It is a strange idea that our disaster in Vietnam was the impetus for the decline of Communism. The fact is that people were starting to realize that Communism doesn't work very well, and they didn't need the U.S. dropping napalm on Vietnamese to convince them of that. We did manage to make capitalism look pretty horrible.
I've made plans to spend time in southeast asia starting this year and have been studying Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Malaysia, partly to figure out where to live and partly just out of curiousity about these countries and their post-war development. Its been really fascinating to see how Vietnam has handled its burgeoning tourist industry and to see how they have developed. There is a sense that communism is holding them back while Thailand and others move forward faster. Lots of bad roads in Vietnam, quite a few more scams and instances of corruption etc. I'm not sure communism is making the leap into the new millenium very successfully. Though the Cambodian economy is much smaller there are many indicators that they are doing a better job of developing their tourist industry. Living in Thailand, even with a retirement visa, requires periodic trips outside of the country to renew your visa and I may have a closer look at Vietnam on one of these "visa runs" if I can ever conclude my business here and get over there.
the SAS- helped direct the pilots- dont care about about agent orange- wasnt dropped on my house so zero interest
Is this Mgrund guy hitman, american hero, though british? My friends tell me Viet Nam is pretty sketchy still. Some great areas, and some places to avoid. I guess that makes it like most anywhere else when I type it, but I think you know what I mean. A lot of corruption even in the Real Estate business (my friend is a global real estate type, buys and sell in many countries, flies himself and wife around the world). c c
If you are white, you might be safest in thailand. I would seriously not recommend going to Burma. The military controls everything and they want as little interacting with the people as possible. If you even mention the word "democracy" you could end up getting the person you are talking to imprisoned (and I cant imagine it would be good for you either) I've also heard from people that go to burma to gamble in the casinos that if they win too much, the military will arrest you on your way out and take your winnings.