Saigon gets ready for the future

For most first-time visitors to Vietnam, war is the primary point of reference and such historical hot spots as the Presidential Palace and the Cu Chi Tunnels, for 20 years an anti-American bolt hole, rank high in their itineraries.

And why not? In the 25 years since the last US helicopter lifted off from the US embassy roof in Saigon, the nation has been used to denote a war.

But despite the deep scars left by the Vietnam War – or the American War, as the Vietnamese prefer to call it – opportunities were afforded people to set things right, this time.

However, there’s more to experience in Vietnam than a mere exploration of its war-torn past.

Twenty-five years after the war, Vietnam is coming out of its shell in a big way. And while the policy of doe moi or economic renovation, which was launched in 1986, did not revolutionize Vietnam as quickly as its people and foreigners hoped, it has hugely improved living standards.

Frenetic Saigon

Nowhere is this more evident than in Ho Chi Minh City or the former Saigon where the nation’s rallying fortunes are boiling.

If Hanoi is the city of romance, Ho Chi Minh is its exact opposite – thriving, dynamic and frenetic. It represents Vietnam’s non-stop capitalist bustle. Much of real life there takes place in the streets which burst with activities, from construction works by day to young men and women cruising the streets by night on shiny Honda motorbikes and gathering in coffee bars with sleek cell phones keeping them company. Then there are girls in their traditional silk ao dais gliding past on bicycles like lithe swans, some trekking leisurely to school early in the morning. Quite common, too, are men and women, usually from the countryside, selling "war relics," lighters and fake brand-name sunglasses on the streets – all trying to make a living in the city’s booming informal economy.

Amid the rapid change, the city is still bursting with people for whom the effects of progress have not poured in yet: Street children line the city’s boulevards and tourist enclaves selling T-shirts, the symbolic and still very much in vogue conical hats and postcards. Beggars hound tourists while pickpockets look out for unguarded wallets. Such are hassles that go with the territory that tourists are now coming to accept as they explore Vietnam’s intriguing mix of past and present.

Motorbike-mad

Most of the city where art and handicraft boutiques are ubiquitous is ideally enjoyed by walking. But if one wishes to see more of the city, the way to go is through foot-pedaled cyclo or ride with a Honda man (or what we call a cab driver). They are slow and a far more charming and intimate way to experience the pace of modern Ho Chi Minh. In fact, the trappings of economic reform represent no more than occasional blips on the city’s landscape of mostly French architecture, most famous of which is the Notre Dame Cathedral, a reminder of the city’s French colonial past.

Astonishingly crowded with bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, cyclos and a few grumbling trucks and thousands of pedestrians, the city is not the place to learn how to ride a motorcycle or drive a car as each vehicle operates according to its own diverse rules of the road.

In fact, none of the rules common to driving elsewhere in the world are valid in Saigon. People making U-turns on one-way streets or veering across several lanes without signaling, or stopping to fix something in the middle of the street are commonplace. But all that said, motorcycling is still the least costly, most convenient and most enjoyable way to get around the city and the entire country.

PAL’s return

This important phase in the history of Vietnam, in general, and Saigon, in particular, is not to be left unexplored by Philippine Airlines as it starts flying that nation’s skies once again via a direct flight between Manila and Ho Chi Minh four times a week after an absence of three years. The resumption of service allows Filipino travelers and businessmen to experience Ho Chi Minh’s frenetic capitalist pace amid a panorama of French architecture, pagodas, subdued housing blocks and tree-lined boulevards.

PAL’s return also comes at a time when a growing number of Western tourists and expats – mostly American and French – are seen touring the city, adding a cosmopolitan dash to Saigon’s bustling sights and sounds.

Light and aromatic cuisine

If there’s one thing that visitors will find very irresistible about the country, it’s the omnipresent aroma of its cuisine. It seems the country is near obsessed with eating and such preoccupation easily spreads among visitors. What makes Vietnamese food aromatic? It’s the lemongrass, they say. The aroma, however, is not all there is to the exotic cuisine. Emphasis on fresh ingredients plus the minimal use of fat and meat in cooking have given the cuisine a healthy reputation. While Vietnamese food is often associated with Thai, it is not nearly as spicy, though just as aromatic.

One of the must places to eat is Pho "2000" where they serve huge bowls of noodles with a soothing broth. It’s a celebrated national dish for Vietnam. It’s also where former US President Bill Clinton went during his recent visit to the country. As Vietnam’s culinary capital, Saigon has an abundance of restaurants serving authentic and equally delectable Vietnamese cuisine such that tourists usually find it very difficult to decide which to go to.

Experiencing the cuisine won’t be complete without trying Vietnam’s universal spring roll, a combination of thin rice vermicelli noodles, unseasoned shrimp, carrot, lettuce leaves and bean sprouts wrapped in handmade rice paper. It may taste bland but the secret’s really in the sauce. It brings the flavors to life.

Shopper’s haven

Oh, and Saigon is a shopper’s haven, too, especially if you’re a lover of handicrafts, silk, lacquerware and other tourist junks. They’re in endless supply in the city. But good eyes and at least elementary bargaining skills are a must as anything there can be had for two-thirds of the price first quoted. Lacquerware in the city is probably the best in the world and is still a bargain.

The Cho Ben Thanh market at the intersection of Le Loi and Le Lai in Saigon is the place to go if you want to buy a variety of merchandise in one place. Saigon’s busiest market for 80 years, it’s still a dense knot of trade where one can buy anything from conical hats to coffee and basketware.

Seeing Saigon in a completely fresh light without a preconceived idea is seeing the city as one of the most beautiful places in the world rich with lush colors and dramatic hills, valleys and waterways and, more importantly, with warm and enterprising people.

Vietnam is catching up with the rest of the world but without giving up its identity. Though its land has been scarred by battle, the Vietnamese people with a strong commitment to family, land and culture were able to reconstruct their lives and country while maintaining a link to traditions. Though still linked to the past, clearly it is wired to the present and is building toward its future. And it won’t be long before Vietnam is remembered not for its war-torn past but for its self-reliant people who rose and continue to rise to the challenge by putting the past to rest and surging with fervor toward the new millennium.