Vietnam Update

Hey guys,

I know it’s been a while since you have heard from me.  That is why I was trying to keep mobile picture updates pretty regular in the last two ports.  The reason why I did this was because I didn’t want to address the topic of communism that I felt it imperative to talk about when discussing both Vietnam and China.  I have done a lot since entering Vietnam and now.  My views on communism as well as the countries themselves have changed drastically.  I am going to try and cover it all, but since I’m not a political “science” professor, I won’t be able to give it due justice.  But first I have to cover what I did in both countries…

P.S. this is going to be a very long post so I will split it into two or three.

                Vietnam was an interesting place to step foot.  To most of my generation, Vietnam was a war.  I’ve seen Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, and Apocalypse Now and that is where my view of both the country, but the war itself came from.  That view is the American view, not the Vietnamese view.  The problem in Vietnam, was it was hard to get the Vietnamese view.  There was the communist view, that is, the view of the government and how they saw the American War.  The few tidbits that I received from the people themselves didn’t see it as Communism vs. Imperialistic America, but a fight for their homeland.  It wasn’t a fight for communism; it was a fight for independence.  They also have animalized the American Government.  That is they treat our government as an unprovoked dog that did whatever they could to cause as much harm to the Vietnamese people as possible.  They don’t seem to take the view that I seem to take, and that is, the tactics employed by the Vietcong scared the American generals and that much of the harm done was a reaction to a type of war they had never seen.  They needed to adapt and adapt fast or more and more Americans would die.  I’m not saying that Agent Orange was right, but what I am saying is that there are two sides to every story and it seems like only one side has ever been told in Vietnam.

                This leads me in to what I did my first day in Ho Chi Minh City, also commonly known as Saigon.  The stamps in my passport say Saigon while the Visa they added says Ho Chi Minh City, go figure…  I made my way to the Cu Chi Tunnels.  The Tunnels of Cu Chi really are an engineering marvel.  They are pretty much ant tunnels that fit humans.  The devastation and death that happened around there is one of the most saddening things I have seen.  To know where I stood, American men and women died fighting under my nations flag.  It welled up in me an extreme sense of sadness and regret.  Then they showed us the bear traps and different assorted devices that were used to kill Americans and it again showed me why the American army treated the war as they did.  It was brutal beyond anything that had been seen before.  These guerilla traps were some of the most disgusting and insane devices.  The tour guides had smiles of pride on their faces that they could create such things.  They were proud of these devices, I could never be…

                The second day, I headed to the Mekong Delta for another day trip.  This was a pleasurable experience.  We took a bus down there, stopping to walk through a market and visit a temple.  At the delta, we went around on a boat, visiting different islands, sampling fruit, eating, and canoeing down the canals.  It was a lot of fun, but nothing too special was seen, just some pretty scenery and good food.

                My third day was spent with friends shopping and the War Remnants Museum.  What you must know about the War Remnants Museum is that it was once called the Museum of American War Crimes.  It had all sorts of planes, tanks, etc. that the US used during the war.  It also had photography from the war, statistics about the war, pictures of the legacy of Agent Orange, old guns, bombs, shells, etc.  All the information was told from a communist perspective.  It was emotional to the point of almost breaking down.  To see the things that my country and their country did during that time, it really was too much.  I feel that it gives me perspective on war that I didn’t have before.  I already knew that war was hell, but I didn’t know hell was this bad. 

                I spent the next two days shopping and eating.  I also visited the Reunification Palace.  It was nothing too special.  I did try to go to a water park because it was 100+ degrees out and humid as hell, but it was closed.  I really enjoyed my time shopping as well; bargaining is now one of my favorite things to do in these countries.  I also went to the top of the Rex Hotel, famous for being a war correspondent hangout during the war. 

                Overall, my experiences in Vietnam were leaning towards positive.  The food was amazing, the people were very nice, and I was tall there :). 

 

Thanks and tune in for next time when I talk about Hong Kong and Shanghai…

‘Till then… Steven at Sea