right before this is a section about how ho chi minh city is a big tourist city but suggests real or authentic vietnam is in hanoi. then a comparison between that says ho chi minh city is nyc, that people should visit indianapolis for a true american experience and that nyc is full of the cynical take i quoted above.

That quote "doesnt mean ignoring ...nyc..." reads more like NYC is a great show, go their for entertainment and spectacle of what it is, but somehow that's not real america.