SAIGON

Saigon really has changed since 2001 (when we were there on the post-bar trip).   High-rises have sprung up everywhere, Bvlgari, Cartier, and other ridiculously wasteful items are sold in brand-new boutiques and malls.  The city also has implemented some ingenious traffic system that keeps everything running smoothly (which was a welcome change from Hanoi).

Some things have changed since 2001, but others haven’t—we are still buffoons.

August, 2001                                                                March, 2005

The kids here are bright.  When I refused to buy postcards or gum from this girl, she challenged me to a game of Ro-Sham-Bo (sp?)—first to five.  If I won, she’d give me three sticks of gum free, but if she won, I would have to buy three sticks.  Of course I had to accept, and she edged me 5-4.  After this crushing defeat, she gave each of us a coupon (stamped with her initials) for a free drink at a nearby bar, explaining: “Just take and get free drink.  I get 5000 Dong, you get free drink.  You can leave and bar lose, but we all win, no?”  Impressive logic.

This bowling hall was on the fourth floor of a brand-new glitzy mall that would put the Grove or Fashion Island to shame.

Dem Sen Park.  The Lonely Planet described it as “quirky.”  Well, I guess constructing an ice-model of the Taj Mahal in the middle of Saigon is quirky.

We visited the War Museum, which chronicled the history and aftermath of the Vietnam War.  It consisted of six exhibits, but I suggest they add a seventh exhibit, which would detail the warming of relations between the two countries (i.e. highlight the visits by Kerry, McCain, and Clinton, and the official normalization of diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries over the past decade).  It certainly was an interesting museum, though, containing amazing photographs and memorabilia.   On a somewhat related noted, I was surprised to see so may Vietnamese wearing not just “American” apparel (Yankees hats, Chicago shirts, etc.), but also American flags on their shirts, bandanas, etc.

Vietnam doesn’t enforce trademark or copyright laws.   There are pirated DVDs and CDs everywhere, knock- off clothes, purses, etc.  Thus it was no surprise when Keith noticed (and insisted on photographing) an illegal appropriation of my own likeness.

Saigon also has some interesting churches and sprawling markets.