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Open-Air Lobby
War Remnants MuseumI checked out the War Remnants Museum one of the days. It gives a very candid view of the Vietnam War from the other side. Not a lot of punches pulled - not surprising really all things considered. It'd be like the Confederate South recounting the "War of Northern Aggression" had they been victorious.
Anyways lots of atrocity stories and fallout (disease, horrible birth defects) from Agent Orange (think Chernobyl/Hiroshima) in future generations - not dinner table conversation. The US sent quite a few artifacts and documents in recent years as a sign of goodwill. A lot of military hardware on the front lawn.
My favorite part was the top floor which was dedicated to the scores of journalists from many nations who entered the warzones unarmed to bring the message back home. Surprisingly warm and touching especially when compared to the rest of the exhibits. Many of these guys were killed, and many others never accounted for.
Also a pretty in-depth look at the protests around the world about US action in Vietnam: Kent State, girl putting the flower in the National Guardsmen's rifle, those kinds of events. Bias was non-existent in this section of the exhibit.
I also checked out the Cu Chi Tunnels. Basically an incredibly intricate tunnel network created in response to the US carpet bombing campaigns. Also pretty remarkable - self-sustained, self-sufficient, multi-faceted underground village. And very small. Passageways in some parts were incredibly tight, tough to get shoulders through, and I'm me - no 6 footers here, that's for sure.
Lots of demos of spinny, cutting Medieval-style booby traps. Wood and spikes mostly - simple and effective. And stories of using the myriad unexploded ordinance to create mines for troops and tanks. Really uplifting stuff.
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