For those who have been there and come out of it (and others), what is the country of Vietnam like today?

Question

Most of us haven't been there, and our minds are filled with the ugly 40-year-old images of a ravaged country at war. What does the ratio of Communism-to-market economy of the country seem like? Is it primarily a tourist economy? And lastly, does any of war years still exist in the thinking and day-to-day life of the country?

Answer 1

Most of the native Vietnamese were born after 1975, and have no direct knowledge of what happened during the Vietnam War. Even the older Vietnamese have put the war well behind them. I had a hard time finding anyone who would even talk about the war while I was there. In short, the Vietnamese have moved on from the War.

Vietnam's economy is bursting in just about every aspect. Tourism is a big industry there, but certainly not the only industry. Manufacturing, technology, agriculture, mining and oil are also big industries there. Vietnam is now the second largest producer and exporter of rice in the world (second to the U.S. believe it or not), and the biggest supplier of rice to Japan (they recently beat the U.S. there).

Long story short, Vietnam is not a backwards country as depicted in old American war movies and communist propoganda films. It is a thriving country that is currently the second fastest growing economy in the world. It is an incredibly beautiful country in it's geography and especially it's people. It is hard to find any society that is more friendly than the VIetnamese.

Answer 2

I think today's V and China are somehow similar. These two countries are in the middle of a transition---a transition from comm econ and politics to a free market economy. Different from Russia, transition is these two countries has been successful. Econ has been booming. No, major econ activity in V is agriculture and industry. Not many people travel to that little country. In terms of war, after the war between US and V, there was a war between China and V, and a war between Cambodia and V. When my uncle paid a business trip to V, local people were friendly to him. They even admire the US, partially due to the popularity of hollywood movies in the region. Young people there study En as a second language.