Posted on 08/08/2005 8:16:58 PM PDT by Army Air Corps
Oh no, those are ads for modern, Western products.
I placed that photo there to give you an idea of the commercialism that exisits in Vietnam today. I'll have to FReepmail some of the shots of really cool neon signs.
Betel is a, literally, cottage industry.
This is a practice in various parts of the world, not all of them third. I have seen it promoted in the US as a health thing.In Viet Nam, as is implied in the article, it is an oddity, but is not condemned in the villages.
The black enameled teeth is a very old custom that still exists in the countryside. It really took hold a centuries ago as a defiance of the Chinese rulers who had condemned a small group that practiced it. The custom spread widely from that. It was, in part, a statement that, "We are not Chinese."
You should see the ads for chewing gum. It makes you look smart and up to date. Young ladies who chew gum get all the handsome prosperous guys.Young men who chew gum have the girls clustering about them. I told the son of friends to get that crap ourt of his mouth. It makes him look stupid and rural. His mom said see? see? we are right!
Very interesting. Thanks so much for the info.
Depends on what part of the country you are considering and which minority. The citizenry of Viet Nam is not quite homogenous.
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