Crossing the border into Viet Nam today and then on into Ho Chi Minh city, also known as Saigon. An interesting border crossing, much different than the other SE Asian countries. We need our visas prior to arrival and have obtained these in Phnom Phen. Once we boarded the bus in Phnom Phen we filled out our Vietnam arrival card and then handed over our passport with visa, Cambodian departure card, and they held onto these until we entered Vietnam. Very odd, but seemed to work okay.
We arrived in Saigon around 2pm, with our hotel already organized by our friends, all we needed to do was find it. Easy as the bus dropped us off in the same area. Wow! We have room with free wifi, two beds, fan, bathroom and a refrigerator for $15 a night and it includes breakfast! Our first two nights, we went to dinner with a Polish family we met in Australia and have kept in touch with since then. Great to see them and catch up. Bernard’s English is quite good now and Isha has grown into quite the young lady. The second night, Tim was nice enough to hang out with Bernard and Isha while Beata, Blazej, Karen and I got a chance to go out.
It’s been 13 years since I have been to Saigon and I don’t recognize it a bit. This is now the motorcycle capital of the world. Intersections look like the start of a motocross race every time a light changes. Everyone seems to have a motorcycle and they are used for everything – family station wagon, pickup truck, etc. The city itself has grown and been revitalized. There are beautiful parks that loads of people use. Fancy new houses, big office buildings and tons more construction going on. It is a wonderful city and the people are very nice. The majority of people speak some English and many speak quite a lot of English. The city is modern and seems quite European with an Asian overtone.
We visited the War Remnants Museum, which is a one sided look at the Vietnam war. Although it is one sided, it was well worth the visit and gave Karen, Tim and I a chance to talk about the war and the nasty things that happen in all wars on both sides. Inside the museum are a lot of photos from the war and numerous events are discussed. There are also various weapons and ammunition used by the US forces. A big focus is placed on the use of Agent Orange by the Americans and the long term effects that have been seen in Vietnam as a result. The amount of horrendous birth defects and the amount of cancer in the areas sprayed is significant. The Vietnamese government has been dealing with the effects ever since the war ended. Outside the museum is a number of US jets, helicopters and tanks. All in all, the museum was great to check out and to top it off, we ran into our friends from Argentina (Alex and Flora) again.
Day two, we took a trip out to the Tunnels of Cu Chi and the Cao Dai temple. Tim is going to cover the tunnels below. Suffice it to say, I was surprised at the changes to the area were the tunnels are. In 1997, it was the middle of nowhere, now there is a massive parking lot, tennis courts and all kinds of buildings. Still a good tour. The Cao Dai temple is a religion that started in the 1920’s. It is a combination of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity and Islam. One of the three signatories of the Third Alliance between God and Man is French Poet Victor Hugo. The temple is very beautiful and ornate and the ceremonies with the priests in their various colored robes is rather striking. It made for an interesting visit.
Our third day was spent shopping at various markets, riding the local bus and generally looking about town until time to head to the train station. During our wanderings, we ended up at Notre Dame Cathedral, which was good since it was Palm Sunday masses (Saturday night).
All in all, an enjoyable visit and I look forward to our return to visit a few of the other museums.
~Jeff~
Cu-Chi Tunnels
There is only one place in Asia were you can see fascinating architecture, even better than the Empire State Building, or the Space Needle. That place is Saigon, Vietnam, were the Cu-Chi Tunnels are. When we got to the tunnels after a 1 1/2 hour drive we didn’t see anything, but when the guide moved some leaves you could see an entrance that is about as big as a 10-14 year old western boy. In that case it’s a tight fit, one of the many advantages in the tunnels the smaller Vietnamese people have. After we took a turn climbing into the entrance, we went over and our guide showed us a “termite mound”. He asked what we thought it was, and I said, termite mound. But it turns out that that so called termite mound was an oxygen tube so the VC could have oxygen when they are underground.
The original Cu-Chi tunnels ran underground for more than 200 kilometers, and went at the most 30 feet below the ground. All through the tunnels and above ground were booby traps that would be covered by earth to be camouflaged. When the U.S. troops couldn’t find the tunnels, they brought in German shepherds with them. They tried to sniff the entrances out. But the VC knew so they then used American soap and put American uniforms by the entrances to confuse the dogs to mistake it for a friendly. By the end of the tour I learned and saw a lot of very interesting ways of living. But if anyone is ever coming to Saigon you have to go to Cu-Chi, because it shows you how the VC lived, and how a handful of them survived in the tunnels.
~Tim~
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