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A nail salon in the markets of Saigon
Spot the blondie in the far left corner...I got a much needed pedicure for SUPER cheap! They all loved that I was going to the local spot rather than an expensive touristy one :) Backtracking just a bit...we've actually been in Cambodia since the 21st or so! And apologies for no photos...I wrote this ages ago, and I've been trying to download pics for the past week, each time with no luck--bummer. We'll try to get some on once we get to Thailand mid-July!
Saigon was a cool city for the 3 days we spent there. It didn't have the quaint feeling of the Old Quarter in Hanoi, but the people were lovely, the street food as tasty, and the cyclos and motos still asking us if we wanted a ride. People always asking "where you from?" and wanting to know your name, etc.
After spending nearly 3 weeks in Vietnam, I learned so much more about the Vietnam War (or American War as it's called here) in the few days in Saigon than I'd known all of my life. Considering that it went on during our parents' lifetime and America was the big player in it, it's amazing that a lot of my generation know very little about it. It's quite interesting to hear all the information from the Vietnam side of things; I became fascinated with everything I learned.
In
Our favorite beer
Somehow we've missed mentioning that the coldest drink you can get is an ice cold beer at little local bars. They pour you some in these little plastic jugs for you to then pour into glasses. The choice of seating is usually plastic chairs or stools and tables. So cheap and so good on hot humid days! America, people learned about the war through media, etc. But in Vietnam, the people actually lived through it. Every elderly person on the street, parents of people my age--they all fought on one side or the other. They dug tunnels in their homes to escape to during the raids. Thousands and thousands of civilians lost their lives. It was a brutal war, no matter who "won". And while some Americans would never consider going to Vietnam, the Vietnamese, as a country, welcome us with open arms.
In the south, the Viet Cong were based in the Cu Chi area, about an hour outside of Saigon. The area was made up of several small villages, but only 5 or 6 people in the village would actually be part of the VC. No one really knew who they were--they were 'traitors' to the Southern government. The VC built underground tunnels in the area and lived in them for nearly 25 years. They began in the 1950's during the war with the French, and by the time the Vietnam war was over, they'd built 250km of tunnels. They not only lived in them, but they used them during warfare, popping in and
Cu Chi Tunnels
This was an original tunnel opening in the ground - completely hidden under leaves, barely big enough for me to fit...Dan was a tight squeeze! out of the ground, boobing trapping them for enemies who dared to follow them.
We did a day trip out to visit these tunnels. Our guide, "Jackie", a 50-ish man who dressed well and had long black hair gave us all a history lesson on the drive. He was drafted at 17, but attempted to cut off his finger so he wouldn't' have to fight. However, the next year, he was recruited by the Americans to be an interpreter. After the war, he was put in prison or a "reunification camp" as they were called, for 3 years.
During our tour we got to crawl in a few different tunnels, some of them made wider for the "big Western tourists". I felt claustrophobic after only a few minutes! We saw several different booby traps, how they lived in the different levels of the tunnels...it was all quite fascinating.
There was also the opportunity to fire off some huge guns (sorry, I don't know the specific names, but they were big), but Dan and I are both opposed to this--it's only there to draw some dollars from the tourists...we're supposed to be discouraging blowing things up...
The War Another tunnel
Excuse the view but this just shows how small and narrow some of the tunnels they LIVED in were!! Remnants Museum
Another eye-opener, this museum put all the graphic photos and stories of the war on display. It used to be called the "American War Crimes Museum'' but the name changed recently 😊 Of course, it was a bit one-sided, but the photos are real, and the pictures of people, especially children, effected by the napalm and Agent Orange are real. They even have a deformed fetus in a container--sick, I know. I actually got a bit emotional looking at all the massacre photos and stories. Then Senator Kerry's photo and "story" were displayed...
The war took many lives, and many young people of Vietnam are still feeling the effects of it, though the country has moved on and since opening the its doors to tourists, Vietnamese people have found peace with each other, learning to get on with life and not dwell in the past. It's a cool place that everyone should try to travel to!
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