Its Only Wrap and Roll

Quick – don’t think about it – just react.

What comes into your mind’s eye when you hear the words “Viet Nam?”

Be honest – was the image you saw little old ladies in conical hats?  Was it poverty?  Was it war?  Was it peasants toiling in verdant rice fields?

None of those images is incorrect – but they don’t tell the whole story.

Viet Nam is no longer considered a poor country.  A few ago, the United Nations recategorized Viet Nam from a poor country to a developing country.  Sure – there are lots of poor people in Viet Nam and some of them wear conical hats and work in rice fields.

This is one of a small chain of restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City – kinda looks like California, doesn’t it?  It’s in Saigon, and as elsewhere in the world, the big cities usually are trendier than other places.  Such eateries abound in the upscale areas of Saigon and Hanoi – as well as Pizza Hut and KFC.   The name of this place is “Wrap and Roll (and I like it).”  Yes, there were some western tourists in the place, but there were also a lot of nicely dressed young Vietnamese professionals enjoying lunch with friends.  (Saigon is the old name for the city – it was changed to Ho Chi Minh in 1976 when the country was reunified.  Most people still call it Saigon - - Ho Chi Minh City has too many syllables.)

(As always, be sure to click on each photo to see a larger version.)

Poor people don’t eat in places like Wrap and Roll – and neither do they drive cars like this.  The last time I checked, this Lexus sold for a little over $110,000.  Yes – that’s another Lexus parked in front of this one –BMWs, Mercedes, and Audis are common.  Most young Vietnamese will tell you they want to own a car, but often they have not thought about where they will park or drive it. The streets of Saigon are positively clogged now.

There may be a severe world-wide recession, but the pace of construction in Saigon gives you no clue as to its existence.  Construction cranes are ubiquitous.  I’m sure my architect friend Mel, who authors the blog “Antidote to Burnout” and lives in Saigon, could tell you more, but modern buildings such as this Hyundai Tower indicate the growth boom continues.  (By the way, Mel’s January 1st posting is worth reading – and in many ways reflects my own love for Viet Nam.)

The Saigon River is a major port, and another indication of Viet Nam’s continued growth.   That may well be Nike shoes being loaded aboard one of these container ships, bound for the trip to an athletic shoe store near you.  The major industrial area of Bien Hoa is just north of Saigon - the containers arrive at the port via big trucks on a six lane highway.

Then there is tourism – and Viet Nam has invested heavily in tourism.  At a time when terror bombings happen in other tourist areas of the world, Viet Nam is one of the safest places to be.  European tourists respond in droves, and stay at posh five star hotels such as the Caravelle , which overlooks the old Opera House (built by the French) in the downtown area.  Gucci has a store on the ground floor – and most of the customers are Vietnamese, not westerners.

Viet Nam is still primarily an outdoor society – and one that enjoys getting together with friends.  Even the young sophisticates of Saigon like to gather for drinks and conversation at night.  Need a space to do that?  Just put some tables on the sidewalk next to a bank building, add some waiters and food, and enjoy the conversation.  Their countryside cousins do the same thing in village markets during the morning.

Honesty demands I tell the whole story. Earlier, I mentioned poverty.  There is lots of it in Viet Nam.  Yes, the country is developing, but there are still large pockets of squalor – even in burgeoning Saigon.  Off the busy Saigon River is a swampy area caused by a big oxbow in the river.  Within sight of the skyscrapers live some very poor people.  The skyscraper under construction is the same as seen above, but people live in this little shack by the creek.  Obviously, these people are not participating in the economic growth.

Curious about that little tin shack built over the water?  It’s a toilet – and the creek is the flushing mechanism.  Less than ½ mile away are modern buildings with modern plumbing. And tourist boats full of people who will never see the shack.

But maybe your mind’s eye image was one of an old woman in a conical hat.  This lady is not old, nor is she terribly poor, but in many ways she is representative of the people in this energetic country.  She is warm, friendly – and very hard working.  She has goals – and one of them is to be part of an economically strong Viet Nam.

Maybe she even wants to eat at Wrap and Roll.

(Our two days in Saigon are over - we’re in Hue now.  For those of you who are new to this blog, the name of the city is pronounced “whay”.  We spent Thursday in Vung Tau – more on that later.)