Chuck Kuhn's Asia in Photos: Viva la Vietnam

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Viva la Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh’s tourism sector is booming and exciting plans are afoot to lure even more tourists.
HELD back by the confines of ultra-communism and years of war, this vibrant city of neon lights, new high-rise buildings and three million motorcyles and scooters has seen steady growth of late.
Fondly referred to by its former name, Saigon, Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City is Vietnam’s largest and most populated city, with eight million people. It is also the nation’s economic capital, and rich in culture and history.
Pint-sized Summer Lai gets into an opening that leads to a tunnel below an intricate system of pathways and tunnels, about 80km from Ho Chi Minh City.
With recent comparisons to Bangkok, and talk that it may eventually become IndoChina’s tourism capital, HCM City was indeed an apt choice for students from KDU’s School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, who headed there recently for their international study tour.
The 90 students, a quarter of them from Africa, India, Turkmenistan, China, Mauritius and, closer to home, Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand, were required under the International Tourism Development module of their course to evaluate several factors.
These included specific concerns on economic and environmental sustainability, and the development of a chosen destination, in this case, HCM City, and its surrounding districts.
“Our students are encouraged to travel because they get to see places of interests and are exposed first-hand to a nation’s hospitality business and its general policies and attitude towards the sector,” said Gabriel Lau, the school’s academic head of professional development. The mostly final-year students from KDU Petaling Jaya and Penang were led by lecturers Leanne Tilaka, Shahrizal Kamaruddin, Rogelio Jr Flores and Lau, who “brought the classroom to the sights”. They were on hand to answer queries, offer tips and challenge the students with thought-provoking questions.
New dimension
Shahrizal said that this method of instilling facts and knowledge was “not so conventional” and gave teaching a new dimension.

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They say "

“I can’t say what made me fall in love with Vietnam - that a woman’s voice can drug you; that everything is so intense. The colors, the taste, even the rain. Nothing like the filthy rain in London. They say whatever you’re looking for, you will find here. They say you come to Vietnam and you understand a lot in a few minutes, but the rest has got to be lived. The smell: that’s the first thing that hits you, promising everything in exchange for your soul. And the heat. Your shirt is straightaway a rag. You can hardly remember your name, or what you came to escape from. But at night, there’s a breeze. The river is beautiful. You could be forgiven for thinking there was no war; that the gunshots were fireworks; that only pleasure matters. A pipe of opium, or the touch of a girl who might tell you she loves you. And then, something happens, as you knew it would. And nothing can ever be the same again.”
― Graham Greene, The Quiet American

Tips on Travel to Vietnam

It's always warm in Southeast Asia apart from high mountains, so leave the heavy clothing at home. Cotton and breathable fabrics are always better than synthetics -- although cotton does wrinkle a lot when traveling! December through April is roughly the dry season in that region, although it can still rain a little. December is a good time to go in terms of temperature -- cooler than in the humid summertime. Either way, wearing more clothing (shirt sleeves and long pants) is always more respectful towards the Asian culture, especially when visiting temples and rural areas.