Goodbye Vietnam

This morning I packed up and am ready to have breakfast and say goodbye to Saigon and my guide Voung. I am back a the noisy Liberty Central hotel last night about 1:36 a.m. I was awakened by moans, groans and screams, apparently the room to the left of me was very busy getting it on and on and on! I finally fell asleep and early this morning it was the rooster calling with the sounds of the horns from the cars and motorbikes. The Meekong in Can Tho was interesting, I visited a brick making factory, rice cake factory, and popcorn factory, such labor intensive work, mainly done by women. As my guide says the Vietnamese men are too busy drinking rice wine and are lazy, his words not mine. It is evident that everywhere in the world I have traveled to, the woman is the sustaining force. My question is, why do they earn less, why do they take the "jobs that are too low" in position and/or prestige? They do the construction work, the field work, the true hard labor and on top of it all tend to their husband and raise their family. I think it is because the woman in general does not have issues with keeping their ego in check and just does it. Everyday I have more respect for these women in these developing countries that carry the weight of the world. I remember reading an article about organizations like Kiva, where one can lend people money so that they can start a business or continue their work, and the article said women were a better bet, paid their loan at a quicker rate and higher return. Now I know why. I tried Kiva last year and gave my niece and nephew a group in Bolivia and Africa as their Christmas gift, what did they think, well I am sure they were a bit taken aback that they did not get a physical gift, but they did think it was pretty cool that they were indirectly able to help someone across the world. Back to Vietnam, I wish I knew how many motorbikes, mopeds, electric cycles exist here, hundreds of thousands maybe even millions! They are the workhorse carrying every inconceivable thing, pigs, chickens, trees, and more. The most I have seen on a moped six people! The norm is two to four,plus whatever purchases they have made, greens, bananas, toilet paper you name it. The Vietnamese used to buy Chinese made motors, but they are such poor quality that they do not last more than a year or two. They have wised up and now buy mainly Honda, if made in Thailand about $5,000 U.S. if made in Vietnam $3,000 U.S.. I must say it was nice to come back to Vietnam and see how much it has changed and how it is still the same, in fourteen years there are more people, more building and more pollution, but the quality of life, I would say has not really changed that much, same same.