Thailand 8: October 12, 2007

Liz and I recently returned from a long weekend in Vietnam. Its quite a contrast from Bangkok. Entering Hanoi from the airport, you pass mile after mile of rice fields, unlike Bangkok where urban sprawl long ago spread apartment blocks, office towers, malls and miles of roadway out into the surrounding areas. Actually, everywhere we went outside of Hanoi we passed constant scenes of peasants harvesting rice, tending vegetable gardens, irrigating crops and herding water buffalo. All beautifully pastoral in the clean, non-smog contaminated light, though I suspect the peasants would have prefered something other than hard labor under a brutal sun. As you leave Hanoi, women line up along the highway selling baguettes. Fresh and you can get about 20 for $1.25.

We spent a day at Halong Bay. Similar to Phang Nga Bay near Phuket, Halong Bay is filled with hundreds of limestone islands carved into fantastic shapes over the years by the rain and the tides. On one island, we hiked through a mammoth cave filled with stalactites and stalagmites. For some reason, all the garbage cans were shaped like penguins. The Vietnamese plan to develop the area around the Bay as a major tourist site and they are putting up hotels and other facilities. While walking down the street one evening after dinner we passed a place billed as a "special entertainment zone." We peered in to find an elaborate cock-fighting center, complete with well-constructed metal arenas, tote boards for betting and storage pens for the animals. While not that much further north than Bangkok, the area around the Bay was populated by pine trees and other non-tropical plants and in winter it actually gets "cool". Still, it was over 90 the entire time we were in Vietnam.

Hanoi itself is a very attractive city. Lots of French-era or French-influenced architecture, wide streets, and a lake at the center of the town. Plus, its less expensive than Bangkok. Another good sign -- no Western fast food. No McDonalds, no Starbucks (thank you, Lord), no 7-11. I'm not inherently anti-fast food. In many places, fast food restaurants are all that stands between you and a hole in the ground when you need to go real bad. Nevertheless, I didn't miss seeing them on every corner and outside every tourist attraction.

The hawkers are much more persistent and aggressive than in Bangkok. They'll follow you around at one site, trying to get you to buy a hat or a t-shirt, than get on a motorbike and follow you across town in the hopes that maybe you'll have changed your mind on the way. Most of the road traffic is by bicycle or motor-scooter, whereas in Bangkok there are many, many cars and motorcycles. There are few traffic controls and the way pedestrians cross the street is to just start walking, keeping an eye on the scooters (which go both ways in both lanes). Cars, buses and scooters pass one another by pulling out into oncoming traffic and honking to convince others to get out of the way. Traffic lanes are merely suggestions. As pedestrians cross everywhere and all streets are de facto two way, no one seems to drive over about 25-30 mph, so traffic moves at a stately pace. I noted that scooter driving appears to be somewhat more egalitarian in Hanoi, with many women steering their way through traffic.

We visited the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison. Much of it has been torn down and a high-rise hotel, office complex abuts it in the back, though part of the original prison still remains. The French initially built the prison at the turn of the 20th century and used it to jail Vietnamese until they were kicked out in 1954. Thus, most of the exhibits in the prison detail the suffering of Vietnamese Communists at the hands of the French colonialists. Many displays of torture instruments and guillotines. There was one small room that dealt with American prisoners of war. It highlighed photos of John McCain and Pete Peterson (who just left Hanoi as our first Ambassador after we re-established diplomatic ties). A large plaque stated that between 1955 and 1973 the US conducted an unjust war against the Vietnamese people in the course of which a few American soldiers were captured. They were, according to the plaque, treated fairly, in full compliance with all relevant international treaties. Next to the plaque, were pictures of American prisoners toasting Vietnamese journalists, smiling POWs at work and singing in church.

Along with the prison, there were a few other signs that Vietnam remains one of the few communist countries left in the world. A couple of Stalinist-style buildings blot the landscape and signs around the city advertise the recent 9th party Congress. After dinner one night at a French restaurant in the old, colonial-era Metropole hotel, we walked down to the Hanoi Tourism Festival. It was the singingest, dancingest stage-show to grace Hanoi in many a day. As we walked to the opera house, where a crowd of nearly a thousand Hanoi residents had gathered to witness the spectacle, we strolled down streets festooned with multi-colored lights. Of course, every other light-design was the hammer and sickle. The above-mentioned street vendors do a brisk business selling the pith helmets popular among the North Vietnamese during the war along with t-shirts emblazoned with the likeness of Ho Chi Minh. (The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, complete with embalmed Ho, unfortunately was closed for renovations, so we didn't get to see the real thing).

We flew back on the first day of service at the new Hanoi International Airport. Some safety concerns as workers were welding and drilling all along the passenger concourse, but no problems. A quick aside on Thai Airways. They continue to play terrible Western easy-listening whenever you board or depart the planes. We boarded to the keyboard translation of tunes by German heavy-metal band the Scorpions. We left to the muzak version of "God is Watching Us" by Bette Midler. On first hearing, that song seems made for muzak, but on further (painful) listening, you realize it needs to be toughened up to qualify as muzak. I swear they added fake guitar solos.

As for more localized travel, when our friend Meryl was visiting us, we spent a day on Ko Kret, an island in the middle of the Chao Praya river just north of central Bangkok. Though it is a half-hour cab ride (or a two-hour water bus adventure) from our house, it is surprisingly rural. The island has a Mon (ethnic minority) village that specializes in pottery making, but much of the island is filled with banana, coconut and durian trees. Though its listed in some of the guidebooks, we were almost the only Western tourists on the island. Instead, many local Thais go there for outings and to purchase some inexpensive pieces of pottery.
The heart of the rainy season recently hit us. Every day, we get at least one thunderstorm. Great to watch if you're inside in your office, a nightmare if you actually have to go anywhere. Rain comes down in torrents and because the streets in Bangkok do not drain well, there is flooding all around. Taxis become motor boats. Power goes out. Unfortunately, the storms don't cool things down or remove the humidity in the air.

Liz and I attended one of the local synagogues for Yom Kippur. A surprisingly large crowd came for services. Many visitors from the US, Israel, the UK, Australia, and South Africa, along with a lot of long-term Bangkok residents, a few of which have obtained Thai citizenship. While its an orthodox service, with women seated in a curtained area in the back, things are very informal with people coming and going throughout the day and kids running around.

Thailand is a very open society and has adopted much from other societies, from the US to China to India. Here's a brief (and incomplete) run down of what each culture has provided to Thailand.
US: Fashion, pop culture, sense of physical beauty (the Thais love the looks of half-Thai, half-American models), fast food, new constitution and recent political reform (much Thai adulteration here). Many of the Thais who study abroad do so in the US.
UK: Particularly among the Western community, British culture is a big deal. The English language newspapers have a definite British slant. English Premiere League Football (soccer) is huge here. Manchester United and Liverpool came here over the summer to play the national team and give clinics and riots erupted. David Beckham, the captain of the English national team, is an icon here. After he left, a woman spent thousands of dollars to buy the bedding from his hotel room. Kids wear more EPL paraphenelia than NBA gear. Also, several British music artists, from Oasis to Robbie Williams (ok, I used the term "artists" loosely) come to give concerts and there are many, many British pubs.
China: Chinese immigrants have been coming to Thailand for at least two hundred years, both from coastal China (to Bangkok and southern Thailand) and from Yunnan (to Chiang Mai). They make up much of the business community, both among small mom and pop shops and gold stores and among the giant Thai conglomerates. The current Thai Prime Minister, also the richest man in Thailand, is of Chinese descent. Because the Chinese have integrated so well into Thai society, at times it is hard to tell what is Thai and what is Chinese. Many signs on businesses in the Bangkok area are both in Thai and Chinese. The noodle dishes that people associate with Thailand came from China. Chinese sweets are everywhere. The business culture is Chinese. Many of the temples boast a combination of Thai and Chinese architecture. Because the number 4 sounds like "death" in Mandarin, some buildings do not have a fourth floor (those same buildings often do not have 13th floors, though some call it floor 12A).
Japan: Japan is the largest investor in Thailand and sends the most tourists to Thailand. Japanese businesses have constructed manufacturing facilities throughout the country. Even so, many of the long-term Japanese residents seem to keep to themselves, living in Japanese communities. Several alleys contain restaurants and massage parlors catering solely to a Japanese clientele. The Japanese tourists are somewhat more outgoing and are fairly easy to spot because of their goofy headwear and poor dental care. Japan is the Great Britain of oral hygeine -- a very rich people that chooses not to spend its wealth on maintaining a healthy set of teeth. As a result, many beautiful women and good looking men walk around with these snaggle-teeth mangling their otherwise attractive faces. Thai grocery stores stock tons of Japanese products and Japanese snacks and fast food restaurants compete with their American counterparts. Also, Thai kids seem to love Japanese comics and Hello Kitty paraphenelia. They also wear Japanese style uniforms to school -- including college students.
India: India provided the ancient foundations of Thai religion and culture. Buddhism and its related ceremonies came from the subcontinent (often by way of Sri Lanka). Many of the Thai royal customs and pageantry were adapted from Brahman traditions. Modern Thai language is a mix of indigenous words and Pali-Sanskrit. There is a longstanding debate over whether Thai curries initially came from Thailand (the Thai view) or were transplanted from India (the Indian view). Many Sikhs live in Bangkok and dominate the tailor trade.
Cambodia: For several hundred years in the early part of the second millenium, the Khmer kingdom controlled much of what is now Thailand. Indian influences made it to Thailand through Cambodia. The languages remain similar.
Burma: Burma sends millions of illegal laborers to Thailand, along with lots of drugs, but provides little non-illicit cultural input (with the exception of some Northen Thai foods). The Burmese do play a role in the Thai psyche as Burma has invaded Thailand several times over the centuries. The biggest Thai movie of the past several years, Suriyothai, details 18th century Thai-Burmese wars.
Laos: Laos and Northeast Thailand share similar cultures and language.
Italy: The Thai love their own cuisine and rarely feel the need to eat other types of food (Chinese noodles don't count). However, they do love pasta. Tons of so-so Italian chefs have done pretty well cooking basic dishes for eager Thai consumers.
France: Much to the dismay of the French, they have not had much influence on the Thai.

We've had few protests around the Embassy about the air strikes in Afghanistan. Unlike Jakarta, they've been very peaceful. However, their selective indignation sometimes gets to me. The other day, we were told to expect a crowd of about 500. Only about 200 showed up and we later found out that the buses carrying the other would-be protestors got lost. The subject really isn't funny, but it's not as if the US Embassy, the largest in Bangkok, is difficult to find and I couldn't help imagining bus loads of marchers, primed with signs and letters of protest driving around and around in heavy Bangkok traffic stopping occasionally to ask traffic police for directions.