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Published: January 14th 2009
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American jet
Shot down during the "America war" Saigon is the former capital of Vietnam and the city where the French based their colonial activities when the colonised Vietnam. When Vietnam was split into North and South it is where the Americans and their lackeys (if you believe propaganda) were based. After the North took the South they renamed the Ho Chi Min City after the former North Vietnamese leader. However the name never really caught on and anyone who isn't in the communist party still calls it Saigon.
We had been told that Saigon was crazy and chaotic and that we would be in for a big shock. However after visiting Hanoi and dodging motorbikes for days Saigon seemed positively serene. It could have just been our experience but the fact that most people arrive to Vietnam in Saigon probably means that they think Saigon is worse than it actually is. That being said the traffic in Vietnam is the worst we have ever seen, when you walk out onto the road and simply have to trust that the motorbikes will go round you and not through it can be a bit nerve racking.
In our time in Saigon we visited a few of the
main sites. One of these was the reunification pallace which before the country became one was the government building of the South Vietnamese and the former French headquarters. The building was very interesting as it has been left in the same state since the 1970's. It was also full of anti-american propoganda, most of which described the Americans as invaders and their allies as lackeys. It's funny to see this sort of thing as it seems to have no effect on the general population who are happy to chat to anyone no matter if you were once a lackey or not.
Around the corner from here is the war crimes or genocide museum. This was an interesting museum but once again it was slightly slanted against the Americans. The museum did showcase some interesting photos however their source was somewhat questionable. For instance there were photos of people injured by “American” landmines. However the Nth Vietnamese also planted thousands of landmines which also affected innocent civilians. One part of the museum that was really good was an exhibtion of photos by war photographers during the Vietnam war. Some of these photos were amazing and it was a very worthwhile exhibit.
Using the Ho Chi Min trail in Laos and Cambodia the North were able to funnel massive amounts of supplies into Southern Vietnam. One section of the trail merges into the Cu Chi tunnels. This was an area of very heavy fighting in Vietnam war. Heavy bombing by the Americans lead to the population of the area going underground and digging a massive complex of tunnels under the area. The people lived in the tunnels and the were equiped with, houses, weapons factories, clothing shops and hospitals. The Vietcong would use the tunnels to attack the American soldier and they would either come up for a second shooting a solider or they would shoot from carefully concealed holes in the earth. This left the Americans wondering who was shooting them and would have doen nothing to help their mental situation. Walking around the forest you couldn't see more than 5 metres into the forest, let alone people shooting at you from under the ground.
Some of these tunnels have been widened for westerners to climb through. They were still very small and craustophobic. After what felt like 3 hours but was probably closer to 5 minutes Triona had
had enough and escaped out of an exit to the surface. Pete managed to continue to the end of the tunnel, at one point he had slide through the tunnel like a snake and at another point both his shoulder hit the walls and he had to wiggle around to unstick himself. Inside the tunnels it is very dark, cold, moist and squashed. It is crazy to think that people lived in the tunnels for years. People would get married and give birth in these tunnels.
We were also treated to a movie about the peoples struggle in this area with some of the most obvious propaganda that I have ever seen. It described the American imperilaists as a heartless devil who for no obvious reason wanted to destroy the peaceful and blissful existance of the Cu Chi Villagers. In a way I suppose that it is partly true but it was still an interesting way to word it.
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