http://www.public.iastate.edu/~baongoc/saigonmain.html

"Saigon was dubbed the "Pearl of the Orient" by the foreign press."

Vietnam was a very important country before communist take over and it's economy was booming.

It's due to Vietnam's strategic importance of border China,Laos, Cambodia and the gateway to the South East Asian islands, which had made Vietnam the ideal trading port for trade ships to stop on their way to trade with other nations.

Vietnam at that time had more trade than the other port Singapore and it's trade was a rival to that of Hong Kong, due to the better location of Saigon which borders lots of South East Asian island countries by water, and borders the trade of China.

This is why the French called Vietnam is jewel in it's colony and fought so hard to try to take it back while not caring as much about Cambodia or Laos, and comprimising with those governments for independance so they can concentrate on retaking Vietnam.

After Saigon was lost to the Communists, the West decided to make Singapore replace Saigon as the key for trade to South East Asia.

This is why U.S fought so hard to keep Vietnam away from Commie hands since Vietnam is a key country that links South East Asia and Mainland Asia.

Look at how rich Singapore is now. Saigon has a much better location for trade and we ruined it by going commie.

I think Vietnam should make an exception for Saigon and make Saigon democratic like China letting Hong Kong be more democratic than it's other places so far.

I think Vietnam should make Saigon more open and make it a port for trade with China and South East Asia and reclaim our title as "Pearl Of the Orient."

Hmmm you tend to dramatise and exaggerate things a little bit, not in this post but I've noticed it in others as well.

But anyway I agree with you to a great extent. Saigon was the "Pearl Of the Orient" while Singapore, Hong Kong and all the other SE countries were still backwaters. Look at how the First and Second Indochina Wars did to our country, and the subsequent occupation of Cambodia, clash with China and embargo by USA did to our country. Vietnam was kicked while it was falling. Oh wells hopefully the bad days are over. Let's be positive and focus on making Vietnam the leader of South East Asia again.

Blame Communism. I don't know if I should thank it or hate it.

Without it, Vietnam wouldn't have had help from communist allies to defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu and all of the riches of the pearl of the orient would still just go to the French.

But with it, Vietnam became more poorer.

I think if Vietnam had a regime change with elections every 4 years would benefit the country a lot.

I couldn't give a fu-k who's in power in Vietnam right now, as long as it is stable, peaceful, progressive in economic and social terms.

The whole world fu-ked Vietnam. First the Chinese, then the French, then the Americans. I have deep resentments for them. One thing I know is that much of Vietnam's current malaise is not of its own doing. I see Vietnam as a victim. Oh wells there's no point looking back and victimising yourself. We need to show what we're made of economically and militarily so no other country could mess around with us again. EVER.

Thailand benefitted a lot from the Vietnam War. Since Thailand was close by, the U.S bought lots of supplies from that country and was a stop over for American troops to stay in for the war and thus spend money there as well.

I think Thailand would be no where developed today if it wasn't for the billions it got from supplying the Americans during the Vietnam War.

isn't that life?

nothing is perfect...............chooseing commie, got your country independence and backbone, but made it poor. Chooing the rich side, will make you better off, but then vietnam will be a pawn of another nation.

Oh well it sounds like a faust bargain.

But I think indepedance is better, because maybe in the future the country might get rich.

But at least we got our dignity instead of money.

But look at Vietnam's economy which is booming today and is growing at a rate 2nd to China.

So in the end Vietnam and China might become rich countries and keep their dignity at the same time and screw the West all over. LOL

Yes, Vietnam is only second to China in sustaining high economic growth for a 10-year period.

But anyway, I'd rather die a beggar of an independent and proud Vietnam than seeing it being the puppet of another country. But of course, the Vietnamese resolve won't allow that.

Tha lam quy nuoc Nam con hon lam vua dat Bac
(Rather be the ghost of the South (Dai Viet - Vietnam)than the prince of the North (imperialist China)

Well Vietnam after Saigon was taken was actually a proxy of the Soviet Union.

It was the Soviet Union who wanted us to take over other South East Asian countries to make them communism which was why the Soviet Union supplied Vietnam in the first place, because Vietnam is the key to South East Asia.

The Soviets once critizied us for wasting billions of their dollars for not efficiently hunting down all of the Khmer Rouge who were hiding in Thailand.

If South won we would be a puppet of the U.S.

At least the Soviet Union collapsed and now Vietnam takes orders from no one now. If the Soviet Union didn't collapsed, Vietnam would still officially be in Cambodia and Laos and our country would probably be much more poorer.

So I think Vietnam was a puppet until the Soviet Union Collapsed though.

No Vietnam was not a puppet of the USSR. Rather, Vietnam felt grateful towards the Russians for aiding them during the Second Indochina War. Nothing else.

The Russians were not capable of projecting their power towards the Vietnamese government because they were too far away from us geographically and culturally. At no time was Vietnam being controlled by rather. If anything, we only complied to them out of gratefulness and for economic aid. Shrewd Vietnam.

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Ah so depressed. How did those fu-kers hand over our territories on a silver platter like that?

fu-king imperialists just across the northern border.

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you blame us for your gov't's stupidity?

i dont think any chinese have ever called the russians imperalist because JIang Zemin, hand over alot of its northern territories to the russian for other political reasons. We blame him not the russians.

What's up with these commies who easily hand over territory? It must be a commie thing. LOL

I think Mr. Magoo learned from his accomplished apprentice Hun Sen.

Hmmmmm

I like your sig, holamon.

^ Thanks supernovasp.

What supplies did the US buy from Thailand?? Billions, thats an exaggeration if Ive ever seen one.

dude wars cost billions of dollars. The Vietnam War alone costed America $150 billion and Thailand was a major supplier to the U.S for that war.

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561...6/Thailand.html


The Vietnam War

Numerous military bases were built in Thailand to house U.S. military contingents. New roads, improved railroad service, and telecommunications linked the bases. All of Thailand, but especially Bangkok, benefited economically from the heightened activity the war produced.

$150 billion dollars with Thailand hosting US military bases=Lots of money for Thailand.

Vietnam War greated new infrastructure,roads, telecommunications and all of Thailand benefitted economically. Lucky.

The more harder the Vietcong and NVA fought the more time the U.S stayed and thus the more money for Thailand.

billions is not an exaggeration, I doubt millions can benefit all of Thailand economically like my article above said. It has to be billions.

How about you return us the favour and start a major war or something so America can spend billions of dollars on us. Come on. Please....

LOL No thanks, I don't wish war upon any country period, especially after I saw the agent orange documentary 2 weeks ago. My point was that your making sound like Thailand only became one of the more developed nations in SE Asia is because of the US.

Although its true to a certain extent, when the US and its partners signed the Plaza Accord. That was one of the major factors in Thailand experiencing the highest growth rate in the world from 1985 to 1995. But u don't give enough credit to Thailand and its people. The Thai economy was Southeast Asia's strongest last year with 6.7 percent expansion.