“Out with the old, in with the new”

Bright lights, skyscrapers, coffee shops on every corner and a youthful energetic vibe. I must be talking about New York City right? Not right. I’m actually describing Ho Chi Minh City and if not for the green taxis, and moped filled streets I might have thought I was in New York. My previous knowledge of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, was based entirely on films such as “Apocolypse Now.” This is no longer the city of old, but instead a fast moving and heavily westernized city that has experienced tremendous change from its days as Saigon.

I had heard Ho Chi Minh City was different from Hanoi, but I was not at all expecting two cities that seemed like they were on opposite sides of the world. As a tourist, I can confidently say this was not what i was expecting when I came to Vietnam. Hanoi was filled with street vendors selling anything and everything to earn money. This was far less prevalent in Ho Chi Minh City. It seemed as though many of the people in the city had their own money to spend. The economic development, which was so heavily discussed, was clearly on display. Many high end brands were sold throughout the city and the prices emulated the western market. I found myself to be a little more budget conscious in this city. Ho Chi Minh City seemed to adopt a much more capitalistic approach than the other Vietnamese cities we visited.

My experience in this city posed an interesting question regarding the future of Vietnam. Is this city an indication of the direction of the country as a a whole? Vietnam’s young population wants to embrace this fast paced economic development. They want to integrate into modern society that is based on fast paced communication and instant gratitfication. As this generation begins to have a more influential role, perhaps the economic development will leak into the rural areas. This would mean more brands would come into Vietnam and capitalism will flourish even further. On the other hand, the Vietnamese people are extremely proud of their culture and tradition. This being said I do not think that they will ever embrace the full definition of capitalism we see out west.

Ho Chi Minh City screamed the word “forward”. This was eminent in the fast moving and destination driven people, as well as in the rapid modernization of the city as a whole. It will be intriguing to see if Ho Chi Minh City continues this trend of the “new” Vietnam, while other parts of the country get left behind or if this movement flows into the rest of the country. For this, we will have to wait and see.

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