Have you seen Saigon, lately?
No. I would not have recognized it.
I’ve been to Saigon twice, in the early 90s. The second time was about a month after Clinton lifted the embargo. The tallest buildings were the old hotels — ten stories at most.
When you went to a sidewalk cafe, they gave you ancient thermos bottles of hot water to add to the drip coffee, usually rusted through on the bottom. The spoon you used to stir it was tiny and weighed nothing, made of cheap aluminum.
One thing that told me Vietnam was getting richer was when they started selling Vinacafe instant coffee sachets, and they were giving away pretty good quality stirring spoons in each bag.
Vietnam has been an ancient foe of China since it once was “Cochin China.” Vietnam’s oldest ally is India. India and Vietnam would make pretty decent allies...