I did not realize so many generations of Vietnamese have been involved in one war or another. Remarkably since the end of the Vietnam War, the country has experienced one of its longest periods of peace and easily its greatest stretch of prosperity.
The Hanoi war Museum illustrates how an agrarian people have been able to fight and survive wars with countries that were much larger and significantly more advanced technologically - China, France, Japan, and America.
FPT Software is Vietnam's largest software development company, with 1,600 employees and $350M in sales. After being so thoroughly impressed by India's IT companies, we were not expecting a Vietnamese software company to offer much by comparison.
We were wrong.
While Vietnam has less than 1/10 the population of India (85M vs 1.1 B), FPT is every bit as impressive as the Indian IT companies we visited. The managemet team we met with was knowledgeable about the latest technologies and quite articulate. Outsourced software development is their main business, although they have done some of their own application develpment, including an impressive web-based project tracking and management communication system.
The bulk of their revenue to date comes from the Asian region - Japan, Singapore, etc., however, they are eager to expand their business with American companies.
Two aspects of FPT distinguished them from Indian competitors: employees own 30% of the company and, as a result, they have very low turnover.
The managers talk passionately about customer service and value creation. And they are excited about the Government's plans to take FPT public in 2007.
FPT could as easily be headquartered in Silicon Valley as in Hanoi. Marx would be amazed.
Water puppetry has a long and rich history in Vietnam. The Thang Long Theatre, where we enjoyed an evening's performance, is the largest water puppet theater in Hanoi.
The puppet masters work from behind a curtain in a waist deep rather sizable pool of water. From backscreen, they introduce and manipulate a variety of colorful and entertaining puppets, while a group of musicians play, sing and narrate from stage left.
We arrived just as the show started to our front row seats in a cozy theater of about 200. As the lights went down, the musicians began to play and sing traditional Vietnamese music.
Our seats were very comfortable...the theater was warm and dark...the singing was unintelligible but hypnotic...we had been sightseeing for the previous 12 hours...
This is how Glen and I remember the 1 hour performance...
In my global search for the most unusual musical instrument, I was delighted to discover the one string Vietnamese guitar.
Glen and I came upon this at the Vietnamese Water Puppet Theater in Hanoi (scenes of which I'll be posting soon).
The puppet show lasted an hour and as you'll quickly discover, a little of this instrument goes a very long way...
One day at a time...
Some skepticism has been expressed as to whether Glen and I have actually sampled as much of the local cuisine as we imply.
I offer for your consideration... the Cricket Zone.
Real cricket or a Photoshop masterpiece? Judge for yourself.
Educated at Bucknell and the London School of Economics, trained as an anthropologist at Oxford, served in the White House under President Reagan and instructed in covert ops at Langley, Glen Tullman is now Our Man In Saigon.
Called "The Chameleon" by some,Glen is able to use his vast knowledge of geopolitics and his keen sense of other cultures to blend transparently into his surroundings.
Disguised as a Vietnamese businessman of some stature, Glen was able to slip us both in undetected to the Park Hyatt in Ho Chi Minh City (formery Saigon),
The Park Hyatt is known for famous authors, including Maugham and Styron, who have stayed there and been inspired to incorporate the hotel into their writings. By stretching this post, I am the first blogger to have this distinction.
Our Guide took us to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, where the embalmed body of Uncle Ho lies in a glass case. He's on display only 3 months out of the year (dang, we missed the viewing season) and the rest of the time his body is in Moscow being cleaned and cared for - Russians lead the world in this niche technology.
Anyway our guide gave us a long explanation of Ho's rise to power and how he ultimately defeated the French, Japanese and Americans. I have not verified these as fact, but here's their side of the story:
1- China conquers Vietnam before Christ and rules the country for 1,000 years
2- the French start "exploring" Vietnam in the 1600's and finally colonize in the 1860's and rule with an iron fist
3- Ho leaves the country in his 20's and lives around the world for the next 30 years, learning about other systems of government and other cultures. He speaks 5 languages and reads widely.
4- Ho spends 2 years in Boston and attempts to contact President Woodrow Wilson after WWI to ask for help in establishing a Vietnam free of French rule - Wilson ignores his overtures.
5 - Ho moves to Paris and joins the nascent Communist Party
6 - As Communism gains popularity and power, Ho is invited to Moscow and Beijing. He declares the creation of Communist Party of Vietnam and returns to Hanoi in the late 1930's at age 51
7- in 1941, the Japanese "invade" Vietnam, although it was a like the German invasion of Paris - it was all over pretty quickly
8 - the Japanese, with the cooperation of a Vichy-like French government, continue the brutal domination of the Vietnamese
9 - in '45, the Atomic Bomb is dropped and within weeks the Japanese are gone. Seeing his chance for the Vietnamese to take back their country, Ho makes a Declaration of Independence, the first few paragraphs sounding oddly familiar..."All people are created equal. They have natural human rights among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." - hey, he paid attention in Boston
10 - the French, emboldened by their "victory" in WW2, attack Vietnam and force Ho to the countryside. Ho contacts President Truman asking for help in getting Vietnam back to its people. His seven "Dear Harry" letters are ignored
11- the French decide to crush Ho's Viet Cong, so the French build a huge fort in Dien Bien Phu - a valley surrounded by high mountains. The locals call this valley the "bucket for bullets", making the location decision an odd one
12 - in the mid 1950's, supplied by the Russians and Chinese, VC ring the mountaintops of Dien Bien Phu with cannon and blast the French into surrender
13- as the French flee the country, a Geneva Accord is signed splitting the country temporarily into North & South. Ho rules in the north, the south is ruled by former French cronies and people claiming loyalty to the US
14- the Geneva Accord requires an election is to be held within 2 years to allow the Vietnamese people to select their government
15- sensing they will lose the election, the South Vietnamese government, with tacit US and French support, refuse to hold elections
16- furious at this betrayal, Ho declares war on the South to liberate the people who were denied the right to choose their government
17 - Vietnam War is fought for 15 years. Viet Cong win and Ho finally unites the country
18 -Pepsi is awarded the concession stand at Ho Chi Minh's former residence and does a very brisk business as Vietnam opens its economy (yes Glen -- Bill Clinton did this)
19 - Vietnam joins the World Trade Organization November 2006.
The story has an odd ring of veracity - certainly all the stuff about the French is believable.
Glen goes for a run every morning at 5am. What I didn't realize was that is the same time that in every Vietnamese village loudspeakers broadcast an hour's worth of propaganda.
It is like something out of a 1950's movie - a bullhorn on a pole at each end and the center of every village blaring (in Vietnamese) about the wonders of Communism...plus stock market results and local news and weather ("very hot, may rain").
Over several days, it seemed these broadcasts were slowly changing my friend ... and fashion-wise it was clearly not pretty:
Even Americans who consider themselves epicurean adventurers -- those who eat sushi or wild game at fine restaurants -- are in for some "humble pie" in Vietnam.
When it comes to culinary courage the Vietnamese wrote the book...and may have actually eaten it later, with a splash of vinegar and some rice.
For our American readers, Glen and I have compiled a "taste translator" -- so when you try a new dish in Vietnam you'll have a rough idea as to what "flavors" are about to explode on your own palate:
OK, first the food basics in Vietnam:
Chicken = tastes like chicken
Pork = like pork
Fish = fish
Now, the descriptive challenges:
Snake = chicken, with really tiny bones
Frog = chicken, but oily
Dragon Fruit = a less citric kiwi
Rat = tastes like duck
Dog = similar to goat
Whole Sows ear = pork but REALLY crispy
Fried cricket = very dry, crunchy; have drink handy (ideally alcoholic)
Tongue = like tongue everywhere
Scorpion = unbreaded softshell crab
Goat = tastes like dog
Eel = chicken
Fried Black Beetle = crunchy & bland until you hit the "filling"
Gecko = chicken
Worm = Gummy Bears only salty, wiggly, not as chewy
Items we simply cannot recommend:
Deep Fried Tarantula = there is NO translation on this one - believe me!
Male Cobra Genitalia = we passed
Our stay was short, so there were many dishes we were unable to compare. We hope these translations provide you guidance, comfort and courage when you dine in Vietnam.
Two lessons we learned late in our trip:
1- always ask in advance exactly what it is you about to pop into your mouth.
2- all of these foods are enhanced with wine, beer or hard liquor (preferably the liquor)
