CC,
Sounds like nothing much has changed in Vietnam in the last 12 years or so.
Hopefully the Controllers have improved?
Departing Hanoi for Saigon one day, the Controller gave us (cannot remember exact figures now, but something like) "Vietnam 123, clear for immediate takeoff, not above 3000 feet, maintain runway heading, report leaving 5000 feet."
On that Hanoi-Moscow-Hanoi flight we used to often pass a Qantas flight over Europe somewhere, much amusement (in those days) about the Aussie accents on Vietnam Airlines. and they would always have a dig at us about the great routes we flew
