ANOTHER DAY IN SAI GON

Last night I had a drink with tour friends at the Rex Hotel Rooftop Bar. Level 23 in our hotel and Saigon Saigon are the two best bars for city views, but the Rex is where Viet Nam war correspondents gathered. Enjoying the moment were Mark and Barb Kuhlmann (Missouri), Linda and George Galeener (who was a Los Angeles police officer, went back to school and taught literature, living now in Missouri), Steve and Patricia Weiner (Piedmont, California) and Curtis Lee (Honolulu). Curtis, who served just south and west of Da Nang, said that he yesterday had a photo taken with a town mayor who was once a Viet Cong in the same basic area, 42 years ago. You can forgive.

Today, we're off to the Presidential Palace, the Post Office and Amerian Consulate. More to come if I can again link with this blog site.

-

The Dow Jones Industrials snuck up 42 to 10, 236, just below the 10,252 of the Japanese Nikkei. World markets almost all went down. Gold dropped $10/toz to $1090 and crude oil has dropped below $74/barrel. Toyota is sunk 4% and Ford is looking good, now at 11.50, when it was as low as 1.50 nearly a year ago.

-

In addition to Tropical Cyclone Olga now dissipating in Northern Australia, there is now Tropical Cyclone 10 far to the east, plus Tropical Cyclone Eleven east of Mauritius and heading south and east.

-

I'M BACK IN SAI GON

I'm back because I was here in October. For some reason, though, I can't seem to link with my blog site, and finally got in via one of articles translated into Vietnamese. Thus, I add another piece here not knowing when my next one will be. I noticed that even in Viet Nam, there are some Google problems.

The flight from Da Nang to Sai Gon was, thankfully, uneventful. I guess the Ciprofloxacin is working. While the group went on to Cu Chi, I checked into the Sheraton. They gave me a bento box (these are significant lunch containers) equal to the one my travel partners will have. Usually the contents include a sandwich, cheese, fruit and chips.

By the way, the Sheraton Tower room is extraordinary. Four high definition TVs, one with a Bose sound system, a work room with assorted business center stuff and a place for entertainment.

The Cu Chi tunnels extended for about

130 miles, and were skinnier than that depicted on the right. I small portion has been widened to accommodate tourists.

-

Tropical Cyclone Olga is still kicking around in Northern Australia.

HO CHI MINH'S REVENGE

Well, I must have ate or drank something my body did not like, for I have the runs. As today was only a farm and Hoi An (an ancient city that once flourished because of a harbor and is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Center), I thought I'd rest.

-

Check the right boxes for the Dow Jones Industrials and price of oil. I'm going to sleep.

-

THE MOST AMAZING BEACH IN THE WORLD

I am now at the Furama Resort in Da Nang. I walked out to the beach, looked one way, and couldn't see the end of the beach. Then I looked at the other end and couldn't see the end of the beach. China Beach is 20 miles long and mostly about 100 yards wide. Some of you might have watched China Beach, the TV series, 1988-1991. This was named as the #5 best beach in Asia, so I've got to visit the other four, for China Beach is amazing.

Actually, the Viet Nam tourist site provided the following:

Vietnam's first and only 5-star luxury resort on the world famous "China Beach". 4 years awarded "Vietnam's Top Hotel" Trophy 2000-2003 by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, 4 years "Vietnam's Best Resort - The Guide Awards" by Vietnam Economic Times 2000-2003, "Best Dream Hotel in Asia" by Esquire Magazine Hong Kong, asiahotels.com Winner 2002, "Asia's Best Resort" by Epicurean USA, "Trophy 2000-2003" by Trade Leaders' Club Spain, "BID" International Quality Century Award, Spain.

Now, this is more like it, although this posting seems dated. Going to the internet, a room with breakfast can be had for $173. There are 200 rooms and dinner at Indochine was outstanding, as our table of six ate ten lobsters, if not more, and I couldn't (allergy) even have one. Those are Maureen and Stan (fiscal manager for Roy's Restaurant) Paperny, Barb and Mark (attorney and power broker from Missouri) Kuhlmann and Curtis Lee (former VP of Servco)

Here we have Mark, Shep Goldstein (Boston), Stan and Dave Marder (Woodland Hills, California):

You can soon purchase an apartment for $180,000 and move in to Hyatt Regency Residences located across the street. A Hyatt hotel is coming. In fact, six mega resorts, including a J.W. Marriott with golf course, have been announced. Gregg Norman is designing a second golf course, with the surrounding Ocean Villas starting from $320,000. American company Silver Shores has announced a casino, with the hotel to be managed by Crowne Plaza.

Da Nang, located in central Vietnam, with a population of 1 million, has an international airport and world class port. Sai Gon is almost 400 miles south. You remember, of course, Da Nang Harbor from the Viet Nam War, home for 20% of American servicemen.

-

Check the right for the Dow Jones Industrials and price of oil.

-

THE ROYAL CAPITOL OF HUE*

A couple of final notes about Ha Noi. The temperature was in the 50's and I never saw the sun. When you drive or walk around in your hometown, how many stores do you see selling only computers and accessories? Maybe none? On a cyclo tour of the Old Quarter we passed at least a hundred. Driving a cyclo:

I flew to Central Vietnam, where there are several historic cultural sites. I'm now in Hue (pronounced "way"), which served as the imperial capitol from 1802 to 1945, when the end of World War II saw the last emperor, Bao Dai (photo above and left), effectively losing power to finally about a decade later abdicate to France with his family. In all, he had 5 wives. The country was split into north and south (similar to Korea), with Ha Noi becoming the northern capitol and Sai Gon in the south. Dai passed away in 1997 at the age of 84 and his family never returned to Viet Nam.

Like in Beijing, there is an impressive Imperial City and Forbidden (Purple) Palace. A major battle of the Tet (means Chinese New Year holiday) Offensive in 1968 was fought in Hue, and the Palace was severely damaged. Restoration is in full progress, and is expected to take two decades. Ironically, the South and U.S suffered a tenth the casualties of the North, but lost the hearts and minds of the people of American with this "victory."

The cost of things is mostly lower here. While gasoline is about $3.50/gallon, you can have a pho on the street for about a buck and this rather luxurious Hue hotel I'm staying in, La Residence, has a special for two: $140/person, which would include airport transfer, daily breakfast (the buffet borders on the spectacular, but not as impressive as at the Metropole), royal dinner (absolutely fabulous barbeque buffet) and free bicycle rental and internet.

There remains a sense of Honolulu in the 50's. Come now if you want to see a still charming Viet Nam, at least beyond the metropolitan areas. In a quarter century, this country will become Hawaii of today. I should re-state this. Ha Noi already has three times the population of Hawaii, and Sai Gon has about 10 million, with an expectation of 20 million in a decade. There are 25 million motorbikes, and they all are lethal weapons.

Alert! Alert! I wondered why, after four days, I had not seen an ant, mosquito, cockroach, rodent or fly, even at those nauseous outdoor markets. The explanation was that they keep things well sanitized here. I finally saw my first two ants by the pool of the La Residence, large black ones.

Next, Danang and China Beach.

-

Total number of visitors to this blog site: 22,315

Visitors this week: 614

Countries: 131

-

A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT VIETNAM

The Vietnam civilization began in the Bronze Age (3000 BC). Officially now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the country originally gained independence from China in 938. The society flourished for nearly a millennium, until colonization by the French in the mid-1800s.

Ho Chi Minh is the father of Vietnam. What a life! Born in 1890 as Nguyen Singh Cung, he left his country at the age of 21 and travelled, mostly through Europe, but also in the U.S., for 30 years, working mostly in menial service jobs and facets of journalism, partially supported by the communist party. It is reported that he educated himself by reading in public libraries and was coached to become a revolutionary. Following World War I, he became Nguyen Ai Quoc, then began to be known as Ho Chi Minh around 1940. In 1941 he finally returned to Vietnam and led the revolt against France, gaining recognition from Stalin and Mao in 1950 and prevailing with the victory at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. He passed away in 1969 with the outcome of the Vietnam War (known as "the American" War in Vietnam) still in doubt.

The Americans were finally evicted from Vietnam in 1975. Incidentally, 58,000 Americans died in the "American" war here, while less than one-tenth that number of deaths have been experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan, combined, even though the length of both wars are similar. Most don't even know that Vietnam actually invaded Cambodia in 1978 and fought a war against China in 1979, when half a million ethnic Chinese left the country. There has now been "peace for more than 30 years.

The breakup of the Soviet Union and free enterprise in China, further catalyzed by the lifting of the U.S. embargo in 1994, spurred an economic boom. The population is in the range of 86 million, and it is reported that in a couple of decades, Vietnam will have a larger population than Russia. 85% are Buddhists, there are now 299 universities and oil is an important export commodity. From Wikipedia:

Organization	Survey	Ranking
Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal	Index of Economic Freedom	142 out of 157
The Economist	Worldwide Quality-of-life Index, 2005	61 out of 111
Reporters Without Borders	Worldwide Press Freedom Index	155 out of 167
Transparency International	Corruption Perceptions Index	111 out of 163
United Nations Development Programme	Human Development Index	109 out of 177
World Economic Forum	Global Competitiveness Report	77 out of 125

There is no particular animosity today towards Americans. There remains, though, a sense of South and North. An individual born in Ha Noi would have difficulty in Sai Gon.

The city of Hanoi is 268 days away from becoming 1000 years old, as shown in the next photo:

Above is a cyclo (pronounced seeklo), the most adventurous mode of travel in Northern and Central Vietnam, for your life is at constant peril. You've heard of the rickshaw, a human powered people mover, first used in Japan as early as 1868, and more recently in Waikiki. Then there is the tuk-tuk, where a two-cycle internal combustion engine powers the vehicle. This was popular in Bangkok in the 1980's, and while mostly no more, it is still used in countries of Southeast Asia. But the cyclo is a throwback, for this is bicyle powered and a major transit form in Ha Noi and Hue. Imagine that every driver has self-proclaimed priority and pedestrians have none. These are the streets of Vietnam.

Oh yes, it is not Hanoi nor Saigon. Here, these cities are spelled Ha Noi and Sai Gon. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is rarely mentioned, but HCMC is used in print.

Some music from Vietnam:

There is a millennium art form here known as the dreaded water puppet show. Tourists are hoodwinked into this cultural event, but I can recommend that you cleverly find something else to do. In some quarters it is known as the Vietnamese version of water boarding. Certainly, don't even think about showing up if you already have a head-ache, as the potential for some form of resultant cerebral hemorrhage surely will be high. I would show you what it is, but I'll let your curiosity influence your decision. I should mention that I also consider Kabuki and Noh to be excruciating.

-

Tropical Cyclone Olga today made landfall in Queensland (Australia) and is weakening.

-

HANOI: DAY 1

It has been raining, continuously, since my plane arrived...and this is supposedly the dry season.

As the French were influential in the cuisine of Vietnam, Curtis Lee and I went to lunch at Verticale, a French-Asian fusion restaurant. The Asian part, though, is something close to Indonesian and Indian, with dominant herbal smells The set menu of an appetizer (beef soup was okay), beef dish (horrid) and dessert (hard to describe and passable) came with a glass of red wine...all for $13.50. As it was raining, we caught a taxi, and paid a dollar for the one mile ride. In Japan, the charge is $7 when you step into the cab.

Dinner was in the hotel (Metrople) at Angelina, an Italian steakhouse. Kerry Noyes and Joe Kapolka from Minnesota joined us, and we learned a lot about banking and that state. The T-bone was barely tolerable, but the service and side dishes were excellent. A glass of wine cost $15, more than the entire lunch plus cab ride. The food was part of the tour. This morning for breakfast we sat next to Claudia Taden from Santa Barbara. We are the only singles in the Tauck group of 35. My sense is that the the average age of the tour is somewhere in the 70's.

Today, we are off on a cyclo (kind of like a Bangkok tuk-tuk) tour of Hanoi, with stops at the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake and the dreaded Hanoi Hilton (where John McCain suffered). The high today will be 60 degrees F, but the falling sky seems to be diminishing.

-

Well, the Dow Jones Industrials again sunk, 217 to 10,173, a three day drop which was the worst since March of last year when the market hit a 12-year low. However, the DJI, even today, is 57% higher than that bottom. Now, if this correction can settle at 9500, it might begin to be a good time to buy. Gold slipped a buck to $1092/toz and oil eased below $75/barrel.

-

BERMUDA JOINS BLOG SITE

I arrived at the Metropol Hotel in Hanoi just after midnight and will now join the Tauck Tour through Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

-

Welcome country #131 to my blog site:

BERMUDA POPULATION: 66,536

« Previous Country | Next Country » Back to Top Countries

Background

Bermuda was first settled in 1609 by shipwrecked English colonists headed for Virginia. Tourism to the island to escape North American winters first developed in Victorian times. Tourism continues to be important to the island's economy, although international business has overtaken it in recent years. Bermuda has developed into a highly successful offshore financial center. Although a referendum on independence from the UK was soundly defeated in 1995, the present government has reopened debate on the issue.

Geography People Government Economy Communications Transportation Military

Map data ©2009 Europa Technologies - Terms of Use

-

Actually, Bermuda is not a real country, as it remains part of the United Kingdom. However, as they are again considering voting for independence, in advance, I officially recognize this entity as part of my blog list. - Tropical Cyclone Magda, a Category 2 storm, made landfall over the Kimberley region of northwest Australia, and should now weaken. -

INCHEON AIRPORT (ICN) RATED #1 IN 2009

This #1 rated airport is located 43 miles outside of Seoul on an island off the coast of the city of Incheon, third largest metropolitan area with a population of 2.5 million (next to Seoul and Busan, once spelled with a “P”). Inchon (now with an “e”) is where General Douglas MacArthur succeeded in a bold 1950 invasion to turn the tide of the Korean War. Inha University, as described in SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Planet Earth, is located in this city.

Incheon Airport opened in 2001, replacing Gimpo (Kimpo) Airport, now serving domestic sites. ICN has a golf course (I actually saw golfers out in the sub-zero weather), a museum, spa, casino, transit hotel and a mass transit link with Gimpo and Seoul. A nine story hospital is being built to serve the airport and surrounding area. There are 74 gates, but expansion is already proceeding to have 128 gates by 2020. It is already Airbus 380 (up to 840 passengers) capable. Seventy airlines fly into ICN.

I spent some time in the Asiana Lounge.

Among the amenities are half a dozen relaxation rooms with massage chairs.

The Huffington Post today published my article on Korea. I'm now off for Hanoi.

-

Tropical Cyclone Magda is up to cyclonic strength and will make landfall tomorrow along the Kimberley Coast.

-

FINAL UPDATE ON KOREA

Some final photos from Seoul. If you look closely, you might see me in one of the windows on the right taking this shot.

As I prepare to leave the country, I thought a few final thoughts might be of interest. Good thing, too, for The Korean Herald today had a front page article about North Korea decimating this city with a nuclear bomb. The following top ten from Korea today:

1. Another Korea Herald front page report is a news analysis on their spiraling debt. From 94 trillion won in 1999 to 500 trillion expected in 2013. Like the USA, they are just printing money. Terrible? Nah! The debt this year will be 407 trillion won, which is a mere 34% of their Gross Domestic Product. The U.S. is nearing 100% (or 60%, if you ask the CIA) and Japan is closer to 200%.

2. South Korea is hosting the G20 finance ministers next month and the full G20 in November.

3. The Korea Institute for National Unification says North Korea leader Kim Jong-Il may be near death, and will not survive by 2012, thus that front page issue regarding the fallout from chaos.

4. Incheon will house a 1,320 megawatt tidal power plant (world largest by far), at a cost of $3.4 billion, providing 44% of the electricity to the city by 2017. Environmentalists are complaining, but, watch...this project will be built. A 254 MW facility will be completed at Sihwa Lake by the end of this year.

5. The economy is recovering as overseas trips this month will increase by 67% from last year and 135% next month. Student expenditures for study abroad jumped by 89% in November from the previous year.

6. Universal Studios will build a $2.7 billion theme park in Gyeonggi Province (37 miles southwest of Seoul). Paramount Pictures and MGM will also construct resort parks in Incheon. Eight such Seoul developments are expected to be in operation by 2012, and fourteen when you count the rest of the country. They hope to attract lots of visitors from China and Japan. HAWAII, WHAT ARE WE DOING?

7. There is a provocative op ed piece by Mathias Specht on the "Sex Industry in Korea." Twenty percent of adult males between 20-64 purchase sex four times/month at a cost of $580. Where do they get this kind of money? One in six women in the 18-35 age range work in the sex industry. Mind you, buying sex is punishable by up to one year in jail, and three years if caught advertising. The Ministry of Gender Equality provides cash rewards to companies whose male workers promise to refrain from paying for sex after office drinking evenings.

8. Moving on to the Haiti earthquake, the estimated death toll is expected to reach 200,000, with a million and a half without shelter. There were adjacent Korean Times Forum opinion articles today, one complimenting Americans for their generosity, somewhat humorously indicating that we give "several times as much/capita as the French, who give twice as much as the Germans, who give twice as much as the Italians." Somewhat linked to the ongoing debate about the U.S. resistance to accepting more Haitian immigrants, the second was a kind of tongue in cheek piece reporting on Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade offering resettlement in his country. If just a few individuals, then they would likely receive housing or small pieces of land, and if en masse, then a whole region. The catch is that no one can afford to get to Senegal and Wade has been known for his dramatic gestures. Why Senegal? Many of the original Haitian slaves came from this country, which also speaks French. The language, not unlike in Louisiana, is Creole. Haiti gained independence from France in 1825.

9. Republicans, fossil fuel enthusiasts and disinformation specialists, take note: Planet Earth is getting hotter--as the latest from the National Climatic Data Center indicates that the 2000-2009 period was the warmest on record, surpassing the previous hottest decade, the 1990's. Hard, though, to convince many in Korea that the globe is warming.

10. Finally, as cold as it is here, the temperature yesterday rose above zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees F), with photos in the local newspapers tripping on about an early Spring. Don't bring any global warming conference to this country. I suggest Delhi, one of my next stops, but in August.

-

The Dow Jones Industrials sunk 122 to 10,603, with world markets also almost all down. Gold dropped $26/toz to $1126 and oil is now below $78/barrel.

-

I'm off for Hanoi, and, hooray, that tropical storm is nowhere to be seen. However, Tropical Cyclone Magda formed off the Kimberly region of northwest Australia, is now at 50 MPH, and is expected to become a full cyclone by tomorrow.

-