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Our starting point was Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as
it used to be known.
We had seen some crazy driving in Lima, Bangkok and
Siem Reap, but nothing quite prepared us for Vietnamese driving! Bonkers
does not even come close! Take the horns from Lima, the speed of Bangkok,
the multi-directional lanes of Siem Reap and add thousands, and we mean
thousands, of Mopeds, double it and you start to come close to the traffic
of Vietnam.
One of the first things I did was get my haircut at a
Barbers, well that's what it said on the door anyway! We walked in and
the lady (boy) behind reception looked at me, looked at Angela, looked at
the other girls and lady (boys) in the "shop" looked back at Angela,
looked back at me, grimaced and pointed at a seat! I did get my haircut,
but I was the only one in the shop getting a haircut and they had to get
the hairdressing stuff out of a drawer! There were many other men in the
"shop" and quite a few upstairs, but not as many as there were lady
(boys)! These "ladies" downstairs were pretending they knew how to
massage, but were pretty much just feeling up, sorry I mean tidying
up, the blokes in the hairdressing chairs after they came back
downstairs! I have never leapt out of a chair, or ran out of a "shop" as
fast as I did that day!
Later that evening we were chatting to a couple of
locals in a bar and we mentioned the "hairdressers" we had been to and
they spent the next ten minutes crying with laughter, at our expense!
They knew exactly which one we meant! Still, it was an experience!
The first full day we went to the Mekong Delta,
starting at the Cai Be Floating Market and heading up river twenty-five
kilometres to Vinh Long. The floating market was on a much bigger scale
than the one in Thailand, but not as intimate. It was more like a
wholesale market as it involved much bigger boats and trading in huge
quantities, although we did manage to buy a single Pineapple which was cut
for us and then lovingly washed in the Mekong River (think of any disease
carried by water and I bet it exists in this river). We politely ate a
mouthful and then when our guide wasn't looking gave it away to a local
kid who must have been immune to nearly everything, given where he was
playing! One of the stops took us to a rice factory where they made
rice-paper and what can only be described as a cross between Rice Crispies
and Popcorn. The way they prepare the rice is by heating a massive Wok
with sand inside it and then stirring the rice in until it pops!
Fascinating to watch and very tasty to eat!
The next day we went to the Cu Chi Tunnels at Ben
Dinh. The tunnels were started in the 1940s by the Viet-Minh and
developed by the Viet-Cong (VCs) in the 1950s. By 1965 there were over
250 kilometres of tunnels, only eighty centimetres by eighty centimetres
in size. The underground network had four levels and included toilets,
wells, meeting rooms, dormitories, kitchens and a hospital! A small
section of the tunnels have been widened to get westerners through, but as
you can see by the photo they are still not big, but are very hot, dark
and humid. The VCs used to run through these with weapons and
ammunition. My guide easily walked through the tunnels as I crawled along
behind him, although he did have to bend his back!
The Americans tried all sorts to destroy the tunnels.
The tunnels were made of clay and everytime the Americans used napalm it
just strengthened the tunnels as it baked them! Everytime they tried
to flood them the VCs got a free shower as the water ran away to lower
levels. They tried to use dogs and also men, nicknamed "Tunnel-Rats"
to try and infiltrate the tunnels, but all the tunnels were booby-trapped
and you had to know which way to turn. Deadly Cobras, Scorpions and traps
were used to great effect to keep the Yanks out. More than one hundred
dogs sent in by the Americans were eaten by the VCs.
One thing we didn't really understand before we went
was the length of the war or how the Americans got involved! There is a
long, complicated history to it, but in short:
It started with the French invading Vietnam in 1858.
In 1945 Ho Chi Minh wanted to establish the Democratic Republic of
Vietnam. When Russia and China started to give Vietnam military aid, the
Americans started to fund the French military in Vietnam to fight
communism. In 1954 The Geneva Convention divided Vietnam along the Ben
Hai River. A five kilometre Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) was established
either side. The Americans and the Ngo Dinh Diem Government in Saigon
feared a reunited communist Vietnam. In Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh formed the
National Liberation Front, dubbed the Viet-Cong by Diem. In 1955 America
started bank-rolling Diem's Government and training his army, frightened
of the "Domino" effect that communism could have in SE Asia. In August
1964 two American ships were attacked, allegedly unprovoked. In early
1965 "Operation Rolling Thunder" began. This was a three and a half year
carpet bombing campaign which saw twice as many bombs (around 800 a day)
dropped on Vietnam as there dropped everywhere in the Second World War in
total! By the end of 1965 there were 200,000 GIs in Vietnam and by 1967
nearly half a million! In 1969 President Nixon started to withdraw GIs
from Vietnam. By the end of 1970 only 280,000 US troops remained. On 27
January 1973 all parties signed a ceasefire, but Ho Chi Minh's troops and
the Army of The Republic of Vietnam continued fighting. On 30 April 1975
Saigon fell to Ho Chi Minh's army. In July 1976 The Socialist Republic of
Vietnam was formed.
Between 1965 and 1973, of the 3,300,000 US soldiers who
served in Vietnam, 57,000 died and 150,000 were seriously wounded. The
Army of the Republic of Vietnam lost 250,000 soldiers and Hanoi stated
that 2,000,000 civilians and 1,000,000 VCs lost their lives. America
failed to achieve, or resolve, anything in this war!
We also visited the American War Museum the following
day and the photos and stories recorded by American journalists showed
why it used to be called the American War Crime Museum. As an American I
would still feel extremely uncomfortable in Vietnam, particularly in the
north of the country. I am sure the VCs were just as barbaric, but they
didn't have the means to photograph and record such events like the
Americans did. I am sure the Americans now regret having recorded in so
much detail the torture and slaughter, frequently of innocent Vietnamese
people as well, that happened.
After 1976 anyone remotely connected to the Americans,
like our Guide for example, were sent to "Re-Education" Camps for anywhere
between three to ten years. As well as being taught about communism they
would also work alongside communist soldiers clearing the landmines. This
included monks, priests and the discrimination against these people
allegedly still exists today.
The same day we visited the Cu Chi tunnels we also went
to the Cao Dai Holy See at Tay Ninh. This faith was founded in 1926 and
is based on a universal God with respect for all faiths. Cao Daism uses
the structure and terminology of the Roman Catholic faith, but is
primarily based on Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The temple has
three towers, one built in a Hindu style, one Muslim and one Chinese.
Our final day was a whistle stop city tour to the US
War Museum, The Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and the statue
of Regina Pacis Ora Pro Nobis. The Reunification Palace was the one the
tanks burst through the gates of on 30 April 1975 to oust the Saigon
Government and unify Vietnam. The Regina Pacis Ora Pro Nobis statue was
the one that made global news in 2005 as it appeared that she was crying
and thousands of people came to pay homage to her. Actually it was where
the limestone deposits on her face had started to run, but don't tell
anyone! |