For the last two weeks I traveled through Northern and Central Vietnam with my fiance and I learned a lot about the relative lifestyles between Asian nations and even Asian (Vietnamese) people within the same country.
As an American, I frankly had a very heavy feeling about my people's history with Vietnam since the war. I know people who fought in the Vietnam War and I've seen the movies and read books about what happened. However, I don't believe that the view of what Vietnam really is is represented to Americans in any real way as a modern country. I have friends who are from Vietnam and I've heard lots of stories about how messed up Vietnamese society can be with bribery and the government holding the people back from true modernity in many ways, however, going through the Northern and Central part of the country taught me a lot.
First, Vietnam feels to me a lot like what I imagined Cuba to be like. I've never been to Cuba, mind you. However, I've seen lots of documentaries and read books which show Cuba as sort of a communist time capsule preserved as it was decades ago just miles away from American soil. Even though Vietnam is much further away and the modern world has certainly infiltrated Vietnam's society to a higher extent than Cuba, there are still plenty of examples of true, old-world Communism everywhere you look in the monuments, uniforms and literature.
Second, it's clear that Communism doesn't work as it was designed to work in Vietnam. When a country roots their development in preserving the proletariat ideal but also ushers in aspects of modern economics and and society, it's so drastically clear to see the gap in income and welfare. There are people riding around in Range Rovers through rice paddies where other people only use 20 year old motorbikes for their transportation hauling rice to the market. How does that work in Communism? Who gets to be rich? Who is designated to be poor?
As a person who likes in Seoul, South Korea, where there used to be a caste system that still exists in some people's minds, I see a similar division of classes in Vietnam and South Korea. However, the difference in quality of life and environment in the two countries is so drastic it's almost hard to believe. It's very clear that Vietnam's unified vision doesn't appear to be held by all those living there. When you talk to one person versus another, many will complain about corruption, however, the apathy towards being able to change anything is also quite strong.
I guess this is the point of traveling to places that aren't only rich countries gives you a bit more than just a vacation. As an American, I've always been very clear about my inherent privilege being born white and in the USA, however, I am even more astonished at how the living standard is in places like South Korea compares to even some of its closest neighbors.