First timer in Vietnam

Vietnam has always fascinated me. Though it was never marketed as a wonderful tourist destination in the past, its pivotal role in history is something that a frustrated (lousy) historian like me would find intriguing and fascinating.

When Isuzu Philippines Corp. invited me to join them and a select group of Filipino journalists to have a tour of their Vietnam plant, I readily agreed and jumped at the chance to see first hand the infamous site of easily the most notorious war in recent history.

Touted as part educational tour and part junket, Isuzu unmistakably wanted this trip to be a let-your-hair-down holiday, with a one-day plant tour as an excuse. Let’s reserve that part of the trip for my motoring column.

We stayed in Ho Chi Minh City, a city rich in cultural and religious heritage. Much of this city has been rebuilt, of course, and counting easily among the new sites they built here is the Ben Duoc Temple, a nine-story tower built on 70,000 square meters in 1993. In the main hall of this tower, they have a stone steel hall where they engraved the names of some 50,000 Vietnamese citizens who fought and died for Vietnam in Saigon-Gia Dinh. There are likewise heart-wrenching pictures and topological miniatures depicting the struggle of the Vietnamese people in that infamous war.

Another fierce reminder of the Vietnam War is the Cu Chi Tunnel which represented the strong base of the Military Zone and District Committee. I think this tunnel easily rose as the symbol of the people’s resistance movement. It is here where this resilient people deployed war tactics that challenged the superior military strength of a far superior military force of the United States for decades, lasting out a war that many American generals fatally mistook as a ride in the park at the onset.

For what it is physically worth, the tunnel is not much of an attraction were it not for the traditions, tremendous human lives sacrificed over a protracted span, and the fierceness of the cause of liberation that engulfed an entire nation. For many who followed this war, this tunnel best represents this struggle. For now, however, the frivolous excursions of many tourists who come here to set up picnic tables and frolic on this once hallowed ground belies the human drama that took a strangle hold on this historic tunnel for long arduous decades. The stark difference between the lush and luxuriant countryside before it suffered a complete reversal due to the numerous bombs rained on the country is illustrated in the commemorative recreations in Cu Chi. History grimly tells us that there were three times more bombs rained on Vietnam than the total of bombs that fell on all the other countries at war in World War II. Such is the immeasurable degree of devastation that this country suffered.

For now, this tunnel is an ever-present item in any first-timer’s itinerary, much like the Mekong River. This historic river has been immortalized in many a war movies depicting the Vietnam War because it was a strategic place of conveyance. Like any well-traversed major waterway, its waters are brown and murky, but it is yet another must-see tourist attraction in this war-ravaged land. They offer boat cruises here, and there are waterside restaurants for the many tourists who continually flock here out of curiosity, mainly. By any standard, much less our own, the river is unpretentious and commonplace but stands out in modern history for what it depicts. Yet, hundreds upon hundreds continue to come to the Mekong River for a day cruise.

Cuisine – Like many Southeast Asian nations, Vietnam has its own cuisine, a taste it can claim its own. There is an extensive use of native herbs, sometimes overpowering in its pungent aroma. There is obviously a preference for noodles and noodle-based dishes, and one can’t go through a trip without trying its many variations of noodle soup, “mami” to us. For many Vietnamese, it is comfort food, and very affordable (about $1 on the average) and easily fills up a hungry stomach. Because for many of its people, even if tourism is booming in this ravaged land, a lot of its people are still hurting financially, not to mention emotionally. Tourism boom or not, it is still a poor country and it will take many years before they can forget the nightmares.

Vietnam conjures images of rice paddies and men and women wearing their own version of “salakot” hunched over rice fields. Yes, it is still very much a rice-producing and rice-eating nation and, like us, a meal is not complete without rice. Luckily for us rice-loving people, they have invented several versions of fried rice, and this we invariably enjoyed during all our meals there. Many of their dishes tasted heavily of lemongrass and other herbs that are pungently strong, but with great fried rice, our meals were great adventures.

Incidentally, fast-food restaurants are rapidly expanding across the country. KFC opened another store in Ho Chi Minh and two in Hanoi, bringing its total to 55 stores from only 17 two years ago. Jollibee plans to expand with four new outlets. I didn’t see any McDonalds, but I’m sure they will be there very soon. Theirs is truly a young population, with 65 percent under the age of 25.

Bucolic Thailand is no longer that. Commercialization, tourism and industrialization have taken over and it is quite fast-paced now though still a far cry from highly industrialized India and China, and not nearly as sophisticated as Manila or as progressive as Thailand. Shopping is not exactly an activity that they dare to market as a tourist attraction, unlike Hong Kong, the Philippines, China and Thailand, for example. It is mostly inexpensive souvenir items, cheap T-shirts, a whole array of nice lacquered items with mother of pearl inlays from boxes to frames to vases. They have colorful lanterns which are very attractive and inexpensive and great as décor indoors.

Night life is also what you make of it, though they have several 5-star hotels and many more are springing up in anticipation of future influx. More luxury resorts too are displacing communes along the coastlines and a new $118-million airport has just been built in an 800-ha. area in the Mekong Delta province of Ken Giang to serve 2.5 million tourists annually. 138 new airports will be built by 2010. But many visitors, this writer included, bear witness to the discipline and doggedness of its people. Never have I seen so many motorcycles converged in one place as in Vietnam. You don’t see too many people walking, and you don’t see too many cars either. The ratio, by my own reckoning, of motorcycles against vehicles must be 40 or more to one! It was unbelievable, really, and quite a sight. All of them wear helmets, and last I heard, the government was coming out with a national standard for crash helmets.

As for their currency-it is easy to be a millionaire in Vietnam. VND10,000 is actually only US59 cents, and VND100 million is only $6,000.

Overall, it is an interesting study of culture, resilience & perseverance.

Note: Due to space constraints, we will resume our series on Memories...and more next week.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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