vietnam

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We heard them before we saw them and within seconds they were on top of us. Palms outstretched and screams of "bon bon"and "wondolla". we were in a village in the heart of the DMZ and the place was hot. training kicked in. i brought my camera to the aim and gave it to them with 7.1 megapixel of full metal jacket. i ran for cover. the guy to my left had his nikon on automatic and was shooting a bunch of women and children. a shout came from the rear. "heh-coo-me. we must go." we had been there just a few minutes and already they were pulling us out. we popped smoke and withdrew to the vehicle. no one spoke on the journey to kah sanh combat base. this was my baptism of fire - deluxe buses and tour groups. Welcome to nam!

i was staying in hue and had taken a tour of the former demilitarised zone. Time in the DMZ can send a man crazy, especially when your are rushed in and out of sights and mobbed by kids everywhere you go, so after just a few days i made my way down to china beach for some well earned R and R. I stayed at hoas place and enjoyed good food, swimming in the sea and beer. From the relative calm of china beach i conducted missions into neighbouring hoi an.

Hoi an is a quaint riverside town lined with rows and rows of clothes shops and tailors. it is from here that you can get any item of clothing custom made. it is madness. women are hysterical and unable to control themselves, sifting through clothes rails and catalogues, hearts racing and gasping for air their brains are consumed with one thought - shopping. i pitied any man with female company. Being a hunter rather than a gatherer my mission was clear - a casual two piece fitted suit with a couple of shirts to match. moving through the chaos i identified my target and moved in for the kill. a couple of fittings later and an exchange of not a lot of money and my prey was tagged and bagged and on a one way journey home.

mission accomplished i turned my attention to nha trang and some deep water ops. i completed a four day PADI dive course and got myself certified as a diver. it was amazing and something i think i will pursue when my tour of duty is over. nha trang also had a nice beach and some cool bars for a spot of 'Apres dive'". also moonlighted as a cycle rickshaw driver but my memories of that are somewhat blurred.

moving via Dalat i made my assault on saigon also called ho chi minh city. it was during the build up to tet and the chinese new year and the place was swarming with people. i spent just a few days here and visited the cu chi tunnels which was interesting but what i found more thought provoking was the war remnants museum. the vietnam war in vietnam is viewed from a very different perspective, after all the present communist government were the victors. it is called the american war, the americans the enemy and the vietcong the liberating forces. it was a dirty war with chemical weapons and massacres, but visiting vietnam now you would never know it. it is promising to see how much this country has bounced back.

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Photos

chapstick war museum
"i love the smell of lip balm in the morning - smells like victory!"

Comments

[ewan]

You look totally stoked to be down a tunnel, hope you didn't break your foot on the way down!

[tomontour]

tunnels
yeah - i love tunnels. anyone who knows me will tell you how much i love tunnels. tunnels are great. in fact i d go as far too say that i dig tunnels and not in the physical sense. show me a tunnel and ill show you a very happy man. tunnels rock. damn i love tunnels.