Life in Vietnam

Rice is the most important staple crop for Viet Nam.

Rice stalks bowed with grain ready for harvesting.

Rice contains some protein along with its carbohydrates, but does not supply all the essential amino acids to sustain life. Vietnamese diets are supplemented with other sources of protein, such as fish, nuts, fowl, pork, and sometimes beef.

Rice stalks are spread on plastic sheeting for drying in the sun. Walking over the stalks, back and forth, has separated the grains. The stalks have been removed.

Sun drying rice along Highway 1.

Unlike other grains, rice will grow in water. When seedlings are planted, the paddies are flooded to control weeds and vermin. This reporter saw Highway 1 in the Central Highlands covered with the drying process on both sides just before the monsoon rains of mid- September.

Woman working her rice harvest in high sun.

Woman drying rice on byway in Quang Ngai Province.

Despite high humidity and temperature of 96 degrees, this woman was drying her rice harvest in long sleeves, and face mask. Women all over Vietnam wear the mask under the required helmet when riding motorbikes. If you have an idea why this is so, please make a comment on the blog or comments page. It has nothing to do with the air quality, which is very good in the rural areas, unlike Saigon with a lot of exhaust fumes from tens of thousands motorbikes - millions in the whole country.

Modest homes among palm trees near the South China Sea coast between Quy Nhon and Quang Ngai city.

Residential neighborhood of Haoi Anh in Binh Dinh Province.

It's as hot as it looks in this neighborhood of red dirt paths in Haoi Nhon. Single electrical cables are strung to the houses among many palm trees that afford some shade. A street is nearby.

Fish farm near Haoi Nhon neighborhood.

The four Tran children have grown to be industrious and successful based on financial help from their parents, even though it was very hard, especially after Mr. Tran perished at sea. The four children, in turn, help their mother lead what looks like a happy life, but very austere. One son is a teacher, a daughter works in a book store after graduating from a Saigon university, another daughter is a nurse, and another daughter is a housewife to a relatively well-off son of a small fishing fleet owner. Average income is equivalent to about 150-200 USD per month.

Buddhist shrine in a corner of Mrs Tran's home. Within the offerings and items of worship is a picture of her late husband who drowned at sea during a storm 25 years ago.

This neighborhood of Haoi Nhon has streets. Home lots are narrow and deep, for reasons unknown.

New house of Mrs. Tran's daughter & family

This new home, too, has an open-air living space on the main floor with hard, polished concrete floors. The son-in-law appears to be well-off as part owner of his father's small wooden boat fishing fleet. 12-year-old boy returned from school at 11:00 a.m. on his bcicycle. School starts early in the morning and finishes at 11 due to the heat. Saw several children returning from school all in blue shorts, white shirts, and red scarf.
This home is about one mile from the South China Sea.

Haoi Nhon home. 74-year old Mrs. Tran has lived here since marrying 54 years ago.

Mrs. Tran in front of her open-air home.

Mrs. Tran lost her husband, a fisherman, at sea in a storm 30 years ago. She often goes to Kontum for a week at a time to pick coffee beans, her sole source of income, although she gets help from her seven children, such as a cell phone and work on the house..

Open windows and polished concrete floors are typical of houses on the coastal plain's rural areas.

Living room in the home of Mrs Tran.

Only two electrical appliances are in this house - a TV and a single fan. It is open-air with no screens. Window in the background has a wrought iron design but no protection from the elements. Shutters are closed for sea storms and monsoon. Large couch was probably a gift from the children. Other rooms are 2 bedrooms and a kitchen/dining room with a corner dedicated to a Buddhist shrine.

This hotel, the Hotel Saigon - Quy Nhon, looks over a placid bay on the South China Sea. The front desk personnel arranged for taxi and a translator to My Lai.

A Quy Nhon hotel, but called the Saigon Hotel..

Without the kindness of the translator, a book store employee who graduated from the University in Saigon, it would not have been possible to meet Mrs. Tran, her mother, and thereby get to see how the general small-town middle class lives. There is a growing schism of wealth between urban foreign investors and the common people. The translator earns about 100 USD per month and pays 40 USD for rent with her sister.

Fishing boats are actually homes on which families live. Lanterns glow on Quy Nhon Bay.

Elementary school in Quy Nhon, Viet Nam.

The U.S. military-industrial complex and large Pentagon budget are out of proportion for US needs. It was influence of these forces that led to disastrous policies in Vietnam. The Vietnamese valued their independence so much they were not to be denied. Affluence of cities contrasts with extreme poverty in small villages and rural areas.