Vietnam travelog
Jan 11, 2011 19:31:40 GMT
Post by Kimby on Jan 11, 2011 19:31:40 GMT
Continuing from 11 days in Burma and a layover in Bangkok (see other thread)....
Fri, November 12th, 1993 - Restocked our groceries, then took cab to airport. During the long wait, we visited with an officer of the Joint Task Force for Recovery of MIAs and POWs. Though we were nervous about flying Vietnam Airlines, the plane turned out to be a brand-new Airbus with a French crew. Things have changed a lot, for the better, in Vietnam travel since our guidebook was written. Our seatmate was a plastic surgeon on his way to Danang to fix cleft palates with Operation Smile for ten days.
As we landed at the Hanoi airport at dusk, we could see the lines of bomb craters, now filled with water. A Vinatour rep was waiting for us, and took us to the Hoa Binh Hotel in downtown Hanoi. Hanoi was a pleasant surprise, with a small-town feel and lots of lakes and trees. We walked along Hoan Kiem lake to the Water Puppet Theatre for a performance. Water puppets were developed by rice paddy farmers, and are operated by mechanisms hidden under the water. Very colorful and interesting, with smoke and fireworks and traditional musicians and singers for accompanists. We soon realized that most of the tourists in Vietnam are French, since it was a former French colony. There's lots of French architecture, and many of the merchants speak French. Too bad the French tend to be loud & rude! (Sorry K2!) We walked through the Old Quarter, with its narrow streets lined with markets, each block devoted to a different product: a block of shoe merchants, next to a block of embroidery shops, next to a group of headstone sellers, then a flower market, etc. The "cyclo" (bicycle cab) drivers are quite aggressive here, swooping down on us anytime we stopped to consult our guidebook, even though we didn't want a ride.
Sat, 13th - Hanoi city tour today, after "settling" the bill with the tour company. We had received their confirmation and price only days before leaving Montana (after months with no word), so had had no time to ask questions or argue details with them until our arrival. Unfortunately, they were not willing to negotiate with us once they had us there. The only concession they made was to include the admission fees we would pay in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), but we would pay the admissions for the rest of the trip. At least they didn't give us a hard time about paying half now and half at the end, or about paying in US travellers checks instead of cash, which they'd requested.
Because the United States (in 1993) does not recognize the Vietnamese government, and has passed a "Trading With the Enemy Act", US citizens who travel to Vietnam cannot use credit cards, and may have some difficulty cashing travellers checks. (The recipient has to send them out of the country to be cashed, and a service charge may be assessed.) Also, our Vietnamese visas were issued in Ottawa, Canada, since there's no Vietnamese embassy in the States, and the passport control officials didn't stamp anything in our passports to indicate that we'd been to Vietnam. Even the visas were stapled in, not stamped, and were removed on our exit from the country.
First stop on our city tour was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Very bizarre. Armed soldiers led us single-file (and camera-less, purse-less, and appropriately dressed) into an imposing marble edifice where we were given a few seconds to gaze upon Uncle Ho's embalmed corpse in its glass sarcophagus. (The poor guy had requested cremation, but his wishes were subjugated to the will of the government.) He looks pretty good, for being dead since 1969, thanks to annual trips to Moscow for "maintenance". Also on the grounds are Ho's lovely wooden house on stilts and the picturesque One-Pillar Pagoda, which stands on its large pillar in a lily pond. Nearby is the 3-year old Ho Chi Minh Museum, a surprisingly beautiful structure housing artistic, symbolic renderings of Ho's history.
At the Bank, we cashed a $100 travellers check and got over 350 banknotes: $100 = 1,078,000 dong! Visited the Temple of Literature, a university from the 1400's, with Chinese style buildings. Saw more pagodas, very unlike the Burmese temples. Dark wooden structures, smoky with incense, nowhere near as full of worshippers. Walked along the shore of one of Hanoi's many lakes and walked out onto the ninety-year-old Long Bien bridge, which was heavily bombed during the war. Railroad tracks run down the middle, with one lane going each direction for bikes and pedestrians. Saw lots of people (mostly women) wearing the famous conical straw hats, and many people bearing heavy loads in baskets on a shoulder yoke. (Burmese carried loads on their heads.) We bought fresh bread in animal shapes (crab, chicken, frog) from an old woman on the bridge: our 2000 dong note (20 cents) was too much for the 4 rolls we picked out, so she threw in 2 more! Also bought mandarin oranges (tangerines) from another lady, who weighed out 7 for our 2000 dong!
Had a good lunch at the hotel, sitting next to an agreeable group of Joint Task Force fellows who said their last mission had resulted in 16 sets of remains being flown out of Vietnam. When our driver returned for us at 2 p.m., we asked to see the Buc Thap Pagoda about 30 km outside Hanoi. He was game, but had lots of trouble finding it, asking directions about a dozen times before finally finding it! The drive through the countryside was well worth it, since we got to see the primitive farming methods used, including plowing with water buffalo and dipping irrigation water from ditch to ditch by hand, as well as brick-making by extrusion.
We had the driver drop us off at dusk in the Old Quarter so we could do some souvenir shopping. Then walked past the Hanoi Hilton, the infamous prison which is soon to be torn down for an office-hotel complex. Another good supper: steaks, fries, and beers for $6 for the two of us!
Sun, 14th - When the tour rep met us for the ride to the airport for our flight to Danang, he gave us a hard time about taking the driver so far out of Hanoi yesterday (the pagoda WAS in the booklet of things to see in and around Hanoi that they gave us), and suggested that we give the driver some money for petrol, since the driver has to pay for it himself! Skinflints! The airline desk agents made us check our bags and our film ended up going through the x-ray machine before we could stop them. (The guidebook says that Vietnamese x-ray machines "destroy" film, but lucky for us, they must have gotten new equipment.) For domestic flights, Vietnam Airlines uses old Soviet planes, not real confidence-inspiring. But the plane was quiet and comfortable, and it got us there. In Danang we were met by a new driver. Visited the Cham Sculpture Museum and Marble Mountain, five marble peaks not far from China Beach. The mountains are riddled with caves and temples, and the local kids - many of them mixed-race Amer-Asian children of American soldiers - are only too happy to show you around. They spoke very good English, mostly quoting the guidebook (even by page number!). One of the caves had a very narrow passage up a natural chimney to a mountaintop with lovely views of the South China Sea. Another cave served as a Vietcong field hospital while unwitting US soldiers took R&R on nearby China Beach!
We drove north along the coast over Hai Van Pass to the village of Lang Co on a sandspit peninsula. Walked through the village to the beach, and up the white-sand beach past tar-coated boats made of woven rattan. We wished we had time to wade or swim, until we noticed the "high-tide sanitation system" employed by the villagers - piles of dung graced the beach, with human footprints leading away! I looked for fishing floats for my parents' collection, but the Vietnamese seem to use net bags of styrofoam chunks instead of floats. Found lots of cuttlebones, though. Left the beach at a Christian church that was filled to overflowing with the faithful in traditional dress. Our passage created quite a stir among the children.
Drove on to Hue, the old imperial capital, and got a room at the Century Riverside (formerly Hotel Hue) on the Perfume River. We took our meals at the hotel next door, the Huong Giang, which had a more authentic menu and cheaper prices. After dinner, we took in a very good cultural show in the lobby, for free, courtesy of a tour group that had booked the performance. We checked out the shops on the street and visited with Vietnamese merchants who wanted to practice their English. One young man asked me to please explain "electoral college" to him! He also referred to our "populist party" - would that be Ross Perot?
Mon, 15th - Visited the Citadel and old Imperial City. Much of it was destroyed during the Tet Offensive, but what remains is pretty spectacular; Chinese style wooden pavilions and palaces, nicely restored by Unesco. Back at the car a young man with a burn-deformed hand begged piteously, then pretended to get his hand caught in the car door as we drove off! We also visited the outlying tombs of Nguyen Dynasty emperors. Tu Duc's tomb has a very picturesque setting on a lagoon. Hired a boat to take us across the Perfume River to Minh Mang's tomb for $4. Also drove to the ornate tomb of Khai Dinh, set into a wooded hillside.
After lunch, we took a half-hour sampan trip up the river to the Thien Mu Pagoda, a seven-storey octagonal tower that is one of the most famous structures in Vietnam. We invited our driver, Cung, to accompany us instead of waiting at the car. There was a big bell up some stairs at the entrance gate which Mr. Kimby struck with a wooden striker hanging nearby. We thought we had permission, but Cung had said only that it was okay to go up there, not to ring it! The bell is rung only by the monks and only twice a month, at the full moon and at the sliver moon, which coincidentally was today. And as we neared the main sanctuary, the doors were opened, incense was lit, and a yellow-robed monk began leading chants and songs with his 5 novices. We had arrived just in time for the twice-monthly praying session, complete with percussion instruments, bells, and gongs which set the local dogs to howling. Behind the temple is enshrined the Austin motorcar which carried the monk, Thich Quang, to his self-immolation in Saigon in 1963. The famous photograph of the burning monk is propped up on the dashboard. We motored back down the river to the hotel.
Tues, 16th - We back-tracked down the coast through Danang, stopping at a place where fireworks are made, and on to Hoi An, one of the best places on the trip. It is a very old port city, formerly known as Faifo. The streets are lined with old buildings, some of them early 19th century houses cum warehouses backing up to the river that had belonged to merchants. As we walked, we could hear the clatter of the cotton-weaving factories. We rented bikes (two bikes for two hours for 20 cents!) and rode out to Cua Dai beach for the sunset. A lovely spot, and totally undeveloped. Wished we could stay another day and spend it at the beach. On the way back to the Hoi An Hotel, we were "assaulted" by kids who all wanted to touch us. It reminded me of a birthday "spanking machine", being swatted at by so many people. Not an entirely pleasant experience!
Wed, 17th - Drove to Danang for our flight to Ho Chi Minh City. There were two female European tourists in the airport with banged-up faces painted red (merthiolate?) who carried themselves quite gingerly. "Accident" was all they said! Short flight to HCM, where another Vinatour rep met us and took us to the new Saigon Metropole Hotel, very nice. We hit the streets walking. Even though we felt less safe in Saigon than anywhere else on the trip, we didn't have any problems with pickpockets.
The streets of Saigon are packed with motorbikes, some carrying four people (Dad, Mom, and 2 kids)! Hanoi had mostly bicycles, but here there were at least 12 motorbikes per bike, and still very few cars. Many of the women wore full-length gloves and sunhats; others rode side-saddle and carried umbrellas for sun protection.
We walked to Reunification Hall, formerly Independence Palace, whose gate was crashed by a tank during the Fall of Saigon. Waited out a rainstorm while taking the tour. On to the Museum of the Revolution, in the French-built Palace of the Governors. Walked through the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Ben Thanh market, then took ourselves out to dinner at the rooftop restaurant of the Rex Hotel, which quickly became our favorite spot in Saigon (and was also a favorite hangout for US reporters during the war). They have good Vietnamese food, but after 3 weeks of travelling their American menu looked pretty enticing. We walked to the Municipal Theatre and attended a concert by an Australian band called Red Buck. We expected aboriginal music since they had a digiridoo player, but instead got old, not-very-good, American rock, played by middle-aged performers with all the gimmicks, revolving glitter ball, smoke machine, bubble machine, whirling colored lights. The only saving grace was the local band that they invited onstage to play for awhile. We left early to go out for ice cream sundaes.
Thurs, 18th - Drove to Cu Chi, where the villagers went underground to fight the war from an extensive network of tunnels. We beat the bus tours and had the place mostly to ourselves. They've "improved" the tunnels, widened the entrances and cleaned them up a little, but they're still pretty creepy. Wells, kitchens, dormitories, meeting rooms, clinics all underground, connected by 2' x 3' tunnels. The video they showed at the open-air visitor center had numerous references to "killing Americans", at which the Cu Chi villagers excelled. We were unnerved by the sound of gunshots and envisioned being led by our stern-faced uniformed guide to our execution, but we returned safely to the entrance. I shared the ladies room with a big hairy tarantula!
Next we drove to Tay Ninh, where the indigenous religion, Caodaism, has its headquarters. We arrived in time to catch the noon services at the Cao Dai Great Temple at the Holy See. Very unusual. Stopped to fix a flat tire. They patch the inner tubes using a kerosene burner and screw press. Back to hotel for quick swim in the rooftop pool and back to the Rex for dinner.
Fri, 19th - Woke early, to roosters! Rooftop apartment next door has chickens, in downtown Saigon! We gave our driver a list of the sights we wanted to see, in order, and he promptly took off in the opposite direction. Had a sobering start to the day at the Museum of American War Crimes. Grim photos of My Lai massacre, and of US soldiers holding up mutilated Vietcong bodies, descriptions of US torture of prisoners, including pushing them out of helicopters if they refused to talk, glass jars with deformed babies in them. Drove past the former American Embassy, where the rooftop helicopter evacuation took place during the Fall of Saigon. Visited several more pagodas, the Emperor of Jade Pagoda, Thien Hau Pagoda, and Phuoc An Hoi Quan Pagoda, where we made an offering to a sacred horse, for a safe journey tomorrow. Visited two very old wooden pagodas with shrines to the dead, complete with photographs and even urns full of ashes. After lunch, we visited the Saigon Zoo at feeding time for the cats. Behind the lion house, two keepers were exercising a 2-month old lion cub that had been hand-raised and thinks the keeper is her mother. I got to hold her for awhile! Back to the Rex for our last supper, and a little more sidewalk shopping.
Sat, 20th - Slept in and relaxed till our afternoon departure for Bangkok. Checked into the Bangkok Comfort Inn and reclaimed our Burmese souvenirs from left-luggage. Went to bed early, but didn't sleep at all. The hotel is in the flight path for the airport, and planes took off and landed every 3 to 5 minutes all night long! Great way to start a long trip home.
Sun, 21st - Up at 4:30 for 6 a.m. shuttle to airport. Flew Delta via Taipei and Seoul to Portland. Long 6-hour layover in Salt Lake City. Finally got home at 11 p.m., after more than 30 hours travelling. Arrived at the same time as Montana's first big winter storm, with blowing snow and temperatures dropping to 10 below zero!
(See also the notes comparing Burma and Vietnam on another thread.)
Fri, November 12th, 1993 - Restocked our groceries, then took cab to airport. During the long wait, we visited with an officer of the Joint Task Force for Recovery of MIAs and POWs. Though we were nervous about flying Vietnam Airlines, the plane turned out to be a brand-new Airbus with a French crew. Things have changed a lot, for the better, in Vietnam travel since our guidebook was written. Our seatmate was a plastic surgeon on his way to Danang to fix cleft palates with Operation Smile for ten days.
As we landed at the Hanoi airport at dusk, we could see the lines of bomb craters, now filled with water. A Vinatour rep was waiting for us, and took us to the Hoa Binh Hotel in downtown Hanoi. Hanoi was a pleasant surprise, with a small-town feel and lots of lakes and trees. We walked along Hoan Kiem lake to the Water Puppet Theatre for a performance. Water puppets were developed by rice paddy farmers, and are operated by mechanisms hidden under the water. Very colorful and interesting, with smoke and fireworks and traditional musicians and singers for accompanists. We soon realized that most of the tourists in Vietnam are French, since it was a former French colony. There's lots of French architecture, and many of the merchants speak French. Too bad the French tend to be loud & rude! (Sorry K2!) We walked through the Old Quarter, with its narrow streets lined with markets, each block devoted to a different product: a block of shoe merchants, next to a block of embroidery shops, next to a group of headstone sellers, then a flower market, etc. The "cyclo" (bicycle cab) drivers are quite aggressive here, swooping down on us anytime we stopped to consult our guidebook, even though we didn't want a ride.
Sat, 13th - Hanoi city tour today, after "settling" the bill with the tour company. We had received their confirmation and price only days before leaving Montana (after months with no word), so had had no time to ask questions or argue details with them until our arrival. Unfortunately, they were not willing to negotiate with us once they had us there. The only concession they made was to include the admission fees we would pay in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), but we would pay the admissions for the rest of the trip. At least they didn't give us a hard time about paying half now and half at the end, or about paying in US travellers checks instead of cash, which they'd requested.
Because the United States (in 1993) does not recognize the Vietnamese government, and has passed a "Trading With the Enemy Act", US citizens who travel to Vietnam cannot use credit cards, and may have some difficulty cashing travellers checks. (The recipient has to send them out of the country to be cashed, and a service charge may be assessed.) Also, our Vietnamese visas were issued in Ottawa, Canada, since there's no Vietnamese embassy in the States, and the passport control officials didn't stamp anything in our passports to indicate that we'd been to Vietnam. Even the visas were stapled in, not stamped, and were removed on our exit from the country.
First stop on our city tour was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Very bizarre. Armed soldiers led us single-file (and camera-less, purse-less, and appropriately dressed) into an imposing marble edifice where we were given a few seconds to gaze upon Uncle Ho's embalmed corpse in its glass sarcophagus. (The poor guy had requested cremation, but his wishes were subjugated to the will of the government.) He looks pretty good, for being dead since 1969, thanks to annual trips to Moscow for "maintenance". Also on the grounds are Ho's lovely wooden house on stilts and the picturesque One-Pillar Pagoda, which stands on its large pillar in a lily pond. Nearby is the 3-year old Ho Chi Minh Museum, a surprisingly beautiful structure housing artistic, symbolic renderings of Ho's history.
At the Bank, we cashed a $100 travellers check and got over 350 banknotes: $100 = 1,078,000 dong! Visited the Temple of Literature, a university from the 1400's, with Chinese style buildings. Saw more pagodas, very unlike the Burmese temples. Dark wooden structures, smoky with incense, nowhere near as full of worshippers. Walked along the shore of one of Hanoi's many lakes and walked out onto the ninety-year-old Long Bien bridge, which was heavily bombed during the war. Railroad tracks run down the middle, with one lane going each direction for bikes and pedestrians. Saw lots of people (mostly women) wearing the famous conical straw hats, and many people bearing heavy loads in baskets on a shoulder yoke. (Burmese carried loads on their heads.) We bought fresh bread in animal shapes (crab, chicken, frog) from an old woman on the bridge: our 2000 dong note (20 cents) was too much for the 4 rolls we picked out, so she threw in 2 more! Also bought mandarin oranges (tangerines) from another lady, who weighed out 7 for our 2000 dong!
Had a good lunch at the hotel, sitting next to an agreeable group of Joint Task Force fellows who said their last mission had resulted in 16 sets of remains being flown out of Vietnam. When our driver returned for us at 2 p.m., we asked to see the Buc Thap Pagoda about 30 km outside Hanoi. He was game, but had lots of trouble finding it, asking directions about a dozen times before finally finding it! The drive through the countryside was well worth it, since we got to see the primitive farming methods used, including plowing with water buffalo and dipping irrigation water from ditch to ditch by hand, as well as brick-making by extrusion.
We had the driver drop us off at dusk in the Old Quarter so we could do some souvenir shopping. Then walked past the Hanoi Hilton, the infamous prison which is soon to be torn down for an office-hotel complex. Another good supper: steaks, fries, and beers for $6 for the two of us!
Sun, 14th - When the tour rep met us for the ride to the airport for our flight to Danang, he gave us a hard time about taking the driver so far out of Hanoi yesterday (the pagoda WAS in the booklet of things to see in and around Hanoi that they gave us), and suggested that we give the driver some money for petrol, since the driver has to pay for it himself! Skinflints! The airline desk agents made us check our bags and our film ended up going through the x-ray machine before we could stop them. (The guidebook says that Vietnamese x-ray machines "destroy" film, but lucky for us, they must have gotten new equipment.) For domestic flights, Vietnam Airlines uses old Soviet planes, not real confidence-inspiring. But the plane was quiet and comfortable, and it got us there. In Danang we were met by a new driver. Visited the Cham Sculpture Museum and Marble Mountain, five marble peaks not far from China Beach. The mountains are riddled with caves and temples, and the local kids - many of them mixed-race Amer-Asian children of American soldiers - are only too happy to show you around. They spoke very good English, mostly quoting the guidebook (even by page number!). One of the caves had a very narrow passage up a natural chimney to a mountaintop with lovely views of the South China Sea. Another cave served as a Vietcong field hospital while unwitting US soldiers took R&R on nearby China Beach!
We drove north along the coast over Hai Van Pass to the village of Lang Co on a sandspit peninsula. Walked through the village to the beach, and up the white-sand beach past tar-coated boats made of woven rattan. We wished we had time to wade or swim, until we noticed the "high-tide sanitation system" employed by the villagers - piles of dung graced the beach, with human footprints leading away! I looked for fishing floats for my parents' collection, but the Vietnamese seem to use net bags of styrofoam chunks instead of floats. Found lots of cuttlebones, though. Left the beach at a Christian church that was filled to overflowing with the faithful in traditional dress. Our passage created quite a stir among the children.
Drove on to Hue, the old imperial capital, and got a room at the Century Riverside (formerly Hotel Hue) on the Perfume River. We took our meals at the hotel next door, the Huong Giang, which had a more authentic menu and cheaper prices. After dinner, we took in a very good cultural show in the lobby, for free, courtesy of a tour group that had booked the performance. We checked out the shops on the street and visited with Vietnamese merchants who wanted to practice their English. One young man asked me to please explain "electoral college" to him! He also referred to our "populist party" - would that be Ross Perot?
Mon, 15th - Visited the Citadel and old Imperial City. Much of it was destroyed during the Tet Offensive, but what remains is pretty spectacular; Chinese style wooden pavilions and palaces, nicely restored by Unesco. Back at the car a young man with a burn-deformed hand begged piteously, then pretended to get his hand caught in the car door as we drove off! We also visited the outlying tombs of Nguyen Dynasty emperors. Tu Duc's tomb has a very picturesque setting on a lagoon. Hired a boat to take us across the Perfume River to Minh Mang's tomb for $4. Also drove to the ornate tomb of Khai Dinh, set into a wooded hillside.
After lunch, we took a half-hour sampan trip up the river to the Thien Mu Pagoda, a seven-storey octagonal tower that is one of the most famous structures in Vietnam. We invited our driver, Cung, to accompany us instead of waiting at the car. There was a big bell up some stairs at the entrance gate which Mr. Kimby struck with a wooden striker hanging nearby. We thought we had permission, but Cung had said only that it was okay to go up there, not to ring it! The bell is rung only by the monks and only twice a month, at the full moon and at the sliver moon, which coincidentally was today. And as we neared the main sanctuary, the doors were opened, incense was lit, and a yellow-robed monk began leading chants and songs with his 5 novices. We had arrived just in time for the twice-monthly praying session, complete with percussion instruments, bells, and gongs which set the local dogs to howling. Behind the temple is enshrined the Austin motorcar which carried the monk, Thich Quang, to his self-immolation in Saigon in 1963. The famous photograph of the burning monk is propped up on the dashboard. We motored back down the river to the hotel.
Tues, 16th - We back-tracked down the coast through Danang, stopping at a place where fireworks are made, and on to Hoi An, one of the best places on the trip. It is a very old port city, formerly known as Faifo. The streets are lined with old buildings, some of them early 19th century houses cum warehouses backing up to the river that had belonged to merchants. As we walked, we could hear the clatter of the cotton-weaving factories. We rented bikes (two bikes for two hours for 20 cents!) and rode out to Cua Dai beach for the sunset. A lovely spot, and totally undeveloped. Wished we could stay another day and spend it at the beach. On the way back to the Hoi An Hotel, we were "assaulted" by kids who all wanted to touch us. It reminded me of a birthday "spanking machine", being swatted at by so many people. Not an entirely pleasant experience!
Wed, 17th - Drove to Danang for our flight to Ho Chi Minh City. There were two female European tourists in the airport with banged-up faces painted red (merthiolate?) who carried themselves quite gingerly. "Accident" was all they said! Short flight to HCM, where another Vinatour rep met us and took us to the new Saigon Metropole Hotel, very nice. We hit the streets walking. Even though we felt less safe in Saigon than anywhere else on the trip, we didn't have any problems with pickpockets.
The streets of Saigon are packed with motorbikes, some carrying four people (Dad, Mom, and 2 kids)! Hanoi had mostly bicycles, but here there were at least 12 motorbikes per bike, and still very few cars. Many of the women wore full-length gloves and sunhats; others rode side-saddle and carried umbrellas for sun protection.
We walked to Reunification Hall, formerly Independence Palace, whose gate was crashed by a tank during the Fall of Saigon. Waited out a rainstorm while taking the tour. On to the Museum of the Revolution, in the French-built Palace of the Governors. Walked through the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Ben Thanh market, then took ourselves out to dinner at the rooftop restaurant of the Rex Hotel, which quickly became our favorite spot in Saigon (and was also a favorite hangout for US reporters during the war). They have good Vietnamese food, but after 3 weeks of travelling their American menu looked pretty enticing. We walked to the Municipal Theatre and attended a concert by an Australian band called Red Buck. We expected aboriginal music since they had a digiridoo player, but instead got old, not-very-good, American rock, played by middle-aged performers with all the gimmicks, revolving glitter ball, smoke machine, bubble machine, whirling colored lights. The only saving grace was the local band that they invited onstage to play for awhile. We left early to go out for ice cream sundaes.
Thurs, 18th - Drove to Cu Chi, where the villagers went underground to fight the war from an extensive network of tunnels. We beat the bus tours and had the place mostly to ourselves. They've "improved" the tunnels, widened the entrances and cleaned them up a little, but they're still pretty creepy. Wells, kitchens, dormitories, meeting rooms, clinics all underground, connected by 2' x 3' tunnels. The video they showed at the open-air visitor center had numerous references to "killing Americans", at which the Cu Chi villagers excelled. We were unnerved by the sound of gunshots and envisioned being led by our stern-faced uniformed guide to our execution, but we returned safely to the entrance. I shared the ladies room with a big hairy tarantula!
Next we drove to Tay Ninh, where the indigenous religion, Caodaism, has its headquarters. We arrived in time to catch the noon services at the Cao Dai Great Temple at the Holy See. Very unusual. Stopped to fix a flat tire. They patch the inner tubes using a kerosene burner and screw press. Back to hotel for quick swim in the rooftop pool and back to the Rex for dinner.
Fri, 19th - Woke early, to roosters! Rooftop apartment next door has chickens, in downtown Saigon! We gave our driver a list of the sights we wanted to see, in order, and he promptly took off in the opposite direction. Had a sobering start to the day at the Museum of American War Crimes. Grim photos of My Lai massacre, and of US soldiers holding up mutilated Vietcong bodies, descriptions of US torture of prisoners, including pushing them out of helicopters if they refused to talk, glass jars with deformed babies in them. Drove past the former American Embassy, where the rooftop helicopter evacuation took place during the Fall of Saigon. Visited several more pagodas, the Emperor of Jade Pagoda, Thien Hau Pagoda, and Phuoc An Hoi Quan Pagoda, where we made an offering to a sacred horse, for a safe journey tomorrow. Visited two very old wooden pagodas with shrines to the dead, complete with photographs and even urns full of ashes. After lunch, we visited the Saigon Zoo at feeding time for the cats. Behind the lion house, two keepers were exercising a 2-month old lion cub that had been hand-raised and thinks the keeper is her mother. I got to hold her for awhile! Back to the Rex for our last supper, and a little more sidewalk shopping.
Sat, 20th - Slept in and relaxed till our afternoon departure for Bangkok. Checked into the Bangkok Comfort Inn and reclaimed our Burmese souvenirs from left-luggage. Went to bed early, but didn't sleep at all. The hotel is in the flight path for the airport, and planes took off and landed every 3 to 5 minutes all night long! Great way to start a long trip home.
Sun, 21st - Up at 4:30 for 6 a.m. shuttle to airport. Flew Delta via Taipei and Seoul to Portland. Long 6-hour layover in Salt Lake City. Finally got home at 11 p.m., after more than 30 hours travelling. Arrived at the same time as Montana's first big winter storm, with blowing snow and temperatures dropping to 10 below zero!
(See also the notes comparing Burma and Vietnam on another thread.)