General Summary of the Great Indochina Loop Trip

I saw and experienced quite a bit during my 5 ½ week stay in Indochina. My BLOG gives you a daily view of what happened and what I saw. What I will attempt to do in my final posting is to coalesce my experiences and feelings. I will focus my comments primarily on Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam and briefly mention Thailand since I have visited Thailand on numerous occasions in the late 1990s. I will convey my general impressions of Indochina in this posting and create a separate posting for each country with specifics comments including my favorite pictures. In my country postings, I will double asterisk (**) the places listed in the “1,000 Places TO See before You Die”.

Summary

Historical Perspective – The Indochina peninsula has been an area of conflict for millenniums. The Khmer invaded Siam (Thailand), Thais invaded the Khmer, Cham and Vietnamese people…various Chinese groups imposed their will on Indochina and so on and so on. Europeans visited the area beginning in the 1500s. The French took control of Cambodia, Laos, Viet Nam and to some extent Thailand in the 1880s. What you see when you visit the area are French colonial homes, restaurants, foods, wide city streets and rotaries. What I didn’t see was a democratic form of government…..the French exited Indochina in the mid-1950s leaving behind predominantly communist/socialist political parties that overpowered their respective weak French-aligned governments.

Government – Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam have one-party governments that are communist and/or socialist by design. Each country opened its borders to foreign investment and travel in the 1990s and have encouraged, to some extent, an entrepreneurial spirit. You see people working for themselves …in their stores, in street stalls, selling goods and services as well as agricultural independence. Police and/or soldiers are not a common site…I only saw two traffic police in Hanoi and two highway cops on Viet Nam’s rural highways. You see billboards supporting the state government but not the oppressive police state that one would imagine. Economic forces are beginning to erode political ideology.

Climate – All of the countries have warm to hot climates with southern Laos and Cambodia being the hottest. Thailand, Viet Nam and Laos have mountainous regions which are cool to cold at night ….no frost or snow!!! Their season delineation is based on the monsoon rains which begin in the April/May time frame and extend through late October to early November. The wet season is welcomed since it brings the gift of water to their fields; it is when work days can exceed sixteen hours per day. Surprisingly, you see people in each country wearing sweaters, jackets and hats when temperatures are in excess of 90 degrees F.

Economic Development – Thailand, Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia in that order. There is a wide gap between the Thai and Viet Nam economies however the latter is making significant advancements. Laos and Cambodia are far behind …both countries were closed to foreign visitors and investments due to communist rule until late 1990s. Cambodia’s economy was destroyed and 25 % of their populace lost their lives at the hands of the Khmer Rouge between 1976-1979….they are beginning to recover. Most of Cambodia’s and Laos’ goods and services are consumed locally – subsistence living.

Transportation Systems – Thailand has excellent roads, many of which were built during the Viet Nam war by the USA to support our war effort. The Thais have invested heavily in expanding rail, roads and air infrastructure as well as Bangkok’s expanded overhead train and subway systems. Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam roads are primarily two lanes throughout the county-side. Viet Nam’s city infrastructures were primarily developed by the French which are wide avenues and boulevards. However, Viet Nam’s passenger train system doesn’t compare to Thailand….I speak from personal experience!!

Traffic – crossing the street was an adventure. Cambodia and Laos were not a problem; very little traffic …Thailand and Viet Nam were the challenge. Thailand has traffic lights and laws which are obeyed by most drivers. Viet Nam was a free for all…there are few …and I mean few traffic lights in all of Hanoi….you walk across 4 to 6 lane street at a steady pace…don’t look at the drivers…it is a sign of weakness… the scooters and cars avoid you by inches…..if traffic is congested, the sidewalk is an alternate route…. I assure you; I’m not exaggerating. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is a little better…they have more traffic lights….six that I counted. The main problem I found in visiting Viet Nam was the incessant use of vehicle horns…it is constant…the noise is much worst than New York City or any other metropolitan city that I have visited…after 12 days, it became a little too much!!

Personal Transportation – Thailand has an equal distribution of cars, motorcycles/scooter throughout the country. You can jump into a taxi, tuk-tuk or the back of a motorcycle to get to your destination. Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam primarily use motor scooters that are imported from China or Italy. The more affluent cities of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Vientiane, Laos have an increased number of autos; maybe 25 percent of their total conveyance. Various forms of tuk-tuks are available in each country with the variance dependent on the transportation frame – bicycle (cyclo), motor scooter, motor cycle or truck.

Agriculture – Both Thailand and Viet Nam have advanced agricultural systems with irrigation systems that allow them to grow rice and other crops throughout the year…remember their temperatures are warm to hot throughout the year with seasons being determined by the monsoon rains. Laotian and Cambodian farms are subsistence agriculture with most crops being used or sold locally. They do not have extensive irrigation systems and the fields I saw were predominantly brown since the wet season will not start until the May/June time frame. I saw little to no mechanization in any country other than Thailand. Water buffalo and oxen are used to plow the fields.

Education – Education is a priority in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam. For an individual, education is the key to escape a life of poverty. Learning English or another foreign language might be your ticket to work in the tourist or hotel business. In all four countries, students wear uniforms…in the cities, towns and villages…rich and poor wear uniforms. The school year runs from May through March with the normal school day beginning at 8 AM and concluding at around 4 PM. In all countries, school is mandatory for all youngsters through the eighth grade. I visited about three different schools not including the Mercy Centre schools in Bangkok. Classes averaged over thirty students and the atmosphere was all business. I didn’t notice many ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) pupils; maybe because they don’t have all of those electronic gadgets to distract them.

Religion – all countries are Buddhist but how they practice their faith is different. The terms Wat, Temple, or Pagoda are names given to their houses of worship. These houses of worship have different construction features ranging from different roof lines, gods’ representations, and methods of worship. Cambodia, Laos and Thailand belong to the Theravada branch of Buddhism which is the largest and has its origin in Sri Lanka. Viet Nam, China and Japan belong to the Mahayana branch of Buddhism. The third branch is Tibetan Buddhism which represents about 6 percent of all Buddhist. Cambodian Buddhism has a strong flavor of Hinduism incorporated in their version. Theravada monks arise each day before dawn, don their three piece robes and solicit alms from the people. They must consume their alms before noon…nothing but water or non-alcoholic beverages until the next day. In Viet Nam, I only saw Mahayana monks within Temple walls and very seldom in the streets. I was told that they primarily receive money donations and purchase what they need…similar to western religions. In all countries, homes and businesses have a spirit house to honor and appease the gods…offerings of food, water, flowers, incense, candles are common offerings…this is a form of animism….belief that gods exist all around us including trees, flowers wind, etc.

Money – equivalence in terms of one US dollar. Cambodia – 4,200 riel, Laos – 8,500 kip, Thailand – 33 baht and Viet Name – 18,000 dong. Cambodia dispenses US dollars from their ATMs with most tourist transactions being done in dollars with small change in riel. As one travels from one country to the next, one becomes jaded and a little unsettled about the relative importance of a given currency. For example: beers were on average $0.75 - $1 per bottle, meals averaged about $8…..you are at a restaurant and can’t account for a discrepancy of 1,000 riel on a Laotian bar tab …hey that’s $0.25. Two beers cost 155,000 dong at the roof bar of Saigon’s 5 star Rex Hotel versus 30,000 at the local café…did you pay too much….was the Rex atmosphere and view worth $8.25 for two beers?? What happens when we get home and receive a dose of economic reality….we lived like kings and queens during our tour.