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March 3, 2007
Vietnam (Katy)
We've been in Vietnam for about a week now and we're starting to get a feel for the country so here are a few things to pass on to you about Vietnam.
The currency in Vietnam is the Dong, and there are 30,000 dong to the pound. This means Joe and I are currently millionaires. Some people do want you to pay in dollars, especially street sellers and small souvenir shops (I think it's worth more for them), but generally the rule is to pay in Dong.
We've just spent a few days in Ho Chi Min City, which everyone still calls Saigon. I think unless you're filling in official forms, it's Saigon. Saigon was the capital city of South Vietnam, when the country was split in two and when it became one, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Min.
Ho Chi Min has become a national hero in Vietnam, which seems weird to me because he fought and fought to bring communism to Vietnam. The people hated communism but have found from somewhere an overwelming respct for Ho Chi Min.
After the Vietnam War in 1975 North and South Vietnam became one communist country under Ho Chi Min. All of the land was taken from the owners and all private businesses were closed. For 15 years they struggled through then in 1990 there was a change. The government realised that communism as they saw it wasn't going to work for them so they would stay communist, but in name only. They gave back the land and gave incentives for starting buisnesses. Since then the country seems to have grown economically at a great speed. It certainly seems a lot more like Thailand, than like Cambodia. Vietnamese people can be seen on holiday and going out to restaurants, things that very rarely happen in Cambodia.
Posted by admins at March 3, 2007 2:35 AM