By Paul E. Robinson

Classical Travels
THIS WEEK IN VIETNAM

The Vietnam War (1959 to 1975) was for me, a Canadian, a faraway conflict – something to be discussed and debated – made real only by the draft dodgers who starting turning up at Canadian universities in the 1970s.

Had I been an American student, I would have had moral dilemmas to deal with and decisions to make. Many of my American friends who found themselves in that position, determined that the war was a mistake they were powerless to remedy.

Then President Lyndon Baynes Johnson (LBJ) compounded former President John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) initial misjudgment in going to war. Richard Nixon followed LBJ, lying to the world about his ’secret plan’ to end the conflict. Some would conclude that the horrors of Vietnam, which killed thousands, were allowed to continue until 1975, primarily so that the leaders on both sides could ’save face.’

The Vietnam War is history now, and our tour guide (photo: above right) in Ho Chi Minh City?- formerly Saigon - was born a good eleven years after the hostilities ended.

Doi-Moi and the Birth of a Little Tiger
The Diamond Princess (photo: right) docked at the port of Phuy My early in the morning and after the usual disembarkment procedures, we had a two-hour bus ride into the city.

Saigon was created in its modern form by the French, destroyed and vulgarized by the American GIs during the Vietnam War, and most recently recreated and brought to a much higher level by the indomitable Vietnamese themselves.

It was during President Bill Clinton’s years in office that the Vietnam War was officially left to the historians. After some years of antagonism, American and Vietnamese governments finally agreed to resume relations.

Over the past decade, Vietnam has seen its GDP rise at an annual rate close to 8% and investment has been pouring into the country.

As the world knows, Vietnam won the war and established a communist dictatorship throughout the entire country. The early years after the end of what the Vietnamese call the “American War” were abysmal, as old scores were settled and thousands sent to re-education camps.

In 1986 the country’s leaders determined that communist dictatorship is a very poor mechanism for growing an economy, and Vietnam turned to the Chinese model of communist society in which political repression is continued but economic freedom is both allowed and encouraged. In Vietnam, this new market-driven policy was called doi moi, and before long the country emerged as one of the increasingly successful Little Tiger economies of Southeast Asia.

Motorbikes Rule the Road and Masks are a Must!
Along the road to Ho Chi Minh City from the Pier, the first thing one notices is the extraordinary number of motorcycles, or more accurately, motorbikes. In the city itself, motorbikes outnumber cars and trucks. I was struck by the fact that in this metropolis of 8 million people there seemed to be little or no public transit. Perhaps it is not needed if most people can get around on motorbikes.

But, one is led to ask: “How, in what is still a Third World country, can so many people afford to buy these machines?” Motorbikes in Vietnam cost about US$1,000 and the average income is not much more than US$800, meaning that most people spend more than a year’s salary on a motorbike. When you think about it, not much different from the ratios in the USA. Average salary: $30K/yr. Average car: $24K. If a Vietnamese has a steady job, he probably pays with a loan, as most do in most other countries around the world.

But why the motorbike? On the roads and streets of Vietnam, riding a motorbike is an unhealthy business?- dust and toxic fumes abound. The answer is obvious. On the average salary, most Vietnamese can’t afford a car, and they need to be able to get to work?- sometimes to a jobsite quite a distance from home.

The socially-responsible communist government of Vietnam isn’t in a hurry, it seems, to provide ‘public’ transport, or apparently much else. I was astonished to learn that every Vietnamese except the most indigent must pay health care and education (after age 11) costs. Education is mandatory only for ages 6 to 11. After that, families are on their own. Without a sufficiently educated population, development of a modern economy able to compete globally, may be difficult, if not impossible.

Art & Architecture on the Road to Ho Chi Minh
Something else one notices when driving from the port to Ho Chi Minh City, are the countless small factory and retail storefronts that line both sides of the highway, and behind many of these, the tall and narrow houses of three stories, many with remarkably colorful and imaginative windows and doors.

The juxtaposition of the often dirty and cluttered shops below and the beautiful living quarters above them is quite striking.

In Ho Chi Minh City itself the traffic is appalling, at least in part because of the roadwork and the huge number of building projects going on. Upscale condos and apartment buildings are shooting up everywhere, and buildings dating back to the French era have been, or are being, painstakingly restored.

The Main Post Office designed by Gustav Eiffel and finished in 1891 is magnificent, and the 800-seat Municipal Theatre in Lam Son Square built in 1900 is equally impressive. Even the nearby Continental Hotel where the two leading characters in Graham Greene’s “The Quiet American” first met, has a fresh coat of paint.

We had lunch at a restaurant called Nam Kha on Dong Khoi, the main street in Ho Chi Minh City; it was so full of Asian art objects it could double for an art gallery. The food was excellent – Vietnamese fare, including remarkable spring rolls.

Nha Trang: Vietnam’s Riviera Rising!

Back on board the Diamond Princess, we travelled overnight up the coast and arrived in the morning at the resort city of Nha Trang. From a distance, with high-rise towers behind a long sandy beach, Nha Trang resembles the French Riviera. Up close, it is not quite so glamorous but it is definitely on its way. The large hospitality chains are working hard to get new facilities in place and some of these new hotels are spectacular.

Lunch on the veranda at the Sunrise Beach Resort overlooking the beach conjured up images of the Mediterranean. The food and service didn’t measure up to the setting and the decor, but it was nonetheless a pleasant experience that will probably get better as the region becomes more sophisticated.

Tour boats criss-cross the bay taking visitors to scuba-diving locations nearby. A cable car spans the harbor to an island amusement park at least a mile away.

To some extent, all this luxury is a facade. Not too far behind the soaring modern hotels sits the old city with dilapidated apartment buildings and a busy, loud, dusty quintessential local market. This is a poor town with a beautiful beach, clear blue water, and the potential to become a major tourist destination, not only for Vietnamese, but for world travellers. Now is probably the time to check it out, before it becomes the next great rage with the sun-worshippers, before – that is – prices sky-rocket!

A Communist Country with a Buddhist Bent?
Finally, just a few thoughts about religion in Vietnam. The country today is governed by a Communist ideology, but the vast majority of the population is still devoted to some form of Buddhism; in Vietnam, this means an amalgam of Indian Buddhism, Chinese Confucianism and Taoism.

As James Sullivan put it in his book “Vietnam” (2006): “There’s no dogma in these faiths, no overarching scripture, no clerical hierarchy. No one ‘attends pagoda’ on a set schedule. Apart from monks you are unlikely to see anyone meditating. ‘Religion,’ a term fraught with Western doctrine and distinctions, has little relevance in the ethos of most Vietnamese.”

Christianity also flourishes in Vietnam. About 8 per cent of the population is Catholic.

Paul E. Robinson is the author of “Herbert von Karajan: the Maestro as Superstar,” and “Sir Georg Solti: His Life and Music,” both available at Amazon.com.

Photos by Marita

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