Hanoi was a city of many faces, each massive Burrow with its unique feel and character. The apartment was more on the extremity in the northeast end of the city. The tight-knit crisscrossing colonial spiderweb of organized chaos and jungle vistas was now replaced by broad avenues and a more structured grid-style layout.
The neighborhood wasn’t as green in this part of the city as its trees were younger and its design newer. It had a downtown feel with its towering skyscrapers, vast thoroughfares, and modern sports arenas. This part of the city was more of a financial and business hub. It was a place where antiquated colonial architecture, oriental influence, glass, steel, and concrete collided in a portrait of an identity that could only be Vietnam.
A little Shopping
The city block was clean, it was bright, it was beautiful, it was sexy. It was Lotte Mall and grocery store. As I walked through the mall, I could have been in Phipps Plaza. The black tie-ordained gentleman with red roses on their lapels stood watch around the beautiful polished wood-grained doorways of the beautiful storefront entrances. Eager to aid, with a smile, anyone requesting directions around the mall or general information. Living, breathing directories for the mall’s many shops, storefronts, and patrons.
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that this kind of thing exists everywhere. Sometimes not as flaunted and harder to find, luxury was universal. There was at least someone everywhere that wanted it. The grocery store was in the mall basement. You had to go past the rows of Dior perfumes, designer purses from Chanel and Coach, and suits from Armani and the like to reach the escalators to descend to the underground supermarket.
As a local just wanting the makings for a humble pot of pho, this must have been taunting. As I grabbed a buggy and tried to figure out which way was the entrance, I had trouble maneuvering. All the wheels rotated, and the buggy wanted to run in every direction. Diem took it from me with a giggle, and I followed her in.
Interesting Observations
There was nothing humble about this place. Even though it was a futuristic, modern grocery, like everything else in Vietnam, it was loud, chaotic, and confusing. One thing was clear, however: this was a socialist-run establishment. There was an attendant on every aisle to help customers pick their wares and food items. Unionism is displayed in its purest form.
In all the departments, there were attendants everywhere. Pick up a pack of meat to inspect its contents and place it back in the display case someone would come swooping in to make sure everything was in order. In the cafeteria and deli sections, there was someone to scoop each item that was offered. It took seconds to get a plate made as the army behind the counter filled to go trays efficiently with its counter contents.
Produce and Alcohol
The produce looked dirty and rough, neatly displayed, but clearly a more natural form of produce from back home. There were no signs of massive, GMO mass production here. All lose produce must be weighed and measured by the many attendants who filled this section of the store. Officials from the weights and measures ministry are on hand to ensure accuracy. This was a detail one did not find in the open-air, back street markets of the inner city.
An armed police officer stood guard over the wall which housed the wine and spirits. As I grabbed a bottle of Red, he, without me noticing, walked up from behind and grabbed the bottle from my hand. In an indecipherable string of tonal words, obviously attempting to tell me what to do. I was hoping it wasn’t to be escorted into some dark back alley room to be interrogated about what on earth this American could want with a bottle of wine in Vietnam.
Diem grabbed the bottle from him and looked at me with a comforting glance as she walked to the register in the middle of this section of the store to pay for the bottle up front. It had to be paid for immediately, stamped, cataloged, and placed in a bag to be stapled shut with all of its accompanying paperwork fastened tightly to it so anyone who may need to double-check could do so easily.
Grabbing Some Staples
We picked up some coffee, water, and snacks and headed towards the dairy and meat sections. In an often bad attempt at translation, the western style cheddars and blues were labeled with adjectives like strong, bitey, tasty, and extra tasty. I could only assume these were attempts meant to denote age and sharpness. I grabbed half a dozen eggs with many colors and sizes to choose from. None were refrigerated, and it was clear they did not come from factory-style egg houses of home.
The beef was all Australian, and the cuts were half the size of the bovine growth hormone injected, grain-fattened heifers of the west. You could get silkworms to sauté and blue eel heads to stew. In the seafood section, everything was living. The shrimp, oysters, clams, carp, Tilapia, and freshwater eels. I picked up sushi for dinner, having no desire to go out. I was going to watch a little T.V., Catch up on some writing, and just have a relaxing night in my new apartment.
We headed to the cashier lines to pay for our goods and headed for the exit. As I walked out I noticed a traditionally dressed hostess at the entrance with a microphone at her lips as she greeted the patrons coming in the door. I somehow missed her on the way in, probably because I was too busy feeling like an idiot at my inability to negotiate a simple shopping cart.
Economic Observations
As we exited the mall and waited for our taxi, I reflected momentarily on the scene. Something was going on in Vietnam, and its evolution was quick and robust. The emerging markets of the former Indochina colony were very different than they were at the war’s end. Though communism still ruled the region, even China knew that to survive in this capitalist U.S.-dominated world, you had to adapt to the ever-changing times.
China’s model has been evolving as they rewrite the playbook by merging social communism with financial capitalism. In many ways, Vietnam was doing the same, quietly negotiating its role in the emerging global market. It was clear that, though she had a long road ahead, Vietnam was forging a path into a very bright future. Opening her borders, easing her relationship with her former enemies, and embracing the value of becoming a global travel hotspot. Anyone who has lived here or experienced some time here knows it is one of Asia’s best-kept secrets.
Your money goes a long way; the locations are beautiful and endless. The culture runs deep, and the people are an interesting sort. In the big picture, it would appear that geopolitically, Vietnam won the battle all those years ago for independence. But in the U.S. movement to become the world’s top economically dominant country and bankrupt communism, it’s America that may have actually won the war. Forcing all to capitulate, at least for now, if only partially, to the ideals of capitalism. It was causing a fascinating dichotomy in the landscape of communist Asia.
