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Halong Bay from boat
Photo Courtesy of Padraic Heffernan The month we spent traveling through Vietnam and Cambodia reflected a change in culture from laid back Laos. Vietnam can be both hectic and simple. The boat trip around Halong Bay illustrated some of the beauty that Vietnam has to offer. The smaller towns we visited were examples of the simple life most Vietnamese live. The major cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) gave us opportunity to sample the chaos of Vietnam’s cities. The war museums and tunnels introduced us to alternative view into the horrific war history of the country. Cambodia was a simpler, smaller country with an equaling horrible history of war and genocide as well as the architectural beauty of the temples of Angkor. Vietnam and Cambodia was more fascinating, educational and revealing than any other countries we have visited.
Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam is hectic city which motorbikes, not cars or Tuc-tucs, that rule the road. Everywhere you look, there are motorbikes and crossing the road can be hazardous activity. Tuc-tucs are replaced by motorbikes pulling up and offering a lift. No taxi plate or registration required. Just jump on, hold on tight and pray you reach your destination without
Temples at Angkor
Cambodia
Photo Courtesy of Padraic Heffernan serious injury. And we did see a few crashes and countless backpackers with bandages around their leg, arms, body and head. Thankfully we avoided any such injury. Traveling from Hanoi to HCMC in little under 3 weeks meant we had to be economical with our time, staying only a few days before moving on again. In the three weeks traveling, we seen all the different aspects of Vietnamese life, the cities and mayhem of Hanoi and HCMC, the natural beauty of Halong Bay and Cuc Phuong National Park, the relatively simpler life of the smaller towns, the beaches of Nha Trang and the history of the war museums and tunnels.
Vietnam War is probably the most infamous war of the second half of 20th century. The two war museums and two preserved war tunnels we visited were a real eye-opening experience. The war museums in Hanoi and HCMC have large displays of both Vietnamese and American aircraft, artillery pieces and guns used during the wars. A number of different photograph exhibitions provide an insight into horrors of war, including an excellent exhibition by war reports killed during the war and a heart breaking exhibition of victims of war
Faces at Angkor
Cambodia
Photo Courtesy of Colin Kerins and Agent Orange. The whole experience of the war museums can be overwhelming and surreal, however it is a must see for anyone who visits Vietnam as we seen extraordinary displays which offer an unique, brutal and alternative view to the Vietnam war.
The two war tunnels in HCMC and Vinh Moc gave us an opportunity to understand what it was like in the tunnels during the war. A vast network of strategic tunnels were constructed, with some people living underground for a number of months and even some children been born underground. The tours of the tunnels explained the various workings of Vietnamese people during the war. The expansive tunnel system had all the facilitates to house a small army with sleeping, cooking and medical quarters. Going into the tunnels and crawling on our hands and knees for about 100 metres in dark, hot and claustrophobic conditions was enough for us, I don’t know how someone could survive a day let alone a few months. The tunnels were a fascinating experience and gave us an insight what the Vietnamese people endured less than 40 years ago. Both the war museums and tunnels illustrated a horrific past in
Remains of an U.S plane
Hanoi
Photo Courtesy of Colin Kerins which Vietnam is still recovering from but it was as interesting, educational and informative as anything we have done in the last few months.
Vietnam has a tragic history but it also has some of most beautiful sites in South East Asia. Our 3 day boat trip around Halong bay allowed us to sample the beauty of Vietnam. Halong bay is a Unesco World Heritage site with more than 3000 limestone islands rising from the waters of Gulf Tonkin. There are innumerable grottos and countless caves to explore on these islands. While visiting these caves, we also took in a spot of mountain biking on Cat Ba Island (the biggest island) and kayaking in the sea. Despite the food not being to our liking at all, our 3 day trip around Halong Bay was ideal break from mayhem of Hanoi. In Nha Trang, we went on a one day boat trip, visiting the islands of Hon Mun, Hon Mut, Hon Tam and Hon Mieu. Snorkeling in the sea and visiting a sea aquarium were all part of action packed day. The staff on the boat were very cool and after lunch, they set up a makeshift stage, and
Blue waters of Vietnam
Photo Courtesy of Padraic Heffernan played music for our entertainment. They called people up from all over the world to sing song from their country. I was first to be called up, and even though I can’t sing at all, I got up and sang along to a Vietnamese version of “The Fields of Athenry”. The boat trip in Nha Trang was so much fun and without doubt one of the highlights of Vietnam.
We were a bit short of time when reached Cambodia and in the end we only spent a week visiting Phnon Penh and Siem Reap. Like Vietnam, Cambodia has a horrible history with genocide by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s still fresh in the minds of the people. In Phnom Penh, we visited the Killings Fields of Choeung Ek. Approximately 17,000 men, women and children were killed here. In a large glass case, nearly 8000 skulls, which were discovered after the fall of Khmer Rouge in 1980, are on display to serve as reminder of Cambodia genocide past. After the Killing Fields, we visited Tuol Sleng Museum (S21), a former school which was converted into the largest detention and torture centre during the Khmer Rouge Regime. Our visit
Halong Bay from cave
Photo Courtesy of Padraic Heffernan to both the Killing fields and S21 left us completely speechless and physically drained. For obvious reasons, there are no photographs.
After Phnom Penh, we traveled to Siem Reap to visit the temples of Angkor. Between the 9th and 13th century, the emperors of the Cambodian ancient empire, built some of the biggest and best temples of Asia. The Temples of Angkor are a UNESCO World Heritage site and there are over thousand temples in the area. Angkor Wat is the jewel in the crown, the magnificent structure is the world largest single religious monument. Many of the temples have been restored, while others have decayed over the centuries.
In both Vietnam and Cambodia, we were given the opportunity to shoot guns. At the Cu Chi tunnels in HCMC, there is a firing range in which the army sells its surplus ammunition to tourists to shoot. I had never had seen a real gun, let alone shoot one so when the opportunity arose, we took it. There is a large collection of guns to choice from, and I personally, shot the AK-47, M-16 and a pistol. The sound of the gunfire can deafen you and within
Tank
HCMC / Saigon
Photo Courtesy of Colin Kerins seconds the clip is empty and the budget for week is gone. In Cambodia, there is also a gun range in which all the tourist go to. Cambodia is a bizarre place, one day you are visiting the site of the country’s worst genocide, the next day you are unloading a shotgun down the a firing range. It can be great fun shooting a number of different guns but one of the lads had more fun than the rest of us, spending over 500 US dollars in matter of minutes between the two shooting ranges. I must admit I have always been against guns and it must be noted that we didn’t shoot any live animals (which you can). All we did was shoot a few (or a lot) bullets down a firing range. I have no intention of ever shooting another gun so my experiences in Vietnam and Cambodia were very enjoyable.
Our month traveling Vietnam and Cambodia has been unlike any other countries we have visited. Vietnam and Cambodia both have terrible recent history and the atrocities of war and genocide are on display for everyone to see. The architectural beauty of the Temples of Angkor
PTB in the tunnel
HCMC
Photo Courtesy of Padraic Heffernan and the natural beauty of Vietnam and Halong Bay in particular illustrates that there is another side to Vietnam and Cambodia in which some people don’t know about. Shooting guns in Vietnam and Cambodia was surreal, fun and very expensive. The last month traveling through Vietnam and Cambodia has been more educational and enlightening than any other place we have visited. Now it time to return to Thailand and sample some of the best islands in the world!
Author’s Note:
I am having real camera trouble, my first camera broke and my second camera was stolen. So big thanks to Podge and Colin for use of their photographs
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tuffy
non-member comment
keep it goin ptb
have you any insights into maybe missed treasures on the east coast- something others omit to mention- any personal gems??