Vietnam

Temple
War Remnants Museum- The photo that shook he world
Chinatown
Mekong Delta
Propoganda
Saigon traffic

War remnants museum
Mekong Delta

I am sad to say I definitely was not in Vietnam long enough to make any substantial kind of analysis. I wanted to go to a socialist country. I wanted to see what it was like. I wanted to go to war museums and understand the complexity and devastation and healing that took place in Vietnam. I have made the decision to go back to Vietnam at some point and to go to the north that is much different than Ho Chi Minh.

The Mekong Delta and series of canals were absolutely beautiful. I found Vietnamese people very friendly and with a great sense of humor. They smile and they love a good laugh. Saigon or Ho Chi Minh is a motorcycle city and the traffic is deadly. It can take you about 30 minutes to cross the street and you can't ever panic. Just walk straight or stop and people will go around you.

I did a number of short tours where I checked out Chinatown, Temples, Artist Workshops, The Mekong Delta, Cu Chi Tunnels, and the war museum. The War Museum has a number of iconic images of the Veitnam war. The images are heart wrenching and I had to take a good moment to cry and express how I felt seeing so many horrifying images of war. It was hard not to pick a side. It's easy to point fingers and ofcourse I think it was horrible that the U.S. did so much damage and the army killed so many people but I realized the real enemy is war. I saw images of things done on both sides. I watched a propaganda movie and felt the tension fill the air as the movie goes on stating how cruel and horrid the US army was. I am in no way supporting them , but shouldn't we be able to see how tragic the losses are on both sides.

All over Vietnam you see very interesting socialist poster art of Ho Chi Minh, health issues, workers etcc.. The art is really refreshing to see and I have to admit for a socialist country, there is still allot of Western Influence on everything from clothes to culture that ofcourse is another example of how globalization penetrates all markets. It was nice not to see a McDonalds or Kentucky Friend Chicken which you are still bombarded with in Thailand and every other country in the world.