We flew to Ho Chi Minh city yesterday morning, which is the complete opposite of Nha Trang. We went from a relaxing beach town back to a bustling city constantly being attacked by scooters. This city holds so much history though, specifically from the Vietnam War and all the hardships the Vietnamese people have had to endure for so long. We started off at the Presidential Palace yesterday, and as I was hobbling around with my knee brace on I met an older Vietnamese man who said he was part of the South Vietnamese airforce during the Vietnam War. The Americans fought with South Vietnam against North Vietnam (or the Viet Cong), in an attempt to stop Communism from spreading from the North. This older Vietnamese war veteran trained in Illinois for 6 months, and apparently fell in love with Jazz music because he started singing to me. He also mentioned his favorite movie is Scarface.
After that we went to the War Remnants Museum, which used to be called the Museum of American Atrocities and in my mind should still be called that. Of course the museum is one sided, but some of the things that went down during the war are just unbelievable. There were countless pictures of victims of Agent Orange, the herbicide used to kill foliage in order to be able to see the Viet Cong more clearly in the jungle. Those who were exposed to Agent Orange suffered minor problems, but their offspring are whom were affected most of all. Some of the pictures we saw are unfathomable, children born with no arms or legs, one side of a woman's face completely disfigured, a little boy born with his foot attached to his backside. The war ended more than 30 years ago, but the aftermath continues today. There were pictures of concentration camps created by the Americans for Vietnamese civilians. Pictures of innocent women and children mistaken for the Viet Cong and being shot down. It was just horrible.
Today was an even harsher reality of the Vietnam War. We took a boat through the Mekong Delta, part of the area where a lot of the fighting was done. We then hiked through the Cu Chi Tunnel, which I think is a must if you visit Vietnam. This was the actual grounds of where the war was fought in the jungle, including a 200km tunnel built by the Viet Cong. We walked (and I hobbled)
through the jungle in the pouring rain, and were shown several hidden traps that were so intricately designed to capture enemy soldiers (Americans). I felt like I was part of a war movie and someone was going to jump out of the bush and shoot me down, except this was the real thing and not a set. I walked through muddy water where millions of people (approx. 500,000 Americans and 2 million Vietnamese) had lost their lives. It was simultaneously impressive, unsettling, and incredibly sad.I need to shower.
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