it's like a village, says pham hong dung. these days, he works in a bank.he has fond memories of the house he grew up in. i still remember people waking up and saying hello and exchanging the news of the day. it was quite close. >> the old town is a jumble of busy roads, winding lanes and rickety houses. it survived the vietnam war largely intact, and poverty in subsequent years was so widespread that the government never got around to renovating this run-down part of town. things changed in recent years as the vietnamese economy opened up and private sector development was legalized. anyone who owned property in the old town soon discovered the potential of tourism, and the neighborhood began to transform. some streets are lined back-to- back with souvenir stores, banks and fast food chains. pham hong dung is off to the temple to pray. he buys some offerings on the way. when it's full moon, the residents of the old town traditionally go to the temple to pray to buddha and the old vietnamese kings. this temple is over 700 years old. inside, the noise of the