Viet Nam - A Country on Steroids

Viet Nam – I enjoyed the twelve days spent in Viet Nam. I was discharged from the US Navy in 1965 just as the Viet Nam war escalated and remember the news emanating from the battle front with the name of cities and villages that I would be visiting….I was a little apprehensive about what I would see, propaganda I would hear and people I would meet. Overall I gained a respect for the Vietnamese and enjoyed the places, sights and people we met.

As we approached the Vietnamese border, the weather turned cloudy, misty and cold… an ominous sign!! We covered the length of this long country traveling from beautiful Halong Bay in the North to the capital city of Hanoi, proceeded by overnight train to Hue, passed through areas synonymous with the Viet Nam war --- DMZ, Da Nang, China Beach arriving at the shopping village of Hoi An, and finally flying onto Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The country and people’s demeanor changed from of stoicism to one of optimism as you traveled south. My only complaint about Viet Nam was the constant noise of the scooter, cycle and automobile horns…it never stopped…never…never. Viet Nam is a country on steroids with its economy advancing rapidly with agricultural base able to support its increasing population.

• Halong Bay** – “Bay of the Descending Dragon” with close to two thousand limestone islands rising out of the sea. We sailed into the midst of the islands, kayaked to a large cave, ate, drank and stayed overnight on our “junk”.
• Hanoi – a city alive ….. 100s of thousands of motor scooters with people on the go…seeing a performance of the world famous water puppets….visiting Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and museum….viewing the Army museum’s electric map depicting the strategy used in defeating the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1955…touring the “Hanoi Hilton” and learning that our POWs enjoyed the accommodations…participating in the chaos of the Tet celebration at the Temple of Literature …visiting numerous small Buddhist temples with unusual religious icons…no Buddha statues….an hour of silence attending morning Catholic Mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral….loving Vietnamese pho (noodles) and com (rice) dishes…and the beer isn’t bad.
• Train Ride Hanoi to Hue – an experience of a lifetime – sardine-sized accommodations with a squat toilet restroom….it was fun!!
• Hue** – a city synonymous with the North Vietnamese/Viet Cong Tet offensive in January 1968…..the Imperial Citadel fortress which was built by the French to protect the Vietnamese monarchy in the late 1800s internally destroyed by multiple wars and now being restored…its beauty and formidable structure …the Thien Mu Pagoda and monastery encountering Mahayana Buddhist monks for the 1st time …. visiting the summer palace and tomb of Emperor Tu Duc. A special treat was dinner at La Thanh restaurant whose proprietor is deaf….besides delicious dumplings, the owner has a neat device for popping open beer bottles, see picture.
• Hoi An** – a merchandising paradise for shoppers. About 6 of us took a 5 mile bike ride to the beach and enjoyed a swim in the South China Sea, viewed small round fishing boats with one oar…the weather was warm and the surf gentle. I enjoyed the lull in the day-to-day sightseeing we had been doing since leaving Bangkok. My main activities included a hair cut/shave/ear cleaning and a visit to My Song, an ancient Champa civilization.
• Ho Chi Minh City – the economic heart of Viet Nam…more buildings, luxury automobiles and business activity than Hanoi. We took a “cyclo” ride to see the city’s main attractions which are centralized around the Royal Palace, home to the deposed South Vietnamese government. Visited the Palace, Rex Hotel Bar** and Notre Dame Cathedral…. See pictures of scooter repair shops and overhead telephone wires…..A big city that had too much to embrace after our long journey.
• Cu Chi Tunnels – located outside of Ho Chi Minh City towards the Cambodian border. This extremely large network of tunnels harbored a Viet Cong city located totally underground. Hospital, dining facilities, weapons production and sleeping quarters were all interconnected and accessed from small surface entrances that were difficult to detect. Dummy termite mounds camouflaged air vents. The tunnels are a statement about the ingenuity of human spirit to protect their country.
  
  The Future – I would love to explore the villages and highland areas located away from the major cities of Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City..