Vietnam Today

I went to Vietnam at the end of May for a week's visit to Hanoi and places north.

The first thing of note in Vietnam (different from my home town in Malaysia) is the narrow widths of most buildings (they build high rather than wide). I was told it was due to the high land cost, so short frontage. I last saw this kind of construction in Amsterdam.

Messy cables are a common sight. They look like power cables?

The initial impression of chaotic traffic (a lot of motorbikes) slowly gave way to an understanding that they were all very skilful and there was actually a kind of system. Everyone (cars, bikes, motorbikes and pedestrians) all went at a set speed for their individual category. So each road user was able to drive, merge, or cross the road while being avoided by the other users. You will notice that lane markings were put on the roads when newly constructed, thereafter ignored and not re-painted.

The cultured pearl industry in Vietnam was started by a Japanese trying to atone for his father's soldierly atrocities in the war ( as told by the lady at this pearl factory).

The 3 types of cultured pearls.

Beautiful Black Pearls.

The expected vietnamese not-to-be-missed pho, this one was with chicken broth and shredded chicken.

One of the Banh Mi recommended. The baguette was very well baked.

This was the more typical beef pho. The vietnamese food was not that different from our malaysian food, though generally they were not spicy enough.

Ho Chi Minh's house in Hanoi (he used this replica of a house from his home village rather than the Governor's mansion). Uncle Ho was a a batchelor.

Beautiful Ha Long Bay...

and the Grottoes of Trang An. Definitely deserving of their World Heritage status and locations featured in movies.

But what impressed me most was the go-getting attitude of the vietnamese young people I met. They recognised that the coming decade is the time of opportunity for those who are enterprising and industrious.

They reminded me of Malaysia in the 60s and the 70s. Fortunes were made in Malaysia in those days; the present generation of the children, from those successful ones, are still enjoying the fruits of their parents' enterprises started in those days.