2004-03-29 - 4:46 a.m.
Three days on the Mekong Delta has left me very sunburned. The tour we took out of Saigon was something that at the end very clearly articulated the politics of Vietnam. On a certain street in Saigon several competing tour agencies cater to Westerners and tours to travelers. The tours are cheap, and offer transport ant hotel stays. WE took one to get a look at the Delta, but also because the transport it provided would get us where we were going via boat. After three days, I've seen much by boat. But, I've seen mostly what the Vietnamese wanted me to see. Vietnam is still a Socialist Republic. And although many people signed up with various tours, at the end of our third day all forty people were togather (our small tours were limited to eight people. The tours were fine and I saw things that I was glad to see. But the revelation that Saigon Tourism was chaffering us around was another point to clarify the problems with a lack of competition. I am sure that a few men at the top saw most of our money. The poor villages they took us to did not see much of the tourist money, even from souveniers. Its the faulty trickle down theory. All the money was staying at the top. The tour gilr I spoke with said she made 60 dollars a month. She was educated, although was not able to attend univeristy. She also gave me a little insight into the politics. She said that if she travels from her region, even for a day, the government knows. Every village has official officials, an unofficial party cadres. The days of the Secret Police are certainly not over. With this said, the people of Vietnam seemed very welcoming. They have excellent people skills and deal well with various sitations with quality creativity and critical thinking skills. Ahh, its nice to see this - a skill often absent in Central Asia.
