Even though time constraints have meant that we have had to keep up a gruelling pace down Vietnam and miss out some highly recommended places, I have grown to love this country. With this in mind I was feeling a tad said getting on the train to our last destination, before leaving for Cambodia.
All this was forgotten when I got chatting to a couple of American travellers at the station and one of them asked to take a picture of my backpack. One of my wind-ups since starting travelling has been about Becs' backpack. Not only has her one not got zips or different access points into the main compartment but it hasn't even got a swanky cover that zips over the straps to convert it into a suitcase.
Converting it into a suitcase makes it easier to check in on flights, unlike Becs who has to check hers in at the oversized luggage counter. I keep on suggesting we swap rucksacks. I know Becs is keen but she knows that I wouldn't let her forget the trade. If only it was a little bigger Dad my rucksack would be perfect... ;-)
The train journey from Denang (nearest train station to Hoi An) and Saigon was reasonably uneventful: apart from Becs dropping a rather chunky book from the top bunk onto the head of a sleeping Vietnamese guy, ouch; and our two Vietnamese cabin buddies laughing at Becs and I getting up on the top bunk and playfully checking the supports.
The train ride has also made me even more certain that the two most used words in the world are OK and Hello, as everyone seems to use these quite freely in their own languages, especially on phone calls.
We arrived in HCM at 6 am on the 8th and, after the now customary row about directions, arrived at the hostel and checked in, before booking a tour around the Cu Chi tunnels that afternoon, a trip to the Mekong Delta the following day and our bus to Phnom Penh. Accommodation, food and drink is ridiculously cheap but travel and tours take up a large slice of your daily budget. Two second class rail tickets from Hanoi to Hue or from Denang to HCM cost between $40 and $60.
I don't know whether it is because we are traveling south and have visited Hanoi and Hoi An but I was a little disappointed by HCM. Aside from being the gateway for some magnificent tours as well has having excellent landmarks and museums, HCM didn't possess quite the same character or other places we had visited. The streets weren't quite as quaint and the banks of the Saigon River not as captivating. It was just like any another bustling metropolis you find around the world with the vanilla Starbucks and other franchises of American food outlets.
The morning was spent strolling round the city taking in the sights and visiting the Ho Chi Minh Museum, Opera House, Revolutionary Museum, Cathedral Notre-Dame, Independence Palace (which was the old American Embassy that was evacuated as the U.S. withdrew from the war) and War Remnants Museum.
The Ho Chi Minh Museum mostly covered the revolution against France and the main protagonists in the struggle. It was quite amusing that we both wondered why Ho Chi Minh was 'Brother Number 1' when most of the museum is dedicated to Nguyen Tat Thanh. It was only when you had pictures of HCM and NTT alongside each other that the penny dropped and we realised that he had given himself a new name similar to the Chinese Communists who inspired him.
The rest of the HCM Museum and the Revolutionary Museum was a comparison of life preceding communism to life immediately after the revolution as well as now days. Whilst interesting, there was a thick wedge of propaganda as how can you compare horse drawn carriages with trains and industrial power plants? Isn't that just part of progress rather than down to any political ideology...
The most interesting, yet gruesome, museum was the War Remnants. This contained many artefacts from the Vietnam War, including some heavy duty American military toys jettisoned during the withdrawal or shot down/captured. There was also the prison that was used to incarcerate Viet Cons captured during the war and couple of floors dedicated to Napalm and Phosphorus Bombs.
Whilst absolutely horrific I had to take it all into perspective that the post-world war two planet was a vastly different place to now, with vastly polarised ideologies. Whilst I wouldn't personally send troops into war to fight because people disagreed with my politics, it has to be considered that very few communist regimes have not turned into totalitarian regimes that have persecuted and killed many citizens; and that is coming from, a socialist with communistic leanings. Still, it is no different to fascist regimes at the other extreme of the spectrum.
I don't agree with the decision of the American Generals to use Napalm and Phosphorus bombs (and think there should have been some people held accountable for war crimes) but if I was put in same situation I fear I would have made the same decision. I think it would take a very disciplined and moral person, when faced with an invisible enemy that was killing many of your troops, not to sign-off off an order to gas the underground tunnels and utilise other more extreme methods.
Still, that aside, I personally fundamentally disagree with the carpet bombing of the country and the destruction of firtile fields by crop dusting, as it has affected innocent people more than the people they were fighting against as it has destroyed their means to feed themselves, their livelihoods and caused variety of conditions and disabilities to have affected future generations of Vietnamese citizens.
I expect that many might disagree with my perspective and opinion on this point but hope that people realise that I am not justifying any action but trying to consider what I would have done in the same shoes. Also it is just an opinion and understand that most have different opinion such is life.
I was pleased we did the museums before setting out to the Cu Chi tunnels in the afternoon, as we had more perspective on the tunnels and the role they played during the war. The afternoon tour was very interesting and included demonstrations of the access points and traps that were used by the Viet Con. I have to admit to being impressed. Not only were the traps ingenious but they also used termite nest as air holes to the underground tunnels.
In addition when the Americans figured out about the use of the termite nest the Viet Con first proceeded to cover them in a mixture of Chilli and Pepper to aggravate the sniffer dogs and then finally distort the smell by rubbing the nest with clothes from either captured or dead US soldiers to confuse the dogs. One other amusing thing we got told was that Ho Chi Minh invented the flip flop or at least that he invented one, made out of car tires that could be worn the wrong way round. Whilst reminding me of Kim Jong-il claiming to have run the 100 metres in less than ten seconds, it was very clever as it the foot makes in the ground made the Americans think that the Viet Con were travelling in the opposite direction.
After the tour and demonstrations we got to go inside a tunnel that was part of the level 2 system of tunnels; we were told that there were four levels that all had different purposes. I managed to get all the way through the tunnel but I wouldn't say it was comfortable by any means. Not only was I sweating buckets but it was only 1 metre high and around half a metre wide. By the end I was on hands and knees and had to go face first down a little 4 metres slidey bit that reminded me of the Goonies.
Every now and then when I think of wars and what it must have been like to fight during them, I always think with a massive slice of luck I might have had a poor-reasonable chance to survive, but I don't think I would have stood a chance during the Vietnam war. Humidity aside, the U.S. were fighting an enemy in their own country who had all the tricks up their sleeve and were motivated by what they felt were imperialist invaders. Besides, it seems obvious to me that the US underestimated the Viet Con and that some of the generals made so poor strategic decisions and tactical errors.
Our final day in Vietnam was spent on and around the Mekong Delta, which is the final leg of the 12th longest river before the water ends up into the Pacific Ocean. The Delta has been formed by four thousand years of sedimentary process resulting two main branches: the Upper and Lower. The Upper branch splits into a further seven branches and collectively they are known as '9 Dragons'.
The day was very relaxing traveling by boat and then traditional canoes, visiting Buddhist statues, floating markets and seeing Vietnamese in traditional settings either fishing or working in paddy fields. I think Vietnamese are very entrepreneurial as even the benches in the Buddhist temples were sponsored and each paddy field had a homemade graveyard in the centre as it increases the price of the field if someone wants to purchase it off the family.
I include a link to an interesting blog about the culture and the origins of the famous hats: http://xotours.vn/blog/2013/03/26/try-to-wear-this-hat-backwards/
With the tour completed we headed back to HCM for the bus to PP. Currently there is a lot of construction work going on across the country building bridges, bypasses, tunnels, roads, underground trains, airports etc. I thought this must have been a central pillar in the latest five year plan but the tour guide corrected me by saying that these have all been sponsored and/or donated by foreign governments, which is good to see and making a dramatic difference to the lives of ordinary people. The trip from HCM to the Mekong Delta used to take half a day but now only takes 1 hour...
So the first country has been completed and we were about to travel to Cambodia. I did reflect on the fact that everywhere we stayed in Vietnam began with a H and was curious to see whether that trend might continue, but realised that this was about to be blown out of the water in only two more days.
So for the last time I sign off with, Tam Biet... Goodbye Vietnam... :-(
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