Page 104 - slovenia

A VIET NAM POSTSCRIPT

A SAN DIEGO RADIO MAVERICK SEARCHES FOR A COUNTRY’S SOUL

Story & Photography by Stacy Taylor

aves of goose-stepping makes the Century City Mall in L.A. look
soldiers and boast- like a flea market.
ful displays of mis- In the southern coastal area, the beaches
Wsile launchers, as we are lined with high-end resorts, mostly
recently witnessed in Pyongyang? Glum catering to European tourists, fancy,
internal-security apparatchiks keeping a French-inspired restaurants, and beach-
watchful eye on anything non-conform- front Tiki bars, along with the quaint
ing? A grim population of robotic drones, fishing villages you would expect to see.
their shoulders to the wheel, grinding Mui Ne beach, near the fishing town of
out 12 hours workdays? A stark unavail- Phan Thiet, is the kite surfing capital of
ability of consumer goods?
the world. Yes, commies kite surf.
Actually, none of those clichés turned Most of the tourists I bumped into in the
out to be reality. No soldiers, few cops, a more affordable beach areas were Rus-
friendly, albeit reserved, population, and sians , by and large a dour and humor-
stores, galleries, and boutiques dealing less lot, clad in their uniforms of tank-
in luxury goods. In the center of Saigon tops, baggy shorts, and rubber flip flop
is a 5-story shopping mall, named Saigon sandals, swilling beer and vodka from
Centre, “your fashion destination”, that
mid-morning on.

The streets are alive with motor bikes and
shoppers on the streets of Saigon.

104 WDT MAGAZINE SPRING 2017