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Published: February 19th 2012
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Tuesday Feb 14th finds us arriving in Ho Chi Minh city as named by the communists at the end of the Vietnam war. The people, however, call the city Saigon as it has been for hundreds of years. We are met by Quinnie our guide and travel by bus to our hotel. it is Valentine's day and we see hundreds of sweethearts perched on motorscooters along the river and in the parks. Our hotel is the Riverside Renaissance and is spectacular with the crowning glory of a beautiful outdoor pool on the 21st flr with a 360 degree view of the city. We are met by Jim who takes us for a drink at the Rex Hotel which was where journalists had their daily briefings during the war.
Weds we start our day with a bus ride to the Presidential palace. We stop outside the famous gates which the North Vietnamese crashed through to end the war. The palace has been maintained in it's 60's decor and we can all see our parents basements in the furnishings. We move on to Notre Dame Cathedral built by the French during colonization. We continue on to the war museum which we are
told will show us a different side to the Vietnamese history than we heard from Hoang. Hoang's father fought for the North Vienamese army and Quinnie's father fought for the south. Her personal stories are just as passionate as Hoang's but are much closer to the suffering of the losing side. The first room we see at the museum is called Requiem and is dedicated to the many photo journalists who lost their lives taking pictures for the world to see the truth of the Vietnam war. We are all deeply moved and it is a quiet ride back to the hotel. It is very hot so a quick swim and lunch and we are picked up later in the afternoon for the first of Jim's surprises. We are taken to a building used in the war to house the CIA. It is from the roof of this building the helicopters rescued US CIA people and many south vIetnamese who helped them on April 30th, 1975 when Saigon fell to the communists. A famous picture of this is known throughout the world. It is only with the permission of the building owner, police and communists that we are allowed to
revisit this building as few have been able to do. Jim's Vietnamese partner Paul has gone to great lengths for this to happen and it is an exciting event for their company too. Three photographers were hired to take pictures of our group climbing the ladder in the exact location as the 1975 event. Jim will have the original picture along with ours framed for us all. The climb is tricky but we all make it! We celebrate with drinks after at the Caravelle Hotel where the original photo was taken. Dinner at a French restaurant ends a very momentous day.
Thurs. We travel by bus through busy but much more orderly traffic. Hundreds of motorscooters at each corner going all directions but more cars than Hanoi. Jim has prepared a CD for us which transports us back to the days of Sheldon! First the theme songs from TV shows...Bonanza, Beverly Hillbillies, Star Trek, The Saint, Friendly gIant,Don Messer's Jubilee...then we hear news clips...Kennedy assassination, Mohammed Ali, Man's first steps on the moon, Paul Henderson's goal and lastly the music of the 60's....Light My Fire, These Eyes, Johhny Be Good......we all sing along. We get off the bus for a break and a convoy of US Army jeeps appears to transport us to the Cu Chi region....we are still in the 60's....same time but totally different place! Off to the Cu Chi tunnels to see how the Viet Cong created an underground network to fight from. I could only make it down two sets of steps before the darkness and small space turns me on my tail. Many others make it through and will always remember the feeling. Jim purchases live ammunition and the boys try their hands at firing an M16 ,AK47 and M60 machine fun! Not your everyday activity!!!!
We have all commented on how little we actually knew about the Vietnam war. We have now met the people, heard their stories and have learned so much.
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