Vietnam and Laos: A Journal through Socialism, Capitalism or Both?

by Paul Whiston

Overview

Is western tourism the new colonialism? Does having a backpack around trips to South East
Asia make your experience somehow more authentic? What would Ho Chi Minh and Mao
Zedong have to say about it all?

In this often absurdist journal I discover some unusual connections between Donald Duck
and American foreign policy in Laos. I have an identity crisis with two Peace Corps heading to
Dien Bien Phu. I talk journalism with a Viet War Veteran in Hanoi. I encounter a Mexican
Pablo Clown at Halong Bay. And ruminate on Cat Fish as a cuisine and a symbiotic toiletry
system.

Vietnam and Laos are beautiful countries too and I try to capture some of its undulating
scenery. The rolling stepped hills of Sa Pa, viewed from a motorbike trip. The magical karst
lime hills of Nong Khiaw experienced from a river boat. Luang Prabang, up-lit by a million
burning candles on The Mekong River at the annual Boats of Light Festival.

I explore Confucianism, Buddhism, Socialism and Capitalism and try to make sense of the
burgeoning western tourist trade and what draws people like me to return again and again.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940185693940
Publisher:	Paul Whiston
Publication date:	09/08/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

A retired civil servant and a failed academic who's trying to piece together his lost PhD through travel writing and a faltering memory. My PhD was on Charles Bukowski, the master of failing so perhaps I achieved success after all. I like listening to minimalist techno in the summer, Tom Waits in the autumn and travelling South East Asia in the winter. I do yoga, cycling and swimming all year round but default in lazy day-dreaming.