But a free country it ain't. People have to register into their towns and aren't allowed to leave without permission. Media is of course censored. Even though every Saigonese hipster has been to the bar Apocalypse Now, none of them has seen the movie. Prices rise and fall at the whim of the government, and businesses can be shut down or taken over any time. But people seem happy. Women are perhaps better off here--many hold government posts or run companies. Sexual morality seems relaxed. Unfortunately, like many places in Southeast Asia, prostitution is running rampant. I don't know who I hate more, the sex tourists or the old white men who laugh loudly with knowledge of their privelege as they discuss their 25-year old wives. But crime is minimal here, and women are protected by their families from domestic violence.