Vietnam had a population boom around the same time that the US did and it continued for a while after the war. Most of the people my age come from families of six or more children, and nine or ten is not uncommon. The population of Vietnam at the time of the war was 40 million or so; today it is over 90 million. But in the 1990's the government instituted a two child rule and, although enforcement was weak to nonexistent, family sizes have dropped dramatically.
As we drove by all the rice paddies, I noticed that everyone working in them was old. There is a very strong emphasis on education and professional work. The children are studying engineering and IT in the universities. All of my guides, like Binh and Chien, are college educated, and all are the children of farmers. Thinh is also the son of farmers and he is aspires to develop his tour company in Hoi An. I asked him what will happen to the farms when this generation passes on. He said that the few farmers who remain will buy up land and consolidate the small family farms into large farms that can afford to automate.
Although there are rice paddies for as far as you can see, they are subdivided into fairly small sections. You always see bicycles or motorbikes next to the fields where people are working, because they ride to their plots. But it is not clear to me who owns the land and I can't get a straight answer. I was told that each person gets 50 hectares. So can he leave it to his children? If he has more children, does he get another plot?
Everyone that I see in Vietnam is a merchant or entrepreneur, but as near as I can tell, it is a buyer's market. Tourism is big here but there is too much supply by a factor of at least five or ten. Ten times as many hotels, ten times as many restaurants, way too many vendors selling the same souvenirs to too few tourists. On the one hand, thirty year old Thinh can start his own company with the best bicycles in Hoi An. On the other hand, there are twenty other tour companies that offer bike tours in Hoi An. So the prices are very low.
Chien's parents, who are farmers in the Mekong Delta, want him to get a job in government so he can have security. Chien's degree is in education but he does not want to teach, at least not right now. He works for several tour companies, accepting the assignments he wants and turning down those he does not.
While Vietnam is clearly a modern country and becoming more modern by the minute, the pace of life is still slower here than in the US and many things are still done "the old way." Every town has a daily open air market where vendors sell produce, meat, clothes, and everything else. There are some grocery and department stores in the big cities, but most people buy things daily at the markets. It appears to me that there are more sellers than buyers at these markets too, but the system must be working.
I can not tell if Vietnam is a poor country, whatever that means. Things are very cheap here, and everyone seems to be selling something or in business for themselves. The houses are long and narrow, and the front room of almost every house is a shop or restaurant of some kind. But next to these houses, they build marble burial sites and temples that cost $20,000 or more. We drove by hundreds of them yesterday, some right next to hovels. The guide said it was a poor area and that the land there was sandy and not good for farming. But even if the land is cheap, the memorials are not. I have seen other signs of expensive purchases. There are lots of wedding dress stores here and I have seen dozens of wedding parties dressed up and doing photo shoots. (By the way, the wedding dresses come in all colors - red, blue, pink, yellow - and are quite striking.)
People seem to be eating out all the time. It may be street food and cheap, but I see people sitting in cafes and sidewalk restaurants all day long. There is a lively, outdoor culture that has nothing to do with the tourists. It would be difficult for me to go into most restaurants because there is no English menu and no one speaks English, but they are packed with Vietnamese.
So I can't tell if the people are poor or if they choose to live in poor house and save their money for other things. And I'm not sure if anyone knows. The people distrust the government, police, and banks, and most transactions are done for cash.
No conclusions, just some random observations. It is clear to me that Vietnam is rapidly transitioning from an agrarian country to a first world country, but I'm not sure what that will look like. And I continue to not fully understand what it means to be communist (single party) and capitalist. But southern Vietnam is definitely capitalist. I am told that northern Vietnam is more communist. Next week I'll see ...
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Hanging up my motorbike helmet?
Another couple hundred kilometers and still no broken bones, but this was not quite as much fun. First, I really miss my "crew." Second ... rain. Yesterday it was cool, gray, and drizzly - the kind of weather that makes me leave Sacramento for the winter. And I know it was sunny and 70 in Sacramento today. What is wrong with this picture?
In Hoi An, I had done the bike tour and city tour with a six month old company owned by a young entrepreneur (Rachel's age) named Thinh. He is very proud that he has the best bicycles in Hoi An: fifteen Specialized mountain bikes with gears. He is working hard on building his little empire. I also wanted to go to My Son, the site of Champa ruins from the 4th to 15th century. It is about fifty kilometers so Thinh has a one way ride there with transport back, but he suggested that I do a motorbike tour there. I tried to sign up, but the motorbike company had no trip to My Son on the only day I could go, so Thinh said he would take me. His price was very reasonable but he misunderstood that I wanted to drive myself, not sit on the back of his bike. For my own bike, he had to charge another $7.
When I went to his shop in the morning, Thinh took me on his motorbike (with both of us wearing bicycle helmets) to a local shop where we picked up my motorbike and I insisted on a real helmet. It turns out that the fine for not wearing a helmet is $10, so if you can buy one for $5, you are way ahead. Who cares about your head? Anyway, I got on and we drove off. No paperwork, no nothing. For my weeklong tour with a real company, I signed a long release form, and the lawyer in me wondered if it was worth the paper it was printed on. Are they liable for their own negligence? Would I be able to sue someone without a release. I know a little about American tort law, but I have no idea how this would work in Vietnam. I have been told that there are a lot of traffic accidents in Vietnam but everyone gets up and drives away before the police come because the police are scarier than the consequences of an accident.
Anyway, back to the ride to My Son. Like the bike ride the day before, we drove on back roads and alleys. It turns out that there is a network of these roads that are about the width of the bike path behind my house. They go through the fields and villages, along rivers and canals, and they seem to be just for bikes, although there is an occasional car or truck since this is Vietnam and no traffic rules are absolute. I don't think I realized before I came here how big Vietnam is and that there are rice paddies everywhere, from the Mekong Delta to Hanoi. I also didn't realize how beautiful the rice paddies are. They are bright green dotted with white ibisis. The fields we passed yesterday had been planted only a couple of weeks ago. The farmers were pulling some plants and transplanting them so the spacing would be proper. One farmer wanted me to take a picture of him. Notice the muddy legs. That is how deep the paddies are.
In Hoi An, I had done the bike tour and city tour with a six month old company owned by a young entrepreneur (Rachel's age) named Thinh. He is very proud that he has the best bicycles in Hoi An: fifteen Specialized mountain bikes with gears. He is working hard on building his little empire. I also wanted to go to My Son, the site of Champa ruins from the 4th to 15th century. It is about fifty kilometers so Thinh has a one way ride there with transport back, but he suggested that I do a motorbike tour there. I tried to sign up, but the motorbike company had no trip to My Son on the only day I could go, so Thinh said he would take me. His price was very reasonable but he misunderstood that I wanted to drive myself, not sit on the back of his bike. For my own bike, he had to charge another $7.
When I went to his shop in the morning, Thinh took me on his motorbike (with both of us wearing bicycle helmets) to a local shop where we picked up my motorbike and I insisted on a real helmet. It turns out that the fine for not wearing a helmet is $10, so if you can buy one for $5, you are way ahead. Who cares about your head? Anyway, I got on and we drove off. No paperwork, no nothing. For my weeklong tour with a real company, I signed a long release form, and the lawyer in me wondered if it was worth the paper it was printed on. Are they liable for their own negligence? Would I be able to sue someone without a release. I know a little about American tort law, but I have no idea how this would work in Vietnam. I have been told that there are a lot of traffic accidents in Vietnam but everyone gets up and drives away before the police come because the police are scarier than the consequences of an accident.
Anyway, back to the ride to My Son. Like the bike ride the day before, we drove on back roads and alleys. It turns out that there is a network of these roads that are about the width of the bike path behind my house. They go through the fields and villages, along rivers and canals, and they seem to be just for bikes, although there is an occasional car or truck since this is Vietnam and no traffic rules are absolute. I don't think I realized before I came here how big Vietnam is and that there are rice paddies everywhere, from the Mekong Delta to Hanoi. I also didn't realize how beautiful the rice paddies are. They are bright green dotted with white ibisis. The fields we passed yesterday had been planted only a couple of weeks ago. The farmers were pulling some plants and transplanting them so the spacing would be proper. One farmer wanted me to take a picture of him. Notice the muddy legs. That is how deep the paddies are.
My Son was underwhelming, in large part because US bombs destroyed most of the temple. Also, riding for hours in the cold and damp was not nearly as much fun or as scenic as my ride last week. I had signed up to drive from Hoi An to Hue today because it is supposed to be a beautiful drive, but I was starting to think that I should grow up, act my age, and hire a car.
I woke up this morning at 6, looked outside and saw that it was gray and rainy. I was pretty sure I would blow off the drive, but I had packed the night before, so I took all of my stuff and went to the motorbike office just in case ... The rain let up and I thought, maybe. They took us to their garage where, unlike Thinh the day before, they have proper rain weather gear. Then I found out the bikes are semi-automatic (which does sound like a dangerous weapon). Gears. I have to shift. I was about to give up again, but it turns out semi-automatic means clutchless. You have to shift, but it is very forgiving and you can't stall. Once you get to fourth gear, you can leave it there and ride like it is automatic.
So there I am, once again driving myself, and you know what? It wasn't so bad. It drizzled a few times, but it was not cold and the rain gear helped.
The road goes along the beach that the GI's called China Beach, through Danang, and up the coast to Hue. The high point of the drive, literally and figuratively, is the Hai Van Pass. You have to cross the mountains as you drive the north-south route and this used to be the most dangerous stretch of road in Vietnam. Now there is a tunnel so the road is a perfect Sunday drive, except for dealing with the fuel and livestock trucks that are not allowed in the tunnel. The views are beautiful. Then we continued on those narrow bike lanes along the beaches and lagoons. Sometimes you see some pretty incongruous things. These are burial sites.
Our guide kept up a fast pace so that we could get to Hue in a reasonable amount of time. It was faster than I wanted to be driving, so I had to concentrate more on driving and had less time to sightsee. Ya think it is time to grow up, act my age, and take a car? Well, maybe if it is raining. Meanwhile, I signed up for a private tour of Hue tomorrow ... on the back of a motorbike.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Hoi An
It was sunny and warm when I left Nha Trang and it finally felt like a resort. Nonetheless I flew farther north to Danang and am staying in Hoi An, a World Heritage site that is "an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century." I had time to walk all around the old town yesterday and arrange my next few days. My pace is more leisurely on my own but I have to spend a lot more time making arrangements.
This morning I took a (push) bike trip around the Hoi An area. It was beautiful countryside. Our guide took us on back lanes with no cars and few other vehicles. While riding, we saw a man grilling a pork belly in his front yard to sell later that day at the market. He has to turn that handle back and forth for an hour.
Next we went to the village where they grow water coconuts. They kind of look like coconut palms, but they grow in shallow water, kind of like mangroves. The fruit grows at the base of the tree, has no liquid, and is inedible, but they cut down the branches, dry them, and use them in construction. Interesting. We took a boat ride in one of those floating bathtubs through the groves. Once you turned off the river, you could wander forever in circles. It reminded me of the Everglades.
Then we rode through a village of small rice paddies and vegetable gardens. Beautiful gardens for as far as you could see. They water by hand with those two watering cans on a shoulder board. That sucker is heavy.
This morning I took a (push) bike trip around the Hoi An area. It was beautiful countryside. Our guide took us on back lanes with no cars and few other vehicles. While riding, we saw a man grilling a pork belly in his front yard to sell later that day at the market. He has to turn that handle back and forth for an hour.
Next we went to the village where they grow water coconuts. They kind of look like coconut palms, but they grow in shallow water, kind of like mangroves. The fruit grows at the base of the tree, has no liquid, and is inedible, but they cut down the branches, dry them, and use them in construction. Interesting. We took a boat ride in one of those floating bathtubs through the groves. Once you turned off the river, you could wander forever in circles. It reminded me of the Everglades.
Then we rode through a village of small rice paddies and vegetable gardens. Beautiful gardens for as far as you could see. They water by hand with those two watering cans on a shoulder board. That sucker is heavy.
They fed us an incredible lunch at a restaurant right next to the fields. They really mean farm to fork here.
In the afternoon I took a guided tour of the exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. It is a little touristy. Actually, it is what Old Sac would love to be. Old buildings that are now shops and restaurants, and hundreds of tourists wandering around. It is really quite lovely. It is a little hard, however, to understand the historical significance from the information they give us.
I want to live in the righteousness of the old town once so merry prosperous.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Vietnam oddities
I took a fairly uninteresting excursion to three islands off the coast of Nha Trang. First, it was a Rachel day as I visited the local aquarium which you enter through the mouth of a giant shark. The aquarium is the funky building behind that looks like the prow of a ship.
Then we visited a real floating village, not houses on stilts. But these floating structures contain fish farms in each section.
Maybe the Russians need to be told to wear a bathing suit before stepping into the swimming pool although the Speedos they wear are hardly bathing suits. And I certainly wouldn't want some one to swim who has acquired an infectious disease which can be contagious through water. Personally, I would not litter or split anywhere, but that's just me.
Then we visited a real floating village, not houses on stilts. But these floating structures contain fish farms in each section.
Next we went to a coral reef for snorkeling. It was too cold for me to go in the water so I took a glass bottom boat - one of those round, floating bathtubs with a glass bottom. The Vietnamese are nothing if not enterprising, and I finally got to try one of those bathtubs. More stable than it looks.
Finally we went to a resort, but it was too windy and chilly to swim in either the pool or the beach. But, they did have a great set of pool rules.
Monday, January 13, 2014
700 kilometers and no broken bones
This trip was SOOO much fun. The cute guy in the middle is the guide, Chien. Huy is on the left, and my protector, Tom, is on the right. Notice he is carrying my computer backpack. He took care of everything for me besides running interference in his truck. After a few days I got comfortable riding, but I never got complacent. I was always on full alert. Since they do not necessarily drive on the right here, you can not just stay in the right lane and go slow. People are always driving at you from every direction. Circles and intersections were particularly challenging. Nonetheless, this was really the way to see things up close and personal. Chien was great about taking me to out of the way places and restaurants that I could never have found on my own.
Here is one of the views on the road from Dalat.
Yesterday we made an excursion to see Cam Ranh Bay. This morning we did a quick tour of Nha Trang including a ninth century Cham temple. And then my crew said goodbye and went back to Saigon.
Nha Trang is not quite my idea of a resort. Although the beach is beautiful, it has been overcast, windy, and a little chilly here. There have even been a few drops of rain. When I got to the beach, I was greeted with this sign:
Besides the weather, Nha Trang is a little off the standard tour route, but there is a direct flight from Moscow. It turns out that Russians come here for their winter breaks. The second language on the signs everywhere is Russian and people keep talking to me in Russian. I signed up to take an excursion tomorrow to four of the islands near here for snorkeling and sightseeing (although if it stays cold, I may not get in the water). But ... it is pretty here. This is the view from my hotel window when I woke up this morning.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
What a great ride
The road down from Dalat was simply spectacular. It was so cold in Dalat that everyone was wearing winter jackets. Of course the Vietnamese were still wearing flipflops, but some of them wore socks with their flipflops, a real fashion statement. The road stayed in the high country for quite a while with a view of rolling hills as far as you could see. At one point I saw smoke ahead on the road, a not uncommon sight since they are always burning things on the side of the road. But when I got there, it was not smoke. It was the clouds drifting over the mountaintops. Shortly after that the road descended in switchbacks. It reminded me of the Old Priest Road we used to take to Yosemite before they built the new road. In fact, that section of the road reminded me a lot of Yosemite with rock boulders and even random waterfalls. I checked with Chien and the US never dropped napalm here. Whew! This is countryside too beautiful to destroy.
The road descended into lowlands with orchards and farms. Then it leveled out and there were the greenest rice paddies on both sides of the road dotted with workers and white ibises. We really did nothing else today except ride, but I didn't want it to end. Just incredible views the whole way.
The last ten kilometers had traffic as we approached Nha Trang, but even that doesn't bother me. Besides, I still have Tom running interference for me. I'll be staying here in Nha Trang for a few days for a "vacation."
The road descended into lowlands with orchards and farms. Then it leveled out and there were the greenest rice paddies on both sides of the road dotted with workers and white ibises. We really did nothing else today except ride, but I didn't want it to end. Just incredible views the whole way.
The last ten kilometers had traffic as we approached Nha Trang, but even that doesn't bother me. Besides, I still have Tom running interference for me. I'll be staying here in Nha Trang for a few days for a "vacation."
Friday, January 10, 2014
Pleasant day in Dalat
Dalat is a charming mountain town. In the morning we rode around on the bikes visiting a few of the attractions. First we went to the train station built by the French when they developed Dalat. Chien got a little confused with his English which he does not usually do. He kept saying we were going to a gas station and I kept wondering what could be so interesting about a gas station. But the French train station was very nice.
Then we went to the ceramic pagoda. The pagodas I have seen are so garish by my standards. They are painted in bright colors and the statues wear loud clothing. There is usually a wardrobe room as someone changes the clothes on the statues regularly. There are also often neon lights so I think I am walking into a casino. The ceramic pagoda looked like it was created by Gaudi on steroids. In the complex there was also the tallest female Buddha made of flowers and the biggest something else as well. Oh, the main pagoda is made of ceramics. Hence the name.
Sometimes I think they are putting me on.
We rode to a cable car to take us to another temple, but the cable care was closed for repairs. Oh, well. And then to one of the many waterfalls in the area. There is a mini roller coaster to the falls, so while we had a long walk down, we had a quick ride back instead of hiking up.
There is quite a lot of traffic in Dalat which I could not have managed three days ago, but I can turn now and weave around circles like the locals - almost. I do everything considerably slower, but I get there.
And that was it for today. I had a free afternoon. I walked around Dalat for a while, and then had a little time to myself. After dinner, Chien and I walked around the night market. Just a pleasant day.
Oh, my travel problem du jour. Well, actually, yesterday's. When I went to unpack in Dalat, I realized that I had not zipped close the compartment of my duffel that I keep cords in, and the cord to charge my iphone was missing. I didn't think I would be able to find an Apple store in Dalat, but Chien took me to a phone store. It's an iphone 5; you really have that? No problem. How much is it? $8. I was shocked. Last time I lost the charger for my laptop, it cost me $80 at the Apple store in New York. I thought $8 was a bargain price for being an idiot. When we plugged it in, nothing happened at first. Then the phone gave me a message that it recognized that I was using an unauthorized device. That's why it was $8. Duh! I just bought a Chinese rip-off, something I would not do at home. But it is charging, so I am going with it for now.
Since I have a private tour, yesterday I asked Chien if they could extend my tour for one more day so he could take me to Cam Ranh Bay, about forty five kilometers from Nha Trang. Chien, Huy, and Tom then went into a long, long huddle. Finally he came back and wanted to clarify if I wanted the three of them or the tour company. Everyone in Vietnam is an entrepreneur. I told him I didn't care, but since I wanted to go by motorbike, it seemed like he might have to tell the company. It took quite a few phone calls, but I think I have it arranged. My three squires will stay with me for one more day to take me to Cam Ranh Bay. They haven't told me yet what this will cost, but I was going to pay someone to take me there anyway. I'd rather go with Chien who is a good guide and I trust.
Tomorrow is supposed to be the highlight of this week: 170 kilometer ride down the mountain switchbacks to the beach at Nha Trang.
Then we went to the ceramic pagoda. The pagodas I have seen are so garish by my standards. They are painted in bright colors and the statues wear loud clothing. There is usually a wardrobe room as someone changes the clothes on the statues regularly. There are also often neon lights so I think I am walking into a casino. The ceramic pagoda looked like it was created by Gaudi on steroids. In the complex there was also the tallest female Buddha made of flowers and the biggest something else as well. Oh, the main pagoda is made of ceramics. Hence the name.
Sometimes I think they are putting me on.
We rode to a cable car to take us to another temple, but the cable care was closed for repairs. Oh, well. And then to one of the many waterfalls in the area. There is a mini roller coaster to the falls, so while we had a long walk down, we had a quick ride back instead of hiking up.
There is quite a lot of traffic in Dalat which I could not have managed three days ago, but I can turn now and weave around circles like the locals - almost. I do everything considerably slower, but I get there.
And that was it for today. I had a free afternoon. I walked around Dalat for a while, and then had a little time to myself. After dinner, Chien and I walked around the night market. Just a pleasant day.
Oh, my travel problem du jour. Well, actually, yesterday's. When I went to unpack in Dalat, I realized that I had not zipped close the compartment of my duffel that I keep cords in, and the cord to charge my iphone was missing. I didn't think I would be able to find an Apple store in Dalat, but Chien took me to a phone store. It's an iphone 5; you really have that? No problem. How much is it? $8. I was shocked. Last time I lost the charger for my laptop, it cost me $80 at the Apple store in New York. I thought $8 was a bargain price for being an idiot. When we plugged it in, nothing happened at first. Then the phone gave me a message that it recognized that I was using an unauthorized device. That's why it was $8. Duh! I just bought a Chinese rip-off, something I would not do at home. But it is charging, so I am going with it for now.
Since I have a private tour, yesterday I asked Chien if they could extend my tour for one more day so he could take me to Cam Ranh Bay, about forty five kilometers from Nha Trang. Chien, Huy, and Tom then went into a long, long huddle. Finally he came back and wanted to clarify if I wanted the three of them or the tour company. Everyone in Vietnam is an entrepreneur. I told him I didn't care, but since I wanted to go by motorbike, it seemed like he might have to tell the company. It took quite a few phone calls, but I think I have it arranged. My three squires will stay with me for one more day to take me to Cam Ranh Bay. They haven't told me yet what this will cost, but I was going to pay someone to take me there anyway. I'd rather go with Chien who is a good guide and I trust.
Tomorrow is supposed to be the highlight of this week: 170 kilometer ride down the mountain switchbacks to the beach at Nha Trang.
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