Indigestible Capitalism
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2008
1
70
93
Trip End
Jan 31, 2009
Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam
Friday, January 2, 2009
The airport in HCM was much better than the one in Hanoi. It was a newer terminal building and I didn't have to wait for my luggage for over an hour. As I was picking up my backpack, I bumped into a British couple who had been in Vietnam for the past few weeks. They were in their mid-20s and they worked in the IT industry, in London.
With the Britons, I took a public bus to Pham Ngu Lao, the tourist ghetto. HCM City was the most developed that I had seen in Vietnam. The indigestibly rapid pace of the capitalist revolution reminded me of the situation in Istanbul.
To my surprise, many of the hotels that LP recommended were fully booked. This had never happened to me before. We went to a place that the Britons suggested and that was fully booked too. The owner, Mrs. Loi told us to check the neighbors on the narrow street. Hence, we found a shabby hotel at the most ghettoish area that I have stayed at so far. However, the rooms seemed clean and they came with a private bathroom and an air-conditioner. $10.
In HCM, it was 28 C, very humid and cloudy. At least it wasn't raining as it has been in all the previous cities.
As always, I started off by walking around the city center; got lost, and found myself at the Reunification Palace minutes later. This was the presidential palace from which the South Vietnamese forces were commanded, during the Vietnam War. In other words, it was the counterpart of Ho Chi Minh's modest houses that I had seen in Hanoi. There was a bunker and a communications center at the basement, conference rooms on the first floor, offices and private quarters on the second floor, entertainment rooms on the third floor, and a large reception area on the roof. The most interesting characteristic of this building was that its facades resembled certain Chinese characters. For instance, the 3 layers above the main entrance formed the character TAM, which symbolizes the 3 aspects of the Vietnamese democracy: humanity, wisdom and boldness.
Then, I made my way to the War Remnants Museum. Even though it wasn't as strong as the memorial museum in Hiroshima with respect to layout and organization, this still was one of the more emotional museum experiences that I have ever had. On display were US helicopters, tanks, weapons, South Vietnamese prison cells, and most importantly, dramatic photographs. What a great job Oliver Stone has done with his Vietnam films... The real photographs looked like stills from one of his movies.
My last stop was the only Hindu temple in HCM, Mariamman. I hadn't seen a Hindu temple before. It was much more figurative than a Shinto shrine or a Confucian temple. I guess it was closest to a Buddhist temple. Colorful depictions of Hindu gods were everywhere. Right by the entrance, there was a lion. The worshipers would first rub the lion and then themselves. Another interesting aspect was how the worshipers used the incense. Unlike the Shinto who would gently light one and place it in the central urn, these people take bundles and raise it above their heads.
Labeling is very impressive in Vietnam; even in Hanoi. Every street is labeled and most stores have their address written on their signs. As a result, I am able to navigate with the LP maps. You would not be able to do this in Istanbul.
Sat down at a cafe called "Go Go Go" in the tourist ghetto and had a couple of beers with the British couple from earlier. I learned that they were married, despite their young age. The girl who had a perfect British accent turned out to be Austrian. She had moved to London just after the marriage. Being the Austrian nationalist she was, she kept implying that Austria was better than Germany. She added that the Austrian GDP per capita was higher than the German one. I highly doubt this claim, since Germany is one of the biggest economies in the whole world. But I will check...
The couple went to have some French food, while I went to "Pho 24" to have some beef pho (Vietnamese rice noodle soup) and fresh watermelon juice. It was really good. $4.45. Fruit is so fresh and so cheap here. In fact, there are some exotic fruits that I can't even name. I should try one every day.
We had said that we would meet up at the Go Go Go cafe after dinner, but the Britons weren't there as I was passing by. I don't like this feeling... You exchange stories with people; you warm up to them, and then you never see them again. I better get used to it, because this is the way it will be until the end of my journey.
