.  One of the loses of the country is the upcoming development of large resorts along the sea in Denang.  There are so many fences that one can no longer see the sea from the road. 

Everywhere in the cities there are little plastic chairs and people hang out, drink tea, play board games, buy food from sidewalk food stands with the food sometimes being produced on the sidewalk.  People gather to watch televisions which are put on the sidewalks.

The central market the Ben Thanh is a large indoor market in the center of Saigon.  There must be 5000 vendors.  It is difficult to say but it goes on and on.  At the beginning there are many fruit, vegetable and flower vendors.  There are also many fish, shellfish and different knd of meat vendors.   

There are rows and rows of clothing vendors, pocketbook vendors, purses, jewelry, eyeglass, t shirts, scarves and you name they are there.  In the middle of it all are restaurants.  You see the vendors bringing bowls of soup, ice coffees and all kinds od goodies to their stalls.  The food looks great and I am sure people come from all over to eat a cheap meal there.  Some of the places look like they Need to give out numbers.

I am now in Siem Reap Cambodia.  It is a backwoods dusty sleepy town made a destination by the nearby ruins of Angkor Wat.

Soon

Judy