Vietnam, or in Cantonese “South of Yuet (Canton)”, isn’t exactly south of Canton. But then I heard Cantonese people came through Indochina rather than via the northern lands á la Han Chinese people in the north, so maybe it does make a little sense.
Anyway…Viet Nam is an intriguing country. Like Chile, it’s very “long” and thus, different natural landscapes can be expected. Like China, it’s “communist” but in reality capitalist, sharing many of its political systems and features. Like Mexico, it’s generally seen as a poor country that’s not the strongest political force in the region, yet it does control Laos as an unofficial client state.
This post isn’t about politics though, so I’ll just get back to talking about what I’ve done there. Once again, we spent merely a few hours there, mostly to go through the world-renowned Halong Bay – a bay with more than numerous small hills popping out from the sea, much like Guilin in China – as well as to experience a tiny little bit of Vietnamese culture.
The bay was fine, the caves were similarly amusing. Haven’t met nearly enough Vietnamese people (I did go to one of Lana Del Rey’s Vietnamese realms a few years later so it’s all good). Food was great.
Verdict: If you want Vietnam, don’t visit it on a cruise.
jagged little earth 