Viet Nam
Trip Start
Dec 26, 2007
1
15
19
Trip End
Ongoing
Nha Trang,
Vietnam
Friday, May 9, 2008
modern cyclo
. We didn't arrive until just before midnight so I quickly checked into a guesthouse and called it a night.Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) was formerly known as Saigon and is still used interchangeably even today. After Vietnam gained independence from France in 1954, the country was divided into two halves "temporarily" until there were to be nationwide elections in 1956. When it came time for elections, the government in the South decided that it wasn't in their best interest to hold elections because it is believed that 80 percent of the people would have voted for the communist war. This was the beginning of North and South Vietnam and soon after, the Vietnam War. Saigon was the capital of the government in the south and Hanoi, the capital in the north. After years of fighting, Saigon was finally overtaken and "liberated" by the North in 1975. The city's name was then changed to Ho Chi Minh City in honor of the late North Vietnamese communist leader.
My first day in HCMC, I decided to walk around town and see what I could find. I walked past and into a couple of markets where they were selling Vietnamese silks, knock off perfumes, food, Chinese lanterns, and a lot of clothes. The major attraction of the day turned out to be the War Remnants Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes. It is a museum that shows exhibitions on the war crimes that Americans committed during the Vietnam War (knows in Vietnam as the American War).
traffic in Hanoi
There are pictures covering the walls of people deformed by chemical agents such as Agent Orange, women, children, and elderly people that were killed, and one particularly vivid picture of an American soldier holding up the mutilated body of a Vietnamese soldier. Outside of the museum are American tanks, planes, and helicopters captured by the North Vietnamese soldiers. My feelings of this museum are mixed. On one hand, it is a good thing to know about and remember such atrocities that have occurred so that we understand how devastating wars are and that we may try to prevent such things from happening again. On the other hand, the museum was disappointing in the one sidedness of the presentations. Of course Vietnam is still a communist country and even though I would like to see them admit to wrongdoings as well, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting on it to happen. Anyone with common sense should know that a person is still only a human being no matter which side of a war they are fighting on. Everyone is susceptible to pressures, emotions, fear, and anxiety in the same way. For this reason, no matter how just you may think your country or its people are, we are all capable of doing horrific things as well as great things. People have been murdered, women raped, and children killed on both sides of every war. What we have to do is recognize this and show that it is war itself that is evil and not the sides that people are sometimes forced to take. The amount of traffic in HCMC is unbelievable
Going price to shoot stuff at Cu Chi Tunnels
. There is not a big public transportation system so everyone and their sister drive little motorbikes. Crossing the street in Vietnam for the first time is a life changing experience. You just have to start walking in front of hundreds of motorbikes coming right at you. As you continue to walk, the bikes weave around you. Each step you take is a step of faith praying that all of the drivers see you and adjust to swerve around you. If you waited for the street to be clear of traffic before crossing, you would be standing on the corner all day long. There are still many people who drive the cyclos in order to make a living. A cyclo is a bike that is designed to carry a passenger. These guys know all of the shortcuts in the city and will take you anywhere. It is interesting to see them mixed in with all of the other modern day vehicles. The following day, I made a day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels just north of HCMC. The tunnels were dug by Viet Cong (VC-communist forces in the south) soldiers. The tunnels served as fighting and hiding positions against the American and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN-South Vietnamese soldiers) soldiers during the war. The VC could attack their opponents, climb down into their tunnels, and reappear a mile away to attack somewhere else. Also, during air raids, the VC were able to descend into the deepest tunnels to remain unharmed until the bombings ceased. The tunnels are impressive for the vastness of their network, more than 150 miles, and the tactful usefulness of them
Hangin' with the Viet Cong
. The tunnels were first started during the 1940's when, after WWII, the Vietnamese began fighting the French for their independence. Once that war was over, the tunnels retained their usefulness in the following war and were expanded and improved. Even though the South knew about the tunnels, it was too dangerous for soldiers to go in fighting in them because there were booby traps everywhere. The American and ARVN soldiers were never able to control this area during the entire war. Moving east to the coast, I stopped at a beach in Mui Ne. The water wasn't so clear but what drew most of the people to this area were the good winds that provide excellent kite surfing. All along the beach were resorts and restaurants. Everything was written in Vietnamese, English, or Russian. Most of the tourists there were Russian, another visible remnant of the cold war. Other than the kite surfing, Mui Ne is famous for its sand dunes. It is possible to go from the beach straight to a big desert of sand. The local kids have gotten entrepreneurial and taken some plastic sleds up to the dunes to charge tourists to slide down them. It's amazing how well capitalism does in communist countries.
One of the good things about traveling in Vietnam is that there are several agencies who offer open tickets. What I did was buy a ticket from HCMC to Hanoi in the north with several stops along the way. You can get on and off of the bus at any of the cities that are along the route and continue on the next bus once you're ready. They also offer sleeper buses where you can almost fully lie down and have a good night's sleep. This way, you don't have to pay for a hotel the night that you're traveling and you arrive in the morning, fully rested and ready to explore some new things.
I took the overnight bus from Mui Ne to Nha Trang which is also on the coast. I spent the day there hanging out on the beach and getting some reading done. The beach was really nice there and had some great water. I had heard from other travelers that the only other thing to do there was a booze cruise or some mud baths. I was anxious to get some new suits made at my next stop so decided to move on to Hoi An.
