The swarming hum of motor bikes dampens as the door to "Blue Bar" shuts behind us. We navigate the red sofas and smooth-stone floor to our seats where, before long, we are enjoying mango+strawberry smoothies. We relax and pull out our plastic bags to compare deals from a day of bargaining at Bin Thanh market. It's agreed: Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), or Saigon as many still call it, is nothing like we expected. This progressive city, fueled by the optimism of its 8 million people, has led Vietnam's 7% year-over-year growth. Now at the door of WTO membership, the country eagerly emobodies its "developing nation" status.

I've come here as the leader of a group of 35 MBA students to examine how businesses operate in this part of the world. Over the next two weeks, we'll travel to six countries visiting with executives from local and multi-national corporations. If Vietnam is any indication, these visits will shake our preconceptions of doing business in developing countries. Even in Vietnam, a semi-Communist state, the government seems to understand the benefits of free trade. Nevertheless, many habits harken back to the Soviet days. At DHL, for example, each package and envelope is examined by hand and all customs documention is manually inputed into multiple forms. In the news of late is Intel's announcement of a $300M chip plant in HCMC. Of course, tourism is boooming business for the Vietnamese as well. Nearly 3M tourists visited the country last year and that number promises to double or triple in 2006. Chic resorts, adventure travel, Euro-Asian fusion cuisine, and even stir-fried dog make the country accessible, if not interesting. Easy. And let's not forget cheap!

Restaurateurs hawk beer to tourists for under $US2. A full-four course meal at an upscale French restaurant is a horror at $US28 (and the one we visited wasn't that great afterall). Better to pay $US2 for a bowl of "pho" and some spring rolls. While cabs are available, the best mode of transportation is the motor-scooter. Just lift your hand at a street corner and six will pull up to offer you their services. After you haggle the price (usually between $US1 and $US2), hop on the back and hold on for the ride! My only regret was not finding this service until my last day in HCMC -- I was too chicken to try it earlier.

The unfortunate consequence of low prices is a higher consumption rates! I brought back many gifts, including hand-painted ceramics, polo shirts, and silk scarves. Every morning our (cheap) five-star hotel had an enormous spread of food, including plates piled high with tropical fruit: dragon fruit, papayas, pineapples, watermelon, strawberries, green oranges and more. We spent an incalculable amounts of time shopping; and if it were not for our structured tour, would have spent probably more.

Although forgiven, the scars of the American War are still visible. HCMC's propogandized War Remnants Museum demonstrates the brutality of the American invasion, the effects of Agent Orange and the graphic deaths of American and Vietnamese men and women. While the exposition was certainly biased, it was informative to understand their side of the story. I don't discount the horrors of war, for either side, and the human consequences of it. Our next stop, the Cu Chi tunnels, just north of HCMC, brings the war to life. The tunnels are an extensive network of underground tunnels built to withstand the bombing and machines of the American military. Here, North Vietnamese fighters would hide safely from artillery barrages and make targeted attacks followed by quick escapes into the small caverns. I can understand how frustrated the Americans must have been! After defoliating all the trees with Agent Orange and bombing the warzone to rubble, the resistance held. American bombers flying back over Cu Chi were instructed to drop any extra artillery payload they had remaining on their way over. We were allowed to crawl through some of the small tunnels which, as the pictures show, were not made for American-sized men. And for $US1.50 per bullet, you could shoot an M16 at the range.

Of course, the warning everyone gave us before we left: watch out for Avian flu! In truth, the risk to travelers is minimal, particularly in urban centers like Saigon. We were careful not to come in contact with live birds or their feces; but were not afraid to eat well-cooked poultry. Our tour guide occassionally made light-hearted jokes on the topic, but otherwise it was a non-issue.

After three perfect days, we were barely ready for our next adventure: Siem Reap, Cambodia where the Wonder of the World, the Angkor Wat, awaited our visit.