Hanoi vs. Saigon & Nam overall

After a huge failure trying to get some exercise today by any means
(the hotel staff from the spa to the reception desk gave blank stares
all around when I asked about a jogging route in the city) I write
while sitting in a nice restaurant/lounge called Temple Club in Saigon
on my last night in Vietnam. It was a brief but very eye opening stop
in this city and country, and I'd recommend anyone from the U.S. visit
to get a look at our own history through someone else's eyes. Between
Saigon and Hanoi, Saigon is by far the more sophisticated of the two,
yet it still seems stuck in neutral and has none of the feel of a
modern city despite their obvious ongoing efforts. The physical city
is actually very nice, with wide open tree-lined streets, a number of
parks and some interesting architecture. Unfortunately this is all
leftover from the French rule here and is pretty much despised by the
people who've been trained to view anything from that time as
oppressive and bad - which by all accounts it was. However, its by and
large a population that seems stuck in the 70's dropped into this
pretty, old place and it makes no realistic attempt to cater to the
tourism it seems to crave. They just don't really seem to get it.

Hanoi, on the other hand, seems to have a better understanding of what
it is and where it stands. Its not as civilized a feel as the physical
city of Saigon but its much more charming, despite the numerous
communist displays. At least the communism there seems to fit the
surroundings. Communism could never have built a city like Saigon and
a restaurant like this simply cannot exist there, I don't think.
Hanoi is just grittier, but on the whole, I think I like it better
(though I'm not saying I'm ready to pack my bags and move to Vietnam
by any means).

Then you have Hoi An, a town that I suspect in a year or two will look
like Vietnamese Disneyland, or an Epcot center version of things given
all the construction taking place there to make the place a "nicer"
tourist destination. Its funny how all the money that goes into
preserving a place like that does just the opposite. I'm glad I got
there when I did and that I saw the beach before it got taken over by
developers the way the entire coast from there to Da Nang has.

All in all, a very cool study of culture here. I expect Cambodia will
only offer more lessons when I arrive tomorrow in Phnom Penh. My
Aussie tour friends today said the people there, as much as the
sights, are a wonder of the world, so I'm excited to meet them...