Hello Vietnam!

We have emerged from behind the Great Firewall of China. Hopefully now we can post a few of our blogs from both Vietnam and China and catch up a bit.

On March 1st, we left Cambodia the same way we left Thailand; whiling away the hours on a bus by playing cards, writing, or reading, and occasionally just watching the miles roll by and the landscape shift back and forth between busy town and quiet countryside. When not occupied by a competitive game of 'hearts', researching our next destination or catching up on blogging, I thought about what we were leaving behind and what might lie ahead for us. I was hoping that we were taking away at least some authentic impressions of Cambodian life, culture and history.

For reasons I'm not quite sure of, Vietnam has long been a country that I've been drawn to visit.

At the border we got off the bus on the Cambodia side and were escorted through customs by our bus operators. When we emerged from the immigration building, we were greeted by one of the country’s most iconic symbols – a peasant woman wearing a traditional conical hat, called a nón lá, in Vietnam. We had arrived!!

A woman selling vegetables to people on the city streets - a very common sight throughout Vietnam!

As our bus maneuvered the busy streets of Ho Chi Minh City we were struck by how clean it was in comparison to Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, and by the landscaped green spaces along the large boulevards. Ho Chi Minh City (still called Saigon by many here) would prove to be an unexpected feast for all our senses. We were really surprised by our positive reaction to this city because we tend to have an ingrained affinity for smaller towns and the green spaces they come with. We got off the bus in an area called District 1, where most backpackers come to stay. We crossed the busy street with a bit of hesitation because of all the horror stories we’d heard about Vietnamese traffic and driving habits. Some tourists go home with T-shirts that say, ‘Green Light – Go; Yellow Light – Go; Red Light – Still Go’. We didn’t have any problems… not this time anyway!! Our map showed our guesthouse to be very close to our drop-off point not far up a side-street. We passed the street twice, walking in each direction and not realizing that it resembled something more like a small opening between two buildings. We would quickly learn that much of Saigon's life takes place in alleys like these. We were not only surprised by how narrow our street was but also by what we found there – motorbikes and scooters winding in and out of the pedestrian traffic, street food stalls, restaurants, private homes, more guesthouses, smaller alleyways taking off to either side, “massage” parlours, hair-stylists, and laundromats to name just a few. A couple hundred meters or so up the lane we came to our guesthouse. We quickly dropped our bags and headed out to explore the area.

Lucas standing in front of our guesthouse - 'Mai Guesthouse'.  We loved our Guesthouse because it was quiet at night, clean 'enough', close to all the action (1 minute walk) and the owner, Mr. Ming, was very friendly and helpful.

The view down the alley in the other direction - our favorite

smoothie cart was there, as well as some other little places

serving up good eats - sitting on the blue plastic chairs and

trying to stay out of the way of passing scooters is all part

of the experience

We walked further up our alley to come out onto Backpacker Street – a major road with crazy traffic, bars, restaurants, street vendors, more “massage” parlours, war-time propaganda poster shops and many other types of small shops. 

 Here I'm standing on Backpacker Street - both sides of the street are lined with bars/restaurants with the typical small plastic stools and tables fronting each bar and restaurant - and they are packed!The sound of everyone out there chatting makes a roaring sound above the honking of cars and scooters passing by.

The frenetic commotion of Backpacker Street - constant

busking, honking, vendors calling,loud music coming from

every bar and restaurant, and party atmosphere was

only 1 minute walk from our guesthouse.  It was awesome!!

We walked for about an hour, taking in all the new sites and sounds, before sitting down on the 2^nd floor of a restaurant overlooking this amazing street to eat our first Vietnamese meal.  Our meals not only tasted so good, but they looked amazing.  We took the first of many photos of our Vietnamese meals and drank the first of many mango-pineapple or papaya-lime smoothies that night.

We loved the Vietnamese food!!

The next day we visited the War Relics History Museum, an interesting mix of American armoury such as tanks, aircraft, canons and other weapons, spent artillery and rooms full of displays explaining in pictures and grammatically awkward English, the atrocities of the Vietnam War committed by the Americans and their allies. 

One of several American planes and tanks on display in the museum courtyard

We learned a lot about the Vietnam War that day and did our best to educate the kids not only on the specifics of that war but also what war means to the countries and the people involved.  The kids were quite interested in the war relics, the role agent orange played, and the horrifying effects it had on both the people (disfigurement and birth defects) and the land (eliminated all vegetation fromhuge swaths of land). As we travelled through Vietnam after that, whenever they saw a disfigured person they would ask, “Did agent orange do that?”. 

We were also amazed by how much fire power was used in the Vietnam War as compared to World War II and how many tons of unexploded ordinances, or bombs (UXOs), still litter the countryside.  We’ve heard that 14% of the country is still covered by UXOs that continue to kill and maim every year when they are accidentally detonated, usually by peasant farmers.  I've read that upwards of 40,000 people have been killed in Vietnam by these bombs since the war ended.  In central Vietnam, in the province of Quang Tri, which is close to the dividing line between what used to be known as North and South Vietnam, estimates pin the percentage at 84.  It seems crazy that the world hasn’t banded together to get rid of these things once and for all.

The next day we headed to the Cu Chi Tunnels.  Cu Chi is a region situated northwest of Ho Chi Minh, about an hour’s ride by public bus.  The area was heavily bombed by the U.S. and represented a stronghold for the Viet Cong on the outskirts of Saigon.  Upon arriving at the tunnels we paid our admission and were soon grouped with an English speaking guide who toured us, along with another group of people, around the tunnel complex.  There was an impressive network of tunnels connecting large rooms, each with a specific use such as sleeping, meeting, cooking/eating, and hospital.  There were 3 levels of tunnels, at 1 meter, 3m, and 10 m under the surface.  We were allowed to go with the group into the first 2 levels, but not the 3^rd as there was not enough oxygen.  It was explained though, that bombs could penetrate the first 2 levels but never the 3^rd, so when the enemy was attacking, the Vietnamese retreated to the 3^rd level.  The entrances to the tunnels were camouflaged by leaves and sticks, and once the lid was lifted, the openings were so small we could barely fit through.

Display of Cluster Bombs, designed for maximizing devastation, and rocket launchers

The tunnels were tiny, dark and claustrophobic, we had to bend all the way over and/or crawl through.  Though we are larger and taller than the average Vietnamese person, there is no way it could have been comfortable for them either.  At times, entire villages would retreat underground and stay for extended periods in order to avoid the attacks.  We were told that once Agent Orange was used they stayed underground entirely as much as possible.

Lucas starting down into one of the Cu Chi tunnels

Underground view of the tunnel showing just how small they were

The tunnels also had wells from which the villagers obtained water.  They had clever methods for ventilating the tunnels, such as hiding air vents under fake termite mounds. For cooking without being detected and to allow smoke to escape they built long vents that surfaced up to 30 or 40 ft. away from their tunnel network.  They also avoided being detected by the dog patrols of the U.S. infantry by taking clothing from the dead bodies of enemy soldiers and hiding it at the tunnel entrance so that the dogs would only smell their “friend” and move along from the tunnel. 

We couldn’t help but be impressed by the ingenuity, the work ethic, and the will to live that propelled the Vietnamese to build hundreds of kilometers of these tunnels.  It was a large part of what helped them survive what they called “The American War”. 

There was a “Restoration Village” near the tunnels that we also toured.  It was very interesting to see some of the homes of a typical village, and to see how they used bamboo drums as a warning system when the enemy was near, they would bang the drum, then retreat underground through a tunnel entrance in or near the house.  The neighbor would hear the warning, sound their own drum, then make their own retreat, and so on through the village until, when the enemy entered the village, there would be no one there. 

Maya seeing how hard it was to mill rice 'back in the day, back in 'Nam'

In wartime, the villagers would all help with war efforts including making weapons such as bamboo spears and traps), growing and storing food, making uniforms for soldiers, etc.  We were likely told a very neat and tidy story about how it all worked, but they did seem to develop an efficient system based on discipline, hard work, and patience, that allowed them to survive the war.

Kim and Maya sporting the nón lá

We spent the next day relaxing and doing a bit of shopping the city’s largest and most famous market where anything and everything is sold.  Each of us bought either shorts or a t-shirt.  Here is where we began to get comfortable with the art of hard haggling, mostly because the sales tactics were so heavy, and lopsided toward the seller.  This day also had us experiencing our first heavy rain storm – probably because we bought more shorts and t-shirts.

A storm's a-brewing - Take cover!!

Next... onto the Mekong Delta

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