Saigon, Vietnam
Two of the last three nights have been spent on an overnight bus ride from Hoi An to Nha Trang to scuba dive, then last night from Nha Trang to Saigon. Headphones, an eye mask and blanket are a necessity unless you want to listen to unbelievably loud Vietnamese Idol on TV with the overhead lights on covered in a who-knows-how-many-times previously used blanket. We arrived at 5:30am this morning and it's now at 11:00pm at night I am not sure what is going on. We've had quite an intense day.
On the bus ride, we met Tom from Australia who is a travel journalist on the road for a year himself. Groggy and out of it, we decided to share a cab into the surprisingly bustling city. Oh wait, of course it's bustling, it's Vietnam! We checked into our guesthouse, had a quick bite and hopped on yet another bus to the Cu Chi Tunnels. This incredible network of 275km of underground tunnels which served the Viet Cong in what we know as the Vietnam War. Here it is known as the American War. Andy has been reading The Girl in the Picture and I choked up as we drove up Highway 8 from Saigon to the Cu Chi Tunnels. I couldn't help but envision the famous photo of nine-year-old Kim Phuc running down the same road 36 years ago, her body aflame with napalm.
In the jungle, mock boobie traps were set up to show the terrible ways that soldiers were killed with bamboo sticks through trap doors. We actually walked through a section of the Cu Chi Tunnels which were dark and somewhat frightening. I was in pure disbelief that they actually had a 15 minute session where tourists could pay extra to fire guns actually used in the war. The cracking sound was too much for me - I hurriedly turned around and walked away as fast as I could. I am still in utter disbelief that they make a few extra bucks from tourists to shoot these devastating weapons. It makes my stomach hurt.
Afterwards, we went to the War Memorial Museum. I choked up again as I we studied photos of the injured and guerrilla warfare. Mock prisons and war stories made me cringe once again. It was a tough day. And now I am too tired to write about it anymore.
Sure, I've seen the infamous photo of Kim Phuc. Sure, I've heard about the unimaginable war crimes. And sure, I've learned about the history of the Vietnam/American War. But never has it affected on such a core level as it has today, on the very grounds where it occurred. It's not the same as from an ocean's distance. And I grieve.
On the bus ride, we met Tom from Australia who is a travel journalist on the road for a year himself. Groggy and out of it, we decided to share a cab into the surprisingly bustling city. Oh wait, of course it's bustling, it's Vietnam! We checked into our guesthouse, had a quick bite and hopped on yet another bus to the Cu Chi Tunnels. This incredible network of 275km of underground tunnels which served the Viet Cong in what we know as the Vietnam War. Here it is known as the American War. Andy has been reading The Girl in the Picture and I choked up as we drove up Highway 8 from Saigon to the Cu Chi Tunnels. I couldn't help but envision the famous photo of nine-year-old Kim Phuc running down the same road 36 years ago, her body aflame with napalm.
In the jungle, mock boobie traps were set up to show the terrible ways that soldiers were killed with bamboo sticks through trap doors. We actually walked through a section of the Cu Chi Tunnels which were dark and somewhat frightening. I was in pure disbelief that they actually had a 15 minute session where tourists could pay extra to fire guns actually used in the war. The cracking sound was too much for me - I hurriedly turned around and walked away as fast as I could. I am still in utter disbelief that they make a few extra bucks from tourists to shoot these devastating weapons. It makes my stomach hurt.
Afterwards, we went to the War Memorial Museum. I choked up again as I we studied photos of the injured and guerrilla warfare. Mock prisons and war stories made me cringe once again. It was a tough day. And now I am too tired to write about it anymore.
Sure, I've seen the infamous photo of Kim Phuc. Sure, I've heard about the unimaginable war crimes. And sure, I've learned about the history of the Vietnam/American War. But never has it affected on such a core level as it has today, on the very grounds where it occurred. It's not the same as from an ocean's distance. And I grieve.
posted by Stacy @TheZenGirl at
8:57 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home