National Highway 1A was initially known as Duong Thien Ly (or ‘The Thousand-Mile Road’) and was built in disjointed segments over time. While the connecting of disjointed segments was not necessarily contemplated previously, it was a natural progression and the roads were ultimately connected when the country was united under the Nguyen Dynasty. The highway was further improved and expanded upon by French colonists in the early 20^th Century.

Since the French colonialists’ work on the highway, it has been upgraded by the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) as approved in March 2010 and the World Bank since 1993 following the lifting of the foreign aid embargo on Vietnam. The Japanese ODA Loan will be used to repair and replace nine bridges on NH1A in the southern Mekong delta region (from Can Tho to Ca Mau). The World Bank’s assistance in 1993, the first transport sector project in Vietnam that was funded under a program sponsored by the United Nation Development Program, involved rehabilitating two sections of NH1A from Hanoi south to Vinh and from Saigon south to Can Tho. The 1993 World Bank project also supplied new ferries and rehabilitated existing ones, as well as improved ferry operations at the two river-crossings of My Thuan and Can Tho in the Mekong Delta. The World Bank has since repaired 1,000 kilometers of the NH1A and an additional 600 kilometers of improvements are currently underway. More recently, the French company VINCI Construction Grands Projects has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Vietnamese company Deo Ca Investment JSC to work on the construction of the Ca Pass tunnel and road project in Vietnam. The project is estimated at US$600 million and calls for widening 9 kilometer of road and building a new 11 kilometer section that includes two tunnels, three bridges and approach roads, which will eliminate the final dangerous mountain pass crossing on the highway.

The improvements that have thus far been completed on National Highway 1A have benefited the country and its people tremendously. However, NH1A and Vietnamese roads in general continue to need improvements to ensure more efficient transport and safety of everyone on the road. As previously presented in a OneVietnam article, there are all types of vehicles on local roads and highways, from pedestrians to bicycles and cow carts to heavy duty commercial trucks. Particularly in Vietnam, where there is little to no distinction on which vehicles are permitted on which type of road, narrow and low quality roads make smaller vehicles such as bicycles and motorbikes especially vulnerable to accidents.  More specifically for NH1A, the National Assembly’s recent rejection of the proposal to build a bullet train from Hanoi to Saigon means that the highway will continue to be one of the main mediums of transport connecting the different regions of Vietnam. Though safety and efficiency are also functions of regulations and behaviors of those on the roads, having better transport infrastructure would assist in reducing tragedies resulting from roads in poor form.

An Dong 1 in District 5

Today on our tour of the top markets of Vietnam, we finally venture a little further outside of the District 1 bubble of Saigon to An Dong market. Located in District 5 (basically the Chinatown of Saigon), An Dong is a shopper’s paradise.

The first thing you need to learn before venturing out to An Dong, however, is that there are two of them: An Dong 1 and An Dong 2 (or An Dong plaza) that are quite different from each other. An Dong 1 is the older market and basically the wholesale, Costco version of Ben Thanh Market.  The large, multi-story concrete building isn’t the most elegant piece of architecture in Vietnam, but is impressive for its sheer size and super-efficient design. Walk inside and prepare to feel like you’re being swallowed by some massive mythical creature.

Outside and on the ground floor of the market, you can find tons food vendors various food products for sale. You’ll also probably run into a number of chickens and monkeys running around. This is a great place to grab a bite to eat before venturing into the maw of An Dong 1. Like most markets in Vietnam, An Dong is divided into sections. In this case, each floor mostly specializes in certain products, and there are large signs by the escalators telling you whats on each floor. The market as a whole is geared towards clothing and fabric, though and you can find some great deals here. Since it’s further from the touristy center of Saigon, the prices are also lower and the vendors less pushy. So even though you can find yourself squeezing through some tight, jam-packed corridors like at Ben Thanh, you’ll probably feel more at ease. Combined with the surprisingly good ventilation An Dong 1 makes for a great shopping destination.

Once you’ve shopped your feel of An Dong, you can make it over to sleek and modern An Dong 2 for a completely different type of market. The great thing is… they’re almost literally right next door to each other! That’s a story for another week though, so stay tuned folks!

Saigon Square in District 1 of Saigon

Today we continue our tour of Vietnamese markets with Saigon Square. The mecca of fashion boutiques and designer knock-offs, Saigon Square is a located in District 1 between Ben Thanh market and the Saigon Opera House. It used to be located near the embassy on Le Duan street, and many websites and tourist maps still list its location there, but it’s now open from 9-9 daily on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia.

A well known ”Russina market”, Saigon Square is the one-hop stop for Saigonese looking for a shopping fix. The sprawling complex has almost everything the modern Vietnamese or expat needs to live in relative luxury in Vietnam from jewelry and watches to bags and jeans. Several stores near the main entrance even offer “ipods.”

Like most places in Vietnam, Saigon Square is roughly divided into sections each offering a specific type of good. Outside the main entrance are the shoe vendors and other miscellaneous shops. The recently-added South wing is full of bag shops and a few shirt vendors. The main complex, meanwhile, is divided into two floors with a mixture of vendors, though the top floor focuses more on clothing.

Standard Vietnam bargaining rules apply and you can expect to be overcharged here, though perhaps not as badly as in Ben Thanh market. The vendors seem much more reasonable however–perhaps a function of the slightly less touristy nature of the market–and great bargains can still be had.

Whether you’re in a shopping mood or not, however, Saigon Square is worth a visit just for the experience. Crowded and bustling, Saigon Square has the claustrophobic yet energetic feel of Ben Thanh market and a hundred other Vietnamese markets. But the sleek, bright complex with giant Japanese air conditioning machines blasting from every gives it the feel of budding modern shopping mall. An amalgam of old and new, Saigon Square is in many ways a bridge between traditional and modern Vietnam.

So next time you’re in Saigon, take a cab to Saigon Square, grab some sugarcane drinks at the food shop next door, and get a taste of a market unlike any other in Vietnam!

Ben Thanh Market, Saigon

Today, we begin a series on the top markets of Vietnam for those of you planning a trip to the country this summer. We start with the economic capital of the country and the place many of you are most likely to visit: Saigon.

So what’s one of the first things almost every tourist in Vietnam after setting foot in the old pearl of Southeast Asia? Shop! Whether you’re looking for clothing, coffee, jewelry, handmade crafts, or god-forbid some counterfeit designer bags, there’re hundreds of places to satisfy your shopping needs in Saigon. Today, we talk about what is likely the most famous: Ben Thanh Market

Inside of Ben Thanh Market

Dark, hot, sweaty Ben Thanh market with the narrow aisles pressing against you on all sides as you try to squeeze your way past a hundred merchants grabbing and shouting at you to buy their wares. It is the quintessential Saigonese market and an experience that should not be missed.

Located in the heart of District 1 next to Saigon’s equivalent of the Arc de Triomphe traffic circle, Ben Thanh market is probably the most iconic image of the city. The giant clock on top of the market can be found on postage stamps and postcards throughout the country and the one place that probably every tourist who’s been to Vietnam has been been to.

Just because it’s touristy though, does not mean it should be missed. The market has a long history dating back to French colonial times. It was once the largest market in the city and is  actually the second Ben Thanh market, the first having been destroyed in a fire in 1912. Today, it is open from from 7am to 7pm and accessible through four main entrances corresponding the points of compass. So if you want to go to meet someone at Ben Thanh, it’s useful to say North, South, West or East gate.

The Market itself is divided into two main parts: an outer ring of various shops running around the entire market, and an one giant inner market divided into aisles and sections. Like most Vietnamese markets, Ben Thanh has the obligatory rows and rows of fake designer goods. You can find almost anything inside the market however from coffee beans to jewelery. It is also a good place to buy cloth for that dress or suit you’re planning to have tailored. Being such a touristy location, it is also a great place to find that perfect Vietnam souvenir. If you missed that that cheesy Good Morning Vietnam t-shirt or that exotic handmade wooden statute you saw elsewhere on your trip, odds are you can track it down somewhere in Ben Thanh’s countless aisles.

The one hidden gem that really separates Ben Thanh from other Saigon markets, however, is the food. It’s an often-overlooked fact, but there’s an entire section of indoor food vendors inside the market serving everything from pho to banh mi for reasonable, marked prices. So after a tiring day of pushing your way through Ben Thanh’s crowded aisles hunting for that perfect deal, make your way to the food section and refresh yourself with a bowl of pho and some sugarcane juice. Then throw yourself back into the fray for another round of shopping!

Phuoc Loc Tho (Asian Garden Mall) in Orange County, CA. Reference: DHN, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phuoc_Loc_Tho_Tet_2008.jpg

Orange County is no doubt a natural choice for my parents and maybe yours too.  San Jose may also come at a close second.  Chances are, your parents already live in one of these cities because 40 percent of Vietnamese Americans actually reside in California.  But if they’re tired of sunny California, here are some alternatives they may not already know about.

The largest concentrations of Vietnamese Americans are in states California, Texas, Washington and Virginia.  Almost half of the Vietnamese American population lives in the top five metropolitan areas, and 3 quarters are in the top 25 areas.  To no surprise, Orange County  is the largest settlement of Vietnamese living outside of Vietnam.

According to the 2000 US Census, Vietnamese Americans make up the fourth largest Asian ethnic group in the US with an estimated 1.12 million people.  This figure nearly doubled from 593 thousand as recorded by the 1990 US Census.  This growth may actually be an understatement because community leaders believe that the 2000 census count was short by 25 to 50 percent.  With the 2010 US Census picking up steam, I wonder how much the Vietnamese American community has grown in the 21st century.

If your parents are tired of the US altogether, spending their retirement next to the Eifell Tower or the outback of Australia may not be bad choices.  Below are some popular destinations with high concentrations of Vietnamese people.  You can find a more comprehensive list of countries with Vietnamese living overseas here.

Vietnamese people are spread across at least 30 countries.  But our community is highly concentrated in major metropolitan areas around the world.  In my limited travels across Western Europe, I recall running into Vietnamese people and Vietnamese establishments in the most unexpected places – from a quaint Pho restaurant in Fribourg, Switzerland to a group of enthusiastic, Vietnamese-speaking Vietnamese Norwegians teenagers in Cologne, Germany.  No matter where Vietnamese people are in the world, there’s always an unforgettable connection we share – our Vietnamese heritage.  I look forward to the day that we can connect to Vietnamese people worlds apart at a click of a button.  OneVietnam Network is one step closer to that dream.  Stay tuned for our upcoming launch.

The year 2010 marks the 1,000^th anniversary since the founding of Hanoi, and in less than five months, the city will be commemorating this anniversary. Vietnam was dominated by the Chinese for approximately 1,000 years, and the country gained independence in the 10^th century. Prior to 1010 AD, the capital of Vietnam was located in Hoa Lu, which is modern day Ninh Binh, located about 97 km (60 miles) south of Hanoi.

Hanoi, which means Between Rivers or River Interior in reference to the Red River that runs southeast and bends through the city before entering the Gulf of Tonkin, was previously referred to as Thang Long (Ascending Dragon) and Dong Do (Eastern Capital). The city was first inhabited prior to 2000 BC and, along with Vietnam that then stretched southward to Hue, dominated by China from 111 BC to 1010 AD. In 1010 AD, Ly Thai To, the first emperor of the Ly Dynasty, moved the country’s capital from Hoa Lu to Thang Long. The name Thang Long was changed to Hanoi in 1831 by the Nguyen emperor Minh Mang. Although Hanoi was not always the capital of Vietnam since reclamation in the 10^th century, it has had the longest history of being the country’s capital.

Current day Hanoi is thriving with a population of 6.5 million people, the second largest metropolitan area in Vietnam after Ho Chi Minh City, and its future development plan is ambitious. The municipal government recently revealed a development plan to invest US$90 billion over the next 40 years while the city government historically generates annual average revenues of only US$3.6 billion before expenditures. As the city continues to modernize, preservation of cultural sites will become more apparent, as observed in current standing architectures and daily cultural customs that contrast with modern internet cafes and lavish hotel lobbies. For instance, redevelopment within Hanoi’s Old Quarter cannot exceed a certain height, which attests to the city’s preference to have things both ways – modern and traditional.

Back to the 1,000 year commemoration, the main event will be held in Hanoi from October 1 to 10, 2010 and preparation is underway for a rare festivity that will include a wide array of concerts, history exhibits, art shows, and culinary events. A Vietnamese travel agency, Vietnam Awesome Travel, has compiled a schedule of events planned for the ten-day celebration. The anniversary has also strike Frommer’s, one of the best-selling guidebooks in the US, to name Hanoi as one of the top travel destinations in 2010. For anyone that plans on traveling in Vietnam in the next five months, this event is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that should seriously be considered.

“Phu Quoc island in Vietnam offers chances to relax on the beach, explore fragrant countryside, marvel at wildlife – and enjoy sumptuous seafood. Just get there before mass tourism,” says Sam Llewellyn.

Reference: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amasc/

The plane crawls high above the Mekong delta – flooded paddy, intestinal loops of river, roads, crammed with Honda 50s and lined with shops selling rice and Marlboros.  Then suddenly there is sea, muddy at first, then a cheerful turquoise.  The propellers change pitch.  The nose drops.  A green moutain flicks past the wing, then a white beach.  We bank steeply, lining up with a runway on which two people seem to be riding bicycles.  And down slams the plane on the pockmarked concrete of Duong Dong airport, gateway to the Vietnamese island of Phy Quoc.

Outside the terminal a little group of drivers are whisking red dust off Japanses four-where-drive taxis.  In Duong Dong high street, our driver carefully skirts a cow and calf, who regard us with soulful Jersey eyes.  ”Manchester United,” says the driver, using hte universal language of south-east Asia.  He grins.  His English gives out.  So does the tarmac…

Reference: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew3000/

Phu Quoc is the biggest island in Vietnam.  It sits in the Gulf of Thailand, minding  its own business.  Until recently, this consisted of the manufacture of a world-beating nuoc mam fish sauce, the cultivation of black and white pepper, adn the maintenance of a nature reserve occupying most of the northern part of the island.  The fish sauce is so pungent that Vietnamese Airlines is reputed to have installed special sniffers to prevent passengers taking it in their luggage and endangering the purity of the baggage hold;  the pepper is undeniably delicious, growing in palm-shaded vineyards in the sandy interior…

The island’s northern extremity lies less than 10 miles from Cambodia, and in 1975 it was briefly invaded by the Khmer Rouge.  Soon after the Khmer Rough had been chased away, backpackers started to arrive.  A few hoteliers followed.  The four turboprop flights a week became four 64-seater turboprop flights a day.  And there they seem to have stuck, for the moment.  ”We are roughly where Phuket was 25 years ago,” said on the co-proprietors of the Mango Bay Resort, leaning back in his armchair as the sun plunged into the sea.

Phu Quoc now has many hotels, mostly of the beach-bungalow type.  Most are concentrated on Long Beach, a 12-mile strip of white sand running south fro Duong Dong.  Those closest to the town back onto a dusty dual carriageway studded with melancholy hawkers’ stalls selling cans of green tea and aptly-named Harpoon Gin.  A Safer distance down the beach is La Veranda, an elegant air-conditioned establishment with a swimming pool, cooled towels and sorbets delivered to sunloungers at noon.  La Veranda is the poshest spot on the island and appeals to colonial nostalgics with deep pockets.  A charming hotel at the opposite extreme is the Bo Resort, on Ong Lang beach well to the north of Duong Dong.  Bo is a group of cottages dotted around a beautiful garden on a headland with spendid views over wild sea and empty shore, and knock-down prices.

Somewhere between la Veranda and Bo in both style and location lies Mango Bay. This is an eco-friendly straggle of elegant cottages with verandas, sprawled along three quarters of a mile of wooded coast. More than half the Mango Bay’s guests do not leave the resort, and as you lie in the warm, glass-clear water watching a squid boat on the horizon, it is easy to see their point. The restaurant is simple and excellent, the cocktails cheap and powerful, the massages deeply relaxing. One of the three owners has started a butterfly breeding programme and a propagation scheme for endangered orchids that grow wild in Phu Quoc‘s jungly interior. The cottages are not air-conditioned, but they are made cool and airy by the sea breeze. We lay in the gauzy cloud of our mosquito-netted four-poster, breeze wafting in at the linen-curtained windows of the hardwood bungalow, watching a fat lizard patrolling the bamboo ceiling for stray mosquitoes. The only sounds were the brush of waves on the beach, the distant thud of a fishing boat engine and the hoot of an animal in the far wooded distance. It might have been one of Phu Quoc‘s resident gibbons. Whatever it was, it was calling us forth to look at the world beyond Mango Bay.

There are rumours (unsubstantiated by recent sightings) that Phu Quoc is one of the few places in the world where dugongs still live. I asked the French hotel manager. “Dugong? Non,” he said. “They keep very much to the deep forests of the nature reserve.” Suppressing a well-founded suspicion that the dugong is a marine mammal, I asked how we could visit the nature reserve. “You cannot,” said the Frenchman, with powerful Gallic finality. “It is for nature, not people.”

This was a good point, and unanswerable. So we rented a Honda 50 from one of the Mango Bay’s gardeners and set off into a land without tourists.

Red dust rose behind us. Peppercorns wafted spice from the roadside, where they lay drying on blue tarpaulins watched over by Buddhist shrines. The road narrowed to a five-foot path. It wound behind the beach, threaded fishing villages studded with reeking piles of anchovies, crossed causeways through mangrove swamps, passed mile after mile of empty beaches. Farmers had limed their mango orchards with shell-sand. Fish pens the size of kitchen gardens lined the sides of creeks. A watchtower stood in the forest, flying the red flag of the People’s Republic, the guard keeping an eye on things from a hammock strategically slung in the gun emplacement. We paused to let two wild bulls fight it out in the middle of the road. A feathery-trousered eagle sailed out of the clouds on the mountains and sat gigantic in a tree, regarding us with a fierce yellow eye.

In the early afternoon we arrived at Cape Ganh Dhau, the island’s northwesternmost corner. Howling and clanging emanated from a rickety building overhanging the beach. This turned out to be the proprietor of the local restaurant, a noted poet and electric guitarist. He laid down his guitar to show us to a table on the shaky terrace. Five miles across the sea, the first islands of Cambodia loomed out of their thundercloud. This is smuggling country. Some of the islands in these seas are no-go areas, full of drugs and guns, gangsters and brothels. Another is one of at least six islands on which Captain Kidd is said to have buried his treasure. Lunch arrived.

This consisted of a saucepan of boiling broth on its own gas stove, and slabs of raw fish to cook in it. After a mighty repast of squid and sea snails I waddled onto the beach. Small boys were walking past, eating white berries off sprigs of greenery. A polite child gave me a handful to try; they tasted a little like myrtle. At this point the restaurateur picked up his radio mike and launched into a poem for the benefit of our five fellow lunchers. They clapped politely when he had finished. “What was that?” I said to the slightly bilingual waitress.

“Hymn to Sea Insect,” said the girl, watching apprehensively as her boss headed for his guitar.

We drove back to Mango Bay and soaked off the road dust in the warm sea, watching a remora trying to attach itself to a bather until it was time for cocktails at sunset. It had been a day fraught with interest.

Naturally, there are plans to make Phu Quoc even more interesting by bringing in mass tourism. A government minister appeared recently and inaugurated the building of a new international airport capable of accommodating full-sized airliners. Completion is promised for 2012. “Which means 2015,” said an Australian in the bar. “If at all.” Before the world financial system caught flu, tourism entrepreneurs had parcelled up the island into lots and erected billboards showing vast developments with canals, marinas and thousands of villas. These schemes are now in abeyance, but they may return. Phu Quoc is one of the world’s great islands. Go now, while the going is good.

Best time to visit
Between October and April. May and June can be ferociously hot. In July, August and September there is a slim chance of good weather (and a high chance of cut rates in hotels) – but torrential rains turn the roads to red slime and the sea to soup.

How to get there
Vietnam Airlines flies from Ho Chi Minh City and Rach Gia; then get the fare from Ho Chi Minh to Phu Quoc. It is wise to get return tickets, as the small number of daily flights makes it possible to get stuck on the island.

Singapore Airlines offers London to Ho Chi Minh return inc tax from March 3 to April 3. Less frequent ferries are also available from Rach Gia (six hours, daily) and Ha Tien (four hours, every other day). Both these mainland ports can be problematic of access.

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Last time, we’ve talked about different methods of transportation in Vietnam.  One of the many ways to travel throughout Vietnam, the S-shape country, is to ride the Thong Nhat train from the North to the South. The train spands from Hanoi station to HCMC (Saigon) station.

1. Hanoi Station

1. Many people still prefer to call Hanoi station by its old name of Hang Co station. Hang Co station was built in 1902 but its original architecture had been destroyed during the Vietnam war. This train station was then rebuilt in December 1976 and renamed as Hanoi station. Hanoi station is known as the largest railroad station in Vietnam.

2. Song Lam

2. After one day of travel, you will reach Lam River and be able to enjoy the tranquility of this sight through the train’s window. Lam River begins in Laos and runs through Nghe An province. Toward the end of its current, Lam River merges with La River, and the combined rivers detach itself from the land before running into the ocean through the gate of Hoi.

3. Song Lam

3. Lam River got its name because of its vibrant shade of blue. Both sides of the river are full of alluvium.  Lam River divides the land between Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces. For this reason, Lam River and Hong Mountain have been known as the shared symbols of Nghe An and Ha Tinh because they stand between the two lands.

4. Green Fields of the Countryside in Vietnam

4.  In the early morning when the dews haven’t yet settled, the hard-working farmers awaken to start their day on the fields. According to the farmers who work in Dong Xuan rice field, the changes in climate will help them predict the year’s harvest. When the winter is at its coldest, the farmers predict a successful harvest. If the winter is only moderately cold, the harvest will be even more successful.  Conversely, a warm winter indicates an unsuccessful harvest.

5. Brick Furncae Image 1

5. Look! There is an old brick furnace…. Many people may not have seen it in real life but only read about it through the literature works of Nam Cao, a legendary Vietnamese writer. Brick furnace is such an old artifact that only exists on certain rice fields.

Brick Furnace Image 2

6. This is another brick furnace, but a more often used version. These hand-made brick furnaces are still very popular in Vietnam despite them not being environmentally friendly.

There exists new variety of brick furnaces are called “tuynel”, a type of furnace that was imported from Germany since 1976 with enhanced technology for the environment. Since it is much more costly to purchase and maintain these new furnaces, the big old hand-made ones are more prefered.

7. Cemented Road of Vietnam's Countryside

7. The roads in the countryside have been coated with cement.

8. White Sand and Soil

8. As soon as we pass Quang Binh, we can see many vast fields with white sand and soil. The soil in these fields can grow melaleuca trees but not much else.

9. Parallel

9. It is interesting to note that the power cable and the rail road are almost parallel with each other. After the Vietnam War, Thong Nhat rail road, 1A highway, and the 500 Kilo Volt power system from North to South have been the top priorities of the country’s construction plan. The 500 KV power system had officially launched in late May 1994. It eliminated the painful power outage problem in southern Vietnam. In 2010, the electricity price increased by 6.8% due to the increase in cost of all resources that are used to produce electricity.

10. Thach Han River

10. The Thach Han River’s name comes from the belief that there is a series of rocks that lay across the bottom of the river. This river does not have much alluvium due to its limited length. Even though during the Spring, the river holds the most water, but it is still not as full when compared to the other rivers. During the dry seasons, many parts of the river dry up, and people can easily walk across to the other side.

11. Truoi Bridge Watch House

11. Truoi Bridge watch house was built during the French colony. Because of its rigid structure, the watch house is standing still throughout many violent wars of this country.

12. Lang Co Pond

12. Lang Co Pond.

13. Lang Co Bridge

13. Lang Co Bridge connects the road into the tunnel of Hai Van trail.

14. Lang Co Bay

14. A corner of Lang Co Bay looking down from the Hai Van trail.

15. Ox

15. During holidays away from school, the village children tend to take care of the ox, the most valuable property their family owns.

16. Buffalos

16. The image of a buffalo and a plow is still considered to be very unique to the Vietnamese farmers.

17. Pumpkin Fields

17. Pumpkin field. The soil in the Central Vietnam is not as rich when compared to other regions of the country and the world. The people who live in Central of Vietnam are known to have the most struggles. Due to this reason, many Central citizens move to the cities in search of jobs.

18. Non Nuoc Huu Tinh

18. Vietnam is a friendly country with very friendly citizens. However, the tourism industry in Vietnam has not yet developed fully because the lack of skills in organizing events and utilizing the country’s resources. This gives the country’s tourism a disadvantage in competing with its neighboring countries even though Vietnam has the most potential. Allow me to quote a few words from the article “Penguin Traveling” of the Thanh Nien magazine: “Vietnam Traveling is like a penguin, which has a pair of feet but without a pair of flying wings; therefore, it can only toddle but cannot fly up high.”

19. Co Doi Chieu Ve

19. A group of white egrets is waiting for the sun set so they can take a rest on top of those bamboos behind the village.

20. Sunset

20. When the evening comes, the train arrives at Phu Yen. There will be a long sleepless night that is full of loud noises from the train.

In the following morning, the train will reach its last destination, Saigon Station.  Here ends our travels from Hanoi to HCMC.

roadlesstravelled.com

Will Vietnam have its first bullet train?

You may recall our very informative yet slightly comical article last week outlining the various modes of transportation in Vietnam.  Bikes, mopeds, cyclos, buses, and even cow carts may be effective locally; however, there must be more time-saving and cost-effective modes of transportation across the country.

Though it has been years since I have taken U.S. history, I do remember one of the greatest driving forces for industrialization and modernization of America was the implementation of the railroad system.  The railroad system laid the infrastructure for extremely effective trading between states.  It was the railroad system that may have possibly enabled America to realize its manifest destiny.

polestarttravel.com

What are the train systems in Vietnam like?

Vietnam has long realized the importance of such systems of transportation.

Over the last decade, Vietnam has expanded many routes between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with many stops along the way to places like Hue and Danang.  With a little more than 55 dollars, you can ride the 2-3 days, 1,726 km journey from Hanoi to HCMC in a soft sleeper air conditioned cabin.  More economical options are available.

But this is too slow, what can I do?

For those who cannot afford to wait 2-3 days, the only current alternative is by airplane.  This may have been true until very recently, it seems.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Vietnam’s cabinet has approved the 55.9 billion dollar plan to adopt Japan’s ‘bullet-train’ technology.  The rail would connect Northern and Southern parts of Vietnam and constructions will commence sometime in 2012 and complete sometime in 2020.

As an aside, Japan was the first to introduce the high volume high speed train traveling in excess of 135 mph from Tokyo to Osaka.  Because of the train’s design and speed, it became known around the world as the ‘bullet-train’. At this speed, the 2-3 day journey on traditional trains is a thing of the past.

For 55 billion dollars, is this really worth it?

There are many advantages to high speed train lines over other forms of public transportation.  Traditionally, many people travel across the country by cars or buses – both of which have limited capacity and speed.  And for those who have visited Vietnam, they understand how slow traffic can be on the highways.  Air travel is fast but can be pricey and have a smaller carrying capacity which limits the maximum number of travelers per day.   These constraints may perhaps support the argument for a high volume high speed mode of transportation.

With Vietnam’s ever expanding economy, the addition of the new high speed rail can have the potential of relieving congestion on the transit systems while enabling more communication between the northern and southern parts of Vietnam.

As the world attempts to reduce pollution and become more “green”, Vietnam has joined this movement by participating in Earth Hour 2010.  Vietnam’s investment in high speed trains means it is investing in more energy efficient mode of transportation.

A few more notable advantages of high speed trains include a higher passenger capacity, thereby reducing the amount of land used per passenger when compared to cars on highways.   Train stations are also much smaller and less costly than airports, therefore can be built in tighter spaces (like cities) and in more locations, thereby offering passengers more destinations.

Do we have the technology to implement this?

Businessweek reported on Friday that discussions have been ongoing between Vietnam and Japan to explore ways to provide financial assistance to Vietnam.  Nguyen Huu Bang, the chairman of Vietnam Railways Corp, has shown interest in recruiting the help of Sumitomo Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. or Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.
Though no finalized investment plan or construction plans have been released, I do believe this is the right direction for Vietnam.

Your opinion:  Would you use the high speed train to travel across Vietnam?

Xe ??p – Bicycle

Let me start with the bicycles since it is the first transportation vehicle that I learned  how to ride when I was growing up in Vietnam.  This is the easiest and probably the only vehicle that you would be able to operate in Vietnam if it is your first time visiting the country.  Seeing beautiful girls in white “ao dai” riding their bicycles had never failed to get me excited.  Sadly, the students nowadays are beginning to abandon the use of bicycles in major cities such as Hanoi or Saigon.

Xe Máy – Motorcycle/Mopeds

The use of mopeds has become the dominant method of transportation in every city of Vietnam.  Due to its much faster speed and small size, motorcycle has rapidly become the main transportation vehicle for every Vietnamese family.  However, because of its fast speed, I have fallen off this crazy thing more times than I can count.  Surprisingly, I’m still alive to write an article about it!

Xe Ôm – “Hugging” Motorbike Service

If you are afraid to fall off motorcycles (like me) or too chicken to learn how to use it, you can try “Xe Ôm”.  The litteral English translation of “Xe Ôm” is Hugging Car.  This method of transportation is simple: you sit behind the driver and tightly hug/hold-on to him (for dear life!) so that you won’t fall off the motorcycle when he does those scary maneuvers to get through the crowded traffic.  By the way, Vietnam has other services with the word “Ôm” in it besides “Xe Ôm”.  Since they are not related to the purpose of this transportation article, I’ll let you explore them by yourself when you go back there… or I can just write a brand new article about them next time!

Xích Lô – Cyclo

This is my most favorite mean of transportation in Vietnam.  You sit on a little cart as the driver paddles behind you.  Nothing beats the feeling of sitting on a cyclo and strolling along the lakeside on a summer night.  You don’t have to worry about traffic.  You don’t have to worry about running out of gas.  And you don’t have to worry about hugging a smelly driver.  Due to new traffic regulations, these symbolic vehicles have been forbidden in many streets in Saigon and Hanoi.  I really don’t understand the real reason behind it, but I am still quite angry at the fact.

Xe Lôi – Pulling Cyclo

If “Xích Lô” has the driver paddling in the back, then “Xe Lôi” has the driver paddling in the front.  This version of cyclo was modified from the classic Chinese pulling cart.  Instead of having the coolie running and pulling the cart, the Vietnamese attached a bicycle to the front of the cart.  This type of transportation is more common in the Southern Vietnam than in the North or Central.

Xe Lam – Three Wheel Motorbike

What do you get when you combine “Xe May” and “Xe Loi”?  You get one funny looking “Xe Lam”!  It looks like a mini-motorcycle/truck with three wheels: passangers will be cramped in the back cart.  I was lucky enough to sit in this vehicle once in my life time.  It was a very interesting experience, but I need to warn you that it is probably the loudest piece of metal on the street.

Xe Khách – Public Bus

This bus is at the bottom of my list.  I never had a good experience with it because it simply cannot be improved when you have to share the same transportation service with a couple hundred people.  The drivers and their assistants are mostly thuggish who try to rip every penny out of your pocket if you don’t know how to bargain.  To make it worse, they usually overload their buses with tons of people, and there is no way you could get a breath of fresh air in this crowded bus.  Definitely not recommended for someone with claustrophobia!  To conclude, “Xe Khach” is the last thing that I would want to deal with when I need to go anywhere.  It is simply not enjoyable!

Xe Bò – Cow Cart

Okay.  So when all things fail, we go back to the basics.  Although you do not see Xe Bò operating in the cities (I wonder why!), they are still very common in the countryside of Vietnam.  Whether it is 1 cow, 2 cows, or 3 cows pulling your cart, you will still be traveling at the same speed.  That’s how consistent and reliable it is.  So, Xe Bò is our only reliable transportation when technology has failed us…

To be honest, when I wrote “8 different ways” of transportation at the beginning of this article, I didn’t realize that I have miscounted and there are actually only 7 ways that I was trying to write about. “Xe Bò” was the only thing that could come up with to make up the 8^th.  So I apologize for being a goofy mathematician and making you read some extra lines.  Now, tell me, what is your favorite mean of transportation in Vietnam including taxi, train, airplane, boats, and… “Xe Bò” ?