Viet Nam

Viet Nam! The night prior to our arrival in VietNam, I was very anxious and more excited than anything! I knew that while in Viet Nam I wanted to learn more about the War. I also had a big Cambodia trip planned while in this port. The day started out by getting on the shuttle in to town. The shuttle dropped us off right in front of the Burberry store. I did not have very many expectations about Viet Nam, but this certainly was not it! We walked around for about an hour before stumbling upon a travel agency. We went in and looked at possible day trips. We found a city tour that would cost us each $7 USD. The trip included a private driver and a 6 hour tour through the city to see all of the major highlights. We booked the trip! Before leaving, we stopped at a little restaurant for lunch. I ordered the spicy curry of course, and it was delicious! We headed back to the agency and met our driver. We got in to the air conditioned, new, good smelling SUV, and were ready to go!

The first stop on our tour was to the War Remembrance Museum. This museum was very interesting in that it was the “American War” from the Vietnamese perspective. In school, I thought that I was taught all about the War, but being in this museum was a wake up call. While people were talking about how one-sided the museum was, it just made me realize how one-sided and censored OUR material is. As I kept moving through the exhibit I was growing more and more frustrated, confused, sad, and annoyed. In Viet Nam, when talking about the war, we are the “enemy”. The first part of the museum was portraying the entire world's support in Viet Nam against the US aggression. As I moved through the museum, there was a small corner of musicians. The musicians were singing, playing instruments, and making bead crafts. I took a closer look. The people were severely disabled, all of them. I then read the big sign hanging above them that said that they were victims of agent orange. The entire visit to the museum was an eye-opener for me. I was disgusted, I felt like I have been lied to my entire life. Yes, occasionally in school we talked about the war, but we NEVER talked about what I was seeing. I felt guilty. Why? I shouldn't because I wasn't there right? I feel like I am guilty by association. Even if it wasn't my generation, it is my generation that is still living with effects of the War today. I left the museum numb. I had questions that were left unanswered, and a heavy heart.

In the evening me and some friends had bought tickets to see a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppet show. The puppet show was in Vietnamese so I could not understand what they were saying, but it was still fun to make believe a story. The show was held in a small theater. There was a pool of water at the floor of the stage and the musicians and voices were on the sides. The show was only 45 minutes, but it was a lot of fun! We caught an over-priced taxi back to the ship, and did some more shopping right outside the ship where some vendors were set up.

The next day, me and my friend Danielle bought tickets from the same agency to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnels are where the Viet Cong set up an underground world in the fields to hide from the enemy. On the way the bus full of tourists stopped at a rest stop. Here there was a huge store with goods to buy, a juice bar, and a workshop where people were making the goods. I had an orange-mango-pineapple smoothie made with milk, ice, water, and everything else they told us to avoid. It was delicious! Once at the tunnels, the one-sided story continued. In the first part of the tour, we watched a movie with a basic background about the tunnels and their purpose. During the movie, the narrator was talking about how the Viet Cong were given awards for who could kill the most Americans. In a single sentence, the movie said “kill Americans” a minimum of 6 times. It was interesting to watch, but again, I was glad to finally be hearing the other side of the story. Once in the fields, we saw where the past had been preserved. The holes in the ground are still open, and I even had the chance to crawl through a tunnel. It was small and hot! I only made it 20 meters, but the entirety was 100 meters. At the tunnels, there was a chance to shoot guns. I do not understand what the purpose of this was, but I can only imagine what it must be like for veterans to return to this site and hear real guns being shot.

We ended the day by stopping at a small restaurant for dinner. Here, Danielle and I ordered appetizers, a main course, and a soda for $6USD. It was a lot of good food for $3 a piece! OH, throughout my 2 day stay in Viet Nam, I fell 2 times. The first time I scraped my knee, the second time I tripped on a wire. Later I found out that this is common because after being on a ship for so long, many people have trouble adjusting to walking on land. My legs are all bruised up, but it is funny to think that I do not know how to walk on still ground anymore! That night, I packed my new $12US North Face backpack, and prepared for my early departure to Cambodia!
OH MY! I forgot to talk about crossing the street. YouTube "crossing the street in Vietnam". You will understand.