This is a mixed bag really because lots of places have these things: I suppose you would have to look at the very unique situation that I find myself in and my own past to really get excited about these things. Most of this stuff Americans take for granted but they are a rarity over here and they excite me.
Exciting new cuisine
Since Thailand is likely the most famous south-east Asian food in the world, it isn't really a surprise that Vietnamese cuisine is all but completely missing over there and I had never even had any of it at any point in my life until I actually moved to Vietnam. Mostly, I am completely in the dark when it comes to ordering as I have no idea what it is that I am getting into.... mostly i just hope it doesn't involved dogs or cats.
Take this dish for example: I had no idea what it was but it is featured all over the stinkin place so I figured I would give it a go. Unlike Thai soups, the spice / flavor is largely up to you because all the additives are served on the side. There are tons of way to "mix it up" and after more than a decade of living in the land of all things spicy, I am kind of pleased to have how much I want to destroy the interior of my mouth be up to me. I find myself adding almost no spice and so far, this $1.50 dish is one of my favorites!
Western things that nobody uses
I discovered this damn near empty bowling alley on the top floor of my local supermarket the other day. There was only 1 lane being used despite the fact that is was 6pm. The games are around 50 cents each and it at least appears to function exactly like any bowling alley would. Unfortunately they do not have nachos.
Because of the extremely high sugar content, I rarely drink soda other than the zero calorie ones. However, I may have to violate that because of my childhood love for Dr. Pepper, which I discovered a few days ago in some random-ass store. Apparently, the blockades to import are much much lower here and this opens the doors to a wide variety of products that would never find their way into many other countries, including Thailand.
Communism - well, it isn't that bad
Don't get me wrong: I am not advocating for its spread I just have been taught my entire life that it is a horrible thing that make the people downtrodden and not "free." I expected to see guys in scary uniforms watching your every move but that is not the case here as far as I can tell. I haven't seen any police officers as far as I could tell anyway... maybe they are "secret police!" I feel considerably less "watched" here than I did in USA or even Thailand.
I haven't noticed any ill effects of it at all actually and to be honest I don't even know how communist it actually is. I never bothered to learn much about Communism because as a child of the 80's I was bombarded with films, education, and an overall sense that it is "bad." It very well may be bad, I have no idea, but I'll say this... it certainly doesn't appear to be.
Maybe I should live here a bit longer than 2 weeks before making that sort of judgement but so for Vietnam is winning me over on every single front: Let's hope that continues. :P