In Hanoi a 1950's looking public address speaker blared the "news" twice a day. I commented to the young man at the hotel desk that no one seemed to stop and listen. He pointedly made no comment. Our Aussie shipmate befriended a local who eventually admitted to him that no one spoke of political matters, as you never knew who was listening. Facebook is blocked, and even as we drove from Hanoi to Halong Bay (about 3 hours), we saw a government car slowly driving through remote villages with the same sort of antique P.A. speaker - mounted on the roof of the car - delivering the party line.
Pauline wondered how they could bring Big Brother into really remote areas, such as one of the larger limestone formations in Halong Bay, where many locals congregated to sell things to tourist. Then we spotted the ubiquitous P.A. Leaker again, this time mounted into the side of this beautiful natural wonder.
The ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay was grim. The air quality, even in this mostly rural area was the worst we've ever seen anywhere in the world. Many locals wear masks.
Had I been quicker with my camera I'd have taken a sad picture of a woman. She was crouched in a junk pile, wearing a face mask, and the typical conical reed hat, digging for whatever. Above her flew the communist red flag with yellow star.
Yesterday's paper ran a news article that the government may exempt people from paying income tax, if they earn less than US$232/year.
No wonder most of the people we met were somber. It was a fascinating stay, but truthfully we were not sad to leave this "worker's paradise."
We flew 1 1/2 hours to Siem Reap, Cambodia, but it seemed a universe removed from the grimness of Vietnam. The Khmer people are sweet, humorous, and seemingly optimistic, despite the sad history of the killing fields, and more.
We're off to Ankgor Wat. It is expected to be about 32 degrees (90F).
2 + 2 = 5
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