Mate, shes a bloody beauty of a place to kick back

  Hoi An, Vietnam
Monday, December 27, 1999

 

My Lai Massacre Site (4)

 

My Lai Massacre Site (3)

 

My Lai Massacre Site (5)

Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya

We left Quang Ngai early and made our way to My Lai.
This is where the My Lai Massacre occurred.

A simple run down is this; here some American troops went totally crazy. They not only killed anything that moved but done it in a horrific manner. One example is; putting the barrel of a gun between a women legs and firing. So horrific were these events that another patrol of American troops was called in. An air patrol arrived and separated the soldiers from the villages and actually opened fire on their own soldiers to put a stop to what was happening in My Lai.

Or so I'm told.
I could be wrong, I've been wrong before.
I think it was a Wednesday in 1984...ha ha, joking, it's an everyday occurrence for me.

Your visit to the Memorial and Museum is a very sad experience. Most of us shed a tear, in fact no one could really help it. Some of the descriptions were so awful and sad. I guess now in China in 2006 I can understand why a lot of the Chinese dislike Japanese. The difference is the Vietnamese people are more than forgiving. Their country has been at war most of its existence but to this day they seem to be at peace and forgiving. It seems the Chinese hate 'everyone' in Japan when really their hatred should be aimed at the government and the people whom caused such horrific happenings in their country. Why hold an entire country and its people hostage over an event caused by so few people so long ago.

A new generation of any country should not be held accountable for the past.
Sadly it is the way of the world.

We arrived in Hoi An in the late afternoon. What a beautiful and quiet little town. It is built along the Thu Bon River prior the 17th Century when it became an international trading port. The three main cultures that traded and influenced Hoi An were the Chinese, Europeans and the Japanese. When you visit all you need to do is just look around, you'll see it.

We had the rest of the day and evening to sit and relax in its tranquil charm (can I say that? Tranquil Charm, probably not but it describes Hoi An better than 'Mate, she's a bloody beauty of a place to kick back, grab some grub and a coldie. Meaning to relax, eat some food and have a cold beer. I'd use that for Yangshuo or Hanoi).

We went for a short walk along the little cobble stone streets and found a 'quaint' little café. Quaint. HHHmmm, I'm not into these words I'm using but my lingo just can't describe Hoi Ans charm). Here we sat for a great meal, good chat and cold beer. The hotel we stayed in was just beautiful. Everything was so big and so grand. Sadly though, it didn't allow Vietnamese in and even our tour guide and bus driver HAD to stay elsewhere.

I must say, this really opened my eyes to certain things that were happening around me in Vietnam.

Beers N Cheers toya...shane

 

My Lai Massacre Site

 

My Lai Massacre Site (2)

 

My Lai Massacre Site (1)