Fifty years after the Americans pulled out of Vietnam, this battle-scarred country has become the new Singapore of the region
Relics of war and Communist victory slogans still fill the streets of Vietnam, but today, not too many people are paying attention.
In the futuristic-looking Vincom Center, capitalism is raging: It’s one of the largest shopping malls in the country, home to major international fashion brands, as advertisements for luxury items, as well as tempting culinary adventures, flash on huge screens. The scene probably wouldn’t have pleased Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Communist revolution, for whom the city, formerly the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, was renamed. But it wouldn’t have caused him to roll over in his grave either, because “Uncle Ho,” as he was known, actually has no grave. His embalmed body is kept in an ornate mausoleum, and serves mostly as a background prop for selfies by tourists who are busy infusing foreign currency into the country. It’s a rather ironic end for the man who waged a bloody, decade-long war against free market economics.
But the red flag hanging dutifully on its pole at the nearby entrance to the Cu Chi Tunnels — an immense network of tunnels in the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City, part of a much larger tunnel network that underlies much of the country that was used as the Viet Cong’s base of operations against American soldiers — reminds us that despite all the flashy consumerism, we’re visiting a country with a Communist government, one of the last few in the world. (Perhaps the other tourists in the group assume my red yarmulke is also a gesture to the ruling authority here.)
“The Cu Chi Tunnels are an engineering marvel of the Viet Cong, and made it possible for farmers in straw sandals to defeat America,” says Tan, our young, energetic tour guide, by way of his proud introduction.
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