A little perspective: in 1998, much of Vietnam, aside from the city centers, was this: rice paddies and power lines.
Rural. The boondocks. The back of beyond. "The countryside," as Vietnamese call it.
This photo was taken in 1998 on the road between Hanoi and Halong Bay and nearby Haiphong, a ride which now takes two hours (or less) one way because of improved roads. But in 1998, the ride was closer to four hours one way on bumpy two-lane roads. (Think of mostly-unused country roads in the US.)
At the time, Ford Motor Company had just built a plant on the road to Haiphong, one with metal fence and razor wire around it; these days the fence is hidden in full-grown trees.
These days you can easily travel roundtrip from Hanoi to Halong Bay and Haiphong in a day, and along the way, rice paddies and powerlines--scenes like this one--will be rare.
Such scenery has been replaced by industrial zones--international manufacturing, many low no-nonsense buildings--that employ many people, no doubt some of whom used to be rice farmers (or who are their children). Industrial zone, industrial zone, industrial zone.
As far as the eye can see. Factories.
When I asked a Vietnamese friend, he said I was right. Rice paddies had been replaced by industrial zones. No question. "But I promise you that if you go far enough behind those industrial zones, those factories, eventually you will see what you saw in 1998. Those people are still there. The paddies are still there."
No comments:
Post a Comment