Vietnam I: Saigon is a city of filth and poverty

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.