Sharon Vinick

Thailand is well-known for its street food, which can be purchased any time of the day. However, the largest and most elaborate selection of street food is at the night markets. I have no idea how many night markets there are in Chiang Mai, but it is quite a few. We decided to try our luck at the Night Bazaar, which is the largest night market and is known for both its shopping and its food.

We arrived around 6:30, when the night market was just getting started. The Wararot Market is actually a series of markets, that are within walking distance from each other. Many, many tourists go to the night market to buy souvenirs. And, there is plenty to buy . . . Some handmade, and others mass produced. I bought a wrap to use when we go into temples, as I’m tired of pulling on/off a long skirt that is required for covering my knees, and it is way too hot to wear pants. Arie bought a bandana, because he’d lost his. Otherwise, we were not too good for the Thai economy.

Of course, we had actually decided to go to the night market to eat, and we had repeatedly read that Thai residents go to the night market to grab dinner, and visit with friends. We were not disappointed. The selection of food is huge at the night market. And, the vendors range from those in large stalls which have printed menus, tables and chairs, to places with two people with a burner, who are selling a single type of item. We decided to sample food from both.

We started with handmade gyoza, which we were able to watch being made while we waited — two men were filling and one guy was steaming and frying. They were so hot when we got them, that we had to wait for them to cool. So tasty. Next stop, little mangos, which are the size of a plum, and you eat peeled. They were a little tart and tangy, and we gobbled them up. We then tried crab in yellow curry at a more formal restaurant. Again, delicious. For our last stop, we had grilled shrimp (monster size) and the best mango and sticky-rice that I’ve ever eaten. (We seriously considered a second helping, but decided to restrain ourselves). Czytaj więcej

Our ten days in Vietnam flew by, and it is now time to move on to Thailand. The guide that we’ve been exploring Southern Thailand with — Quy — was unable to take us to the airport, so his cousin — Lin — picked us up and took us to Da Nang. Lin was just delightful, and was the first female tour guide that we’ve had a chance to speak with since we had the food tour on our first night in Hanoi.

Lin, like the other guides whom we’ve talked to, told us about life in Vietnam. Much to my surprise, her perspective was similar to that of the male guides with whom we’ve talked — there is a huge gap between rich and poor, the government is incredibly corrupt, bribery is common, and people are working very hard to improve their financial situation. She us told us about her experiences in going to university, which was quite interesting.

At one time, there was a university in the Hoi An. However, attracting teachers proved impossible because there were too few students, so the university closed. As a result, anyone who wants a university education must go to Da Nang to study, which is prohibitively expensive for most people. To make if possible to pay for school, Lin lived in a one room apartment with 5 other women. The apartment had a “kitchen,” which sounded like a hot plate and a sink. The bathroom was down the hall. Each woman had a desk and stool for studying, but they shared a large sleeping mat that was rolled up every night. She spoke fondly of the experience, and mentioned that because of development in Da Nang, the building has been torn down to make way for a big hotel. According to Lin, this type of development is a very mixed bag for the average person in Vietnam. The person who owns the building that is being torn down rarely has a choice about whether to sell the property, although they do get compensation. The people who lived in the building, or had small business in the building, or left without anyplace to live or work, and generally have to move back to the village that they came from. Obviously, the problems of gentrification are not unique to the United States.

Before leaving Vietnam, I would be remiss if i didn’t discuss politics a bit.

As we traveled through Vietnam, we were obviously visiting tourist sites. Much to my surprise, the majority of the tourists that we encountered were were Asian (mostly Chinese, but also Japanese and Korean). There were certainly some Westerners, but far, far fewer than Asians. The people with whom we spoke — who admittedly work in the tourist industry — had kind words about Westerners, but lots of criticisms about the Asian tourists, mostly having to do with the fact that Westerners spend more money, and are more interested in learning about Vietnamese culture. The Chinese, in particular, are only interested in how the history of Vietnam relates to China, and tour guides often talk about how this or that place was once part of China, and then criticize the Vietnamese. (Lin told us a crazy story about a Chinese tour guide who was overheard to say China was going to take over Vietnam again — something which most Vietnamese actually fear — and the tour guide was “reported” to the Vietnamese government for making such claims and had to flee the country. It could be apocryphal, but it certainly tells you a little bit the relationship between the countries.)

The people with whom we interacted — again, all in the tourist industry — were surprisingly sanguine about the American role in the war. Lin seemed to sum it up best — “It is always better to have another friend than an enemy. So, we forgive, but we don’t forget.” All of our guides asked us if we wanted to hear about the war before they told stories, as some Americans do not want to talk about it. And, when I made it clear that I felt the US had made a mistake going into Vietnam, I was met by shrugs. And, when I asked about people being injured by unexploded land mines, I was told that people only get hurt when they go where they shouldn’t. While this struck me as an enormous oversimplification, I thought that it was indicative of a fatalism about life that is quite common and not too surprising in a country in which infants ride on motor scooters and food poisoning is considered of fact of life.

I also noticed that there is still huge tension between the North and South Vietnam. Historically, Vietnam has been divided far longer than it has been united. While America played a crucial role in the war, we weighed in on one side of an ongoing civil war. The actions of Vietnamese soldiers on both sides led to huge civilian fatalities, and both sides engaged in what we’d now consider to be war crimes. After the war, Ho Chi Minh and the government established a series of rules that were designed to assure that power and wealth would remain with those who supported the communists. So, for example, if you fought on the side of South Vietnam, your descendants for the next three generations (children, grandchildren and great grandchildren) are barred from holding any government position, including teachers, ranking military positions and any political position. Since the payment of bribery is common, and is unbelievably lucrative, being excluded from government jobs has enormous financial ramifications. Moreover, the social mores of the country differ as you move from North to South, with life becoming more liberal the farther South you move. These social and economic differences, combined with lingering resentments from the war, create a population that is sharply divided.

Our time in Vietnam has been fascinating (but is not over, as we return for a week at the end of the trip). On to Thailand . . . Czytaj więcej