By Alex Stram
May 25, 2005
Today we arrived in Saigon, the capital of "South" Vietnam, which
the US had defended during the Vietnam War. On our drive to our
hotel in the center of the city, I found that the overall life
seemed to be hustling and developed, like Hanoi, but to a greater
extent. Looking out the window of the bus, I found such American
franchises like as KFC, something I would not expect to find in
Hanoi or Danang.
Upon entering our hotel, we found a much higher amount of
westerners than any other place we had been; I actually felt as if
I was inside a US embassy or something of that nature, not a hotel
in Vietnam. Saigon definitely attracts a significant number of
tourists, and from what I would guess, more than Hanoi. This is
probably why there are so many familiar names such as "KFC" in the
neighborhood.
Actually walking along the streets, we were greeted by many more
merchants than in any other part of Vietnam. At every corner, a
swarm of men would ask us if we'd like a ride on the back of their
motorcycles. Those with stands did their best to lure us in to buy
something. The best case however is of the children. Once we
stepped out of the hotel, we were greeted by a few children trying
to sell us sticks of gum. We declined, and they quickly went after
the next group of tourists. However, those children selling things
of more value, such as books (at a price of around $4), were much
more persistent in following us.
Going to dinner, a young boy selling some undistinguished books
tried to sell us books. We declined, and he continued to follow us
for some blocks. We eventually found the restaurant we were looking
for, and said goodbyes to the child (who we had been casually
playing with). About an hour later, we stepped out of the
restaurant after a hearty meal, to find that the same child. Seeing
that the restaurant was in a pretty desolate area, I think it is
safe to assume that he had been waiting for us the entire time, and
did not attempt to make other sales. He then followed us around
some more. As we began to step out of what was probably the circle
his parents allowed him to be in, he tried to make one last sale
attempt. We declined, but did give him some money anyways. He then
became upset with us and told us to "Get out of Vietnam".
May 26, 2005
Today our main event was visiting a Catholic school set up for poor
Vietnamese children, without cost to those students who attend.
More interesting to note, however, was the means of transportation
we used to get there.
Our guide took us to a public bus stop, then waited for the bus
with us. As the bus came, I hopped on, as the bus was still moving,
thinking I was cool. However, as Phuong did the same behind me, the
bus picked up speed and knocked him over in the "stairwell"; the
bus had never made a complete stop, and had picked up speed as
passengers were still loading. As I've said before, the Vietnamese
must not be accustomed to suing each other.
We got to a hub station by bus, then took what seemed like a
pickup truck with a canopy over the back to another point.
Interesting to note was how many people we ended up fitting in the
back of this truck-- something like 10 people.
May 27, 2005
Today we had yet another day of service learning, again spent at a
(different) school for the poor. After that we met with Nike Inc.
Vietnam, at their headquarters, a few blocks away from our
hotel.
On our way to the Nike headquarters, a few kids tried to sell us
chewing gum. We declined, and they promptly gave us the middle
finger and their best shot at English vulgarities. I actually
enjoyed this. I love all things that are real, and there was
nothing insincere about these kid’s reactions to us not helping
them out.
The person who was giving us a presentation asked us to name a
few words that came to mind when we thought of the brand "Nike". We
all gave innocent answers, not daring to bring up issues such as
child labor, which I believe Nike is accused of.
However, the spokesperson actually brought up the condition of
Nike factory labor conditions even though none of us had mentioned
it. She then spent what seemed like an hour defending the Nike
Corporation against allegations that we had not even made, giving
me (at least) a pretty bad impression of the company.
She also made some pretty outrageous claims, such as saying a
Nike shoe can cost as much as $50 for Nike to make, which really
does not seem physically possible, no matter "high quality" those
material which are used at.
One thing that I should note about the Vietnamese that I've
fallen under the impression of is that they are very honest people.
Never have I felt that I was about to be scammed or ripped off;
even in Vietnamese 5 star resorts, the prices were reasonable. For
example, I was able to eat a nice meal on the beach side back in
Danang for a mere $10; even though I was ready to pay up to $25.
The Vietnamese people do not seem to want to take advantage of a
chance to make an unfair profit margin, and instead seem keen on
making an honest toil. Sometimes I wonder if the businessmen here
are insane-- do they not understand that I will pay more than $0.75
for a soda without thinking?
Apart from their honesty in consumerism, I do not feel that the
chances of me being robbed here are high. For example, I was caught
off guard once on the time my hotel would be cleaned, and on
accident, left nearly all my valuables out in plain sight for the
cleaning staff to see. I was surprised to come back to my room,
find my bed made, but not a single valuable had been touched.