Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Window on Vietnam

On our way to Hanoi. The Vietnam Airlines Magazine has a section called "Window on Vietnam".
The History section offers a one sentence summary of what we Americans call the Vietnam War. It says: "American War: Vietnam fought America from 1954 to Ho Chi Minh's victory on April 30, 1975".
The Price Guide says, "In Vietnam,be prepared to bargain. To give you an idea of where to start, we suggest the following prices". They offer prices for some transport and food items. The thing that caught my eye was the selection of Grooming. The four choices are: shoeshine, hairwash, street haircut and street-side laundry.
I am also reading today's Viet Nam News. There is a section about children called "Owners of the Future". I found one of the two lead stories to be quite sad. More than 81% of pre-school and primary school pupils suffer from tooth decay. Wow.