by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
I hesitated before using that title for this essay, but, unfortunately, the negative value conveyed by the title is well-deserved and well-earned over and over. I asked a couple seated next to us in the diningroom for their impressions of Saigon (Ho-Chi Minh City) and they said, “the tremendous poverty and filth.” It is inescapable and omnipresent. One problem for us is simply that our last port was Singapore, which is completely the opposite: by 180-degrees.
It will be difficult to provide, in words, the images we observed — especially on the shuttle in-and-out of Phu Muy (the Saigon port) and into the city (Saigon), and I assure you, I will give it my best effort in this essay.
Our tour/excursion was called “Ho Chi Minh City On Your Own,” and we chose this tour because it transported us directly from the port into the city by air-conditioned “luxury” bus. I emphasize the word “luxury” simply because it reinforces what we (Americans) have and what the local Vietnamese have — which is next to nothing.
Perhaps as a symbol of what was to come, part of the road getting out of the dock area (nearly empty of containers), was unpaved dirt. I could just imagine what it would be like if it was raining, and I didn’t have to imagine what it would be like in the dry season when any kind of breeze (and there was a severe wind! — on our return to the ship) would stir up dust and dirt from this rather wide and long area of the road. Dust (a lot of it!), was all over, and the air was beige all around the ship when we came back to it around 4:30 p.m.
The wind at Phu Muy was so severe when I stood at the front of the ship I could hear it howling, and the Princess flag was blowing fiercely. Then the captain came on the public-address system to announce our departure was delayed because of the wind. He said, some of the turns the ship had to make upon leaving Phu Muy, were such that with the wind, the ship could list significantly. Once underway (our delay was minimal), the captain warned us to take care when walking around the ship.
The “highway” into Saigon is two lanes on either side of a divider, but the lanes were narrow and not well-paved, and among the commercial trucks (most are very old), cars, buses, and the thousands of motor bikes, movement was slow. Our driver was terrific for his ability to negotiate in-and-out, stop just before hitting vehicles in front of us, and, using his deep, aggressive-sounding foghorn-like horn (which he used a great deal), keep other drivers in their proper lane. Most responded promptly.
Some of the slowness of the trip resulted from rough road that was, in general, poorly maintained, and it looked like there was some intention of widening the highway, but the work on the expansion never appeared to be making any kind of rapid progress. Peasants worked on it in places; however, it was all without the assistance of modern equipment. At one point, a large (old) vehicle designed for rolling newly laid gravel smooth, sat at a tilt, idle because one of its huge tires was flat.
Although there was a low barrier along the side of the road, there were numerous openings mostly used by motor bikes and scooters to come and go from the highway — which simply added to the difficulty of negotiating this driving experience.
The highway, however, was the least of the observations a new traveler to Vietnam will experience on this route. The most visually profound is on either side of the highway where a true and honest examination of Vietnam’s history and culture can be observed. Our trip was approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes each way, thus, the opportunities to observe were plentiful (more than sufficient!).
Most of the side roads loading to the “highway” were of dirt, and most of the “houses” along these were old, weathered (and ramshackle), close together, and open to the dust, dirt, and pollution found everywhere.
In the villages all along the highway, there were small old stores with open fronts (no doors), tightly attached to one another and full of every kind of merchandise. Many specialized in one kind of product such as roof fans, clothes, motorbikes, lumber, or fabric. Many were restaurants — all open, small, and serving the village. Also, many had a motorbike or two in front, and it wasn’t unusual to see small children playing in the store or in the dirt just outside it.
Between one village and another you would often see open, green, agricultural areas and sometimes rice paddies. This being the dry season, there was far less water in the fields than at other times of the year. At some points you could see livestock (cows!) Grazing, but this seemed more unusual than common.
Occasionally, we would cross a river, and the boats on the river were as primitive as the houses. You could see homes built on stilts all along the rivers, almost as if one was built on top of another. Sometimes you could see laundry hung, but even if you had a home on the river, life there seemed impoverished.
All along the highway local people set up small stands to sell shiny trinkets, dark glasses, children’s games, snacks (such as fruit or bread), but seldom did I see anyone stopped to buy anything. Many vendors had set up a piece of cloth or canvas to protect them from the sun. Temperature in the sun was between 90 and 100-degrees.
The poverty and low standard of living is rampant, and there are very few places between the port and Saigon where we saw even a middle-class style of living. The suburbs around Saigon revealed the same poverty and filth we saw all the way from the port.
In addition to the poverty, there is filth, garbage, and debris everywhere. At times the local people used the side of the highway as their garbage dump.
Our self-tour of Saigon included seeing Reunification/Independence Hall, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Opera House, the Rex Hotel, and the local market (covered, hot, dark, ventilated with small fans, full of all kinds of merchandise from souvenirs, fresh produce, fish, and food for lunch). With aisles barely wide enough for a single person, it was smelly and dirty.
The filth and poverty could not be escaped or overlooked. It was an eye-opener, and as our Princess cruise lecturer, Petra, explained to us when describing Vietnam, it is a genuine “step back in time.” Indeed it was.
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At Suite101.com there is an essay by Louise Campion, “Exploring Ho Chi Minh City: The Frenetic Hub of Southern Vietnam.” She begins her essay with the paragraph, “For many travelers first arriving in Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam is a shock to the system. This sprawling city spans 18 districts and is an economic center offering an insight into some of Vietnam’s fascinating history.” She discusses the history and culture and ends with a short section, “Street Food Spectacular,” in which she says the city is a great place for great food.
At Arson and Arsenic, the essay, “Making my way through ho chi minh city,” offers tourists a number of useful and interesting insights into the city.
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Copyright April, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.
Showing posts with label Southeast Asia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Southeast Asia. Show all posts
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Bangkok: Big City of Contrasts II
by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
At the end of essay one on Bangkok, my wife and I were touring “high-end” stores so our tuk-tuk driver could get “gas coupons.” When our tuk-tuk tour ended, we gave our driver 60 bahts rather than the 40 negotiated at the beginning of our trip. Still, at 60 bahts for over 1 1/2-hours of travel, the cost in U.S. dollars was less than $2.00 (about $1.86 to be exact).
Back at the Grand Palace (once the official home for the Kings of Siam), which was our original destination when we left the Four Season’s Hotel in the morning, our intent was to see the Emerald Buddha located within the Palace walls. I’m not quite sure why our focus was on seeing a wide variety of Buddhas; however, that was what was happening.
The admission price to the Grand Palace and museum was about $10.00 U.S. (350 baht), but we discovered, in retrospect, that it was well worth the price. We shortened our self-guided tour, however, because of the excessive heat and humidity. There was bright sunshine, and in walking the grounds of the Grand Palace, we were continually in search of shade.
An Internet essay, “History of the Emerald Buddha,” offers a short explanation of the Emerald Buddha which we heard repeated several times by tour guides we overheard at the Palace: “According to reliable chronicles, lightning struck a Chedi in Chiangrai province of Northern Thailand in 1434 A.D.and a Buddha statue made of stucco was found inside. The abbot of the temple noticed that the stucco on the nose had flaked off and the image inside was a green color. He then removed the stucco covering and found the Emerald Buddha which is in reality made of green jade.” The explanation we heard for the stucco covering was to protect it. It was applied by people who knew the stucco would be unattractive to uninvited plunderers whereas the green jade would be stolen at once. The Emerald Buddha stands less than 18-inches tall.
To get to the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho) — our next Buddhist destination — which was located next to the Grand Palace, we had to walk around half of the large, walled enclosure, but, fortunately, we walked in shade under trees and vendor umbrellas. There were at least 100 sidewalk vendors along the route from the Palace to Wat Pho. “The word “Wat” means “place of worship.” We moved rapidly among the locals, and there was never fear nor anxiety, even though we saw no other tourists and no other Caucasians during this long walk in the heat and humidity.
Also, just before getting to Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha, we walked to the edge of Chao Phraya River which flows through the heart of Bangkok. At the website, Virtual Tourist, it says this about the River: “[The] Chao Phraya River plays a main role [in] Thai life. Some of [Thai] history can be traced within [its] sprawling river banks. [There are] Old Temples, palaces, and [many] communities . . . along the river.”
Beside the river and looking out over it, we found the S & P Restaurant where we “enjoyed” a spicy cream/chicken/artichoke soup that I ate with tears coming to my eyes. My wife had a spicy tomato/beef/curry soup that was not as spicy, but spicy enough! Traditional Thai food is very spicy, and locals tend to use white rice to mute the intensity. I used all of the white rice we were provided — both mine and my wife’s!
Although we had many opportunities to eat from sidewalk vendors or in numerous local restaurants (especially in a “Food Park” at a mall close to our hotel, we ate all our breakfasts (3 total) in our hotel room with locally purchased bakery items), and we had entirely “safe” food (also cheap!) at a McDonald’s and a KFC. (You can find many of the well-known, fast-food, brand name restaurants in Bangkok such as KFC, Burger King, Dunking Donuts, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, Starbucks, A&W and so on. (YUM! Restaurants, Inc., [owner of KFC] operates over 32,500 restaurants in more than 100 countries and territories in the world.)
Getting back to our walk from the Grand Palace to Wat Pho, you may wonder why we wanted to see the Reclining Buddha? At the website, “Into Asia” there is a description of it: “The highly impressive gold plated reclining Buddha is 46 meters long [151 feet] and 15 meters high [49 feet], and is designed to illustrate the passing of the Buddha into nirvana. The feet and the eyes are engraved with mother-of-pearl decoration, and the feet also show the 108 auspicious characteristics of the true Buddha.” If you ever think you’ve seen enough Buddhas, or that you’ve seen them all (there are over 1,000 images of Buddha in Wat Pho alone!), and you’ve missed the Reclining Buddha, you have missed a remarkable sight.
After our 2 ½ days in greater Bangkok, we were ready to head to Laem Chabang (the port that is two hours away, board our ship (the Diamond Princess), and begin traveling to Singapore (with over 2,600 others). The words “greater Bangkok” are important. According to the very short essay,“Thai Traditional Ways of Life in Bangkok” the writer claims we never saw “the real Bangkok.” “Bangkok is very much grounded in modernity,” the writer says. “It is a fast and furious city of business and commerce with a pace equal to that of any capital in the world. Despite this, Thailand’s capital also has a quieter, gentler side. The real Bangkok can be found in the backstreets and ‘Sois’ (small roads) where people live in communities that have not changed much over the years.
Obviously, getting out of the city centre is the best way to find Bangkok’s traditional way of life, but even in the centre a short walk away from tourism and business areas will find people sitting in the street, eating, chatting, listening to music and enjoying Thailand’s clement evening weather.” The point the writer is making is simple: There are even contrasts that those who visit Bangkok will miss if they don’t get out of the city center.
Despite not getting out of the city, however, we noticed the contrast between the traditional and the modern. For us, one of the best symbols of this contrast was seeing one of the women sidewalk vendors toting her wares in bamboo woven baskets, attached to a bamboo pole, carried over her shoulders, then selling her wares on the sidewalk beneath a large, modern, skyscraper. Where else in the world but Bangkok?
-----
At this tourist website, there is a brief history of Bangkok. I found the following paragraph the most interesting one in this essay: “A century ago, Bangkok had many river tributaries and canals until it was known as "Venice of the East." As modernization steps in during the past 30 years, more and more roads were built with the sacrifice of these canals. Small and mega-buildings replaced the rice paddy fields and agricultural farms. However, Bangkok still retains its charm by portraying the combination of old and new and is one of the most attractive cities to visit.”
At One-Stop Bangkok, the essay states: “The bigger size of Buddha statues can also be seen in every temple in Thailand. Bangkok boasts many exquisite temples which are regularly visited by pious Buddhists on special religious occasions. The most famous one is the Temple of Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), situated within the Grand Palace. The emerald Buddha acts as a sacred symbol of the Rattanakosin. Thai people always go to the temples to offer food, candles, incense sticks and lotus flowers to the Buddha statues and also give money to make merit to the temple and monks. Some also receive blessings from the monks which they believe will bring good fortune and prosperity.”
-----
Copyright March, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.
At the end of essay one on Bangkok, my wife and I were touring “high-end” stores so our tuk-tuk driver could get “gas coupons.” When our tuk-tuk tour ended, we gave our driver 60 bahts rather than the 40 negotiated at the beginning of our trip. Still, at 60 bahts for over 1 1/2-hours of travel, the cost in U.S. dollars was less than $2.00 (about $1.86 to be exact).
Back at the Grand Palace (once the official home for the Kings of Siam), which was our original destination when we left the Four Season’s Hotel in the morning, our intent was to see the Emerald Buddha located within the Palace walls. I’m not quite sure why our focus was on seeing a wide variety of Buddhas; however, that was what was happening.
The admission price to the Grand Palace and museum was about $10.00 U.S. (350 baht), but we discovered, in retrospect, that it was well worth the price. We shortened our self-guided tour, however, because of the excessive heat and humidity. There was bright sunshine, and in walking the grounds of the Grand Palace, we were continually in search of shade.
An Internet essay, “History of the Emerald Buddha,” offers a short explanation of the Emerald Buddha which we heard repeated several times by tour guides we overheard at the Palace: “According to reliable chronicles, lightning struck a Chedi in Chiangrai province of Northern Thailand in 1434 A.D.and a Buddha statue made of stucco was found inside. The abbot of the temple noticed that the stucco on the nose had flaked off and the image inside was a green color. He then removed the stucco covering and found the Emerald Buddha which is in reality made of green jade.” The explanation we heard for the stucco covering was to protect it. It was applied by people who knew the stucco would be unattractive to uninvited plunderers whereas the green jade would be stolen at once. The Emerald Buddha stands less than 18-inches tall.
To get to the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho) — our next Buddhist destination — which was located next to the Grand Palace, we had to walk around half of the large, walled enclosure, but, fortunately, we walked in shade under trees and vendor umbrellas. There were at least 100 sidewalk vendors along the route from the Palace to Wat Pho. “The word “Wat” means “place of worship.” We moved rapidly among the locals, and there was never fear nor anxiety, even though we saw no other tourists and no other Caucasians during this long walk in the heat and humidity.
Also, just before getting to Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha, we walked to the edge of Chao Phraya River which flows through the heart of Bangkok. At the website, Virtual Tourist, it says this about the River: “[The] Chao Phraya River plays a main role [in] Thai life. Some of [Thai] history can be traced within [its] sprawling river banks. [There are] Old Temples, palaces, and [many] communities . . . along the river.”
Beside the river and looking out over it, we found the S & P Restaurant where we “enjoyed” a spicy cream/chicken/artichoke soup that I ate with tears coming to my eyes. My wife had a spicy tomato/beef/curry soup that was not as spicy, but spicy enough! Traditional Thai food is very spicy, and locals tend to use white rice to mute the intensity. I used all of the white rice we were provided — both mine and my wife’s!
Although we had many opportunities to eat from sidewalk vendors or in numerous local restaurants (especially in a “Food Park” at a mall close to our hotel, we ate all our breakfasts (3 total) in our hotel room with locally purchased bakery items), and we had entirely “safe” food (also cheap!) at a McDonald’s and a KFC. (You can find many of the well-known, fast-food, brand name restaurants in Bangkok such as KFC, Burger King, Dunking Donuts, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, Starbucks, A&W and so on. (YUM! Restaurants, Inc., [owner of KFC] operates over 32,500 restaurants in more than 100 countries and territories in the world.)
Getting back to our walk from the Grand Palace to Wat Pho, you may wonder why we wanted to see the Reclining Buddha? At the website, “Into Asia” there is a description of it: “The highly impressive gold plated reclining Buddha is 46 meters long [151 feet] and 15 meters high [49 feet], and is designed to illustrate the passing of the Buddha into nirvana. The feet and the eyes are engraved with mother-of-pearl decoration, and the feet also show the 108 auspicious characteristics of the true Buddha.” If you ever think you’ve seen enough Buddhas, or that you’ve seen them all (there are over 1,000 images of Buddha in Wat Pho alone!), and you’ve missed the Reclining Buddha, you have missed a remarkable sight.
After our 2 ½ days in greater Bangkok, we were ready to head to Laem Chabang (the port that is two hours away, board our ship (the Diamond Princess), and begin traveling to Singapore (with over 2,600 others). The words “greater Bangkok” are important. According to the very short essay,“Thai Traditional Ways of Life in Bangkok” the writer claims we never saw “the real Bangkok.” “Bangkok is very much grounded in modernity,” the writer says. “It is a fast and furious city of business and commerce with a pace equal to that of any capital in the world. Despite this, Thailand’s capital also has a quieter, gentler side. The real Bangkok can be found in the backstreets and ‘Sois’ (small roads) where people live in communities that have not changed much over the years.
Obviously, getting out of the city centre is the best way to find Bangkok’s traditional way of life, but even in the centre a short walk away from tourism and business areas will find people sitting in the street, eating, chatting, listening to music and enjoying Thailand’s clement evening weather.” The point the writer is making is simple: There are even contrasts that those who visit Bangkok will miss if they don’t get out of the city center.
Despite not getting out of the city, however, we noticed the contrast between the traditional and the modern. For us, one of the best symbols of this contrast was seeing one of the women sidewalk vendors toting her wares in bamboo woven baskets, attached to a bamboo pole, carried over her shoulders, then selling her wares on the sidewalk beneath a large, modern, skyscraper. Where else in the world but Bangkok?
-----
At this tourist website, there is a brief history of Bangkok. I found the following paragraph the most interesting one in this essay: “A century ago, Bangkok had many river tributaries and canals until it was known as "Venice of the East." As modernization steps in during the past 30 years, more and more roads were built with the sacrifice of these canals. Small and mega-buildings replaced the rice paddy fields and agricultural farms. However, Bangkok still retains its charm by portraying the combination of old and new and is one of the most attractive cities to visit.”
At One-Stop Bangkok, the essay states: “The bigger size of Buddha statues can also be seen in every temple in Thailand. Bangkok boasts many exquisite temples which are regularly visited by pious Buddhists on special religious occasions. The most famous one is the Temple of Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), situated within the Grand Palace. The emerald Buddha acts as a sacred symbol of the Rattanakosin. Thai people always go to the temples to offer food, candles, incense sticks and lotus flowers to the Buddha statues and also give money to make merit to the temple and monks. Some also receive blessings from the monks which they believe will bring good fortune and prosperity.”
-----
Copyright March, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.
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