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Published: September 5th 2007
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Playing Rambo
Yeah, we'll take the two that say bad ass mutha****as on 'em... ***After a serious blog in Cambodia we tried to lighten the theme in this one but please don't misconstrue that as being disrespectful especially to those who served in Vietnam***
After a 6 hour journey from Phnom Penh we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), it was a nice change. Ho Chi Minh City is a city bustling full of activity. So much so that the traffic situation is insane. In order to cross the street you have to walk out into the middle of it and the traffic will part around you. Later on we met some people from the US and decided to take a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels together.
The Cu Chi tunnels are a complex system of tunnels where some members the Viet Cong lived during the war. Before walking to the tunnels they showed us a "documentary" of some vietnamese villagers fighting in the war. It was more than uncomfortable for us but interesting to see the story told from the other perspective. The tunnels were crazy! They were tiny holes in the ground that spidered for over 200 square kilometers in every direction. Ryan got inside a foxhole, but there
I'll take a #47
On second thought make it a double! was no way Russ was going to fit, just take a look at the picture. Along the path we walked among destroyed US tanks, B-52 bomb craters, munitions left over from the war, and the different bunkers that the VC called home. Some interesting architectural facts about the tunnels are: the bunkers were shaped according to their purpose. For example, the bomb bunkers were shaped like triangles in order to stop the roofs from collapsing during air strikes, the kitchen chimney was designed to carry the smoke away from the kitchen in order to keep its location hidden and some of the tunnels went as deep as 30 feet below the surface. The tunnels were pitch black and boiling hot. At the end of the tour we ended up at the shooting range where Ryan wanted to try some bigger weapons. This time he decided to opt for the M-60. We posted the range pictures from Phnom Penh, Cambodia in this blog as well because we felt it to be innappropriate in our last one. We also checked out the war remnants museum that documented the atrocities of war and some of the arsenal used. Once again we found ourselves
You Serious Clark???
Russ has a little apprehension while holding a Cambodian Cherry Bomb. in the uncomfortable situation of having to see a side of the war that we found to be less than objective.
Our last day in Saigon was spent searching for our dad's old army base ("Plantation" and Long Binh). We spent most of the day riding around on the back of motorscooters fearing for our lives, especially when our drivers decided to drive on the sidewalk, weaving around pedestrians, to avoid flooded roads. We figured that if they can balance 15 water bottles, a TV and the rest of their family on one of these, we would probably be just fine. Upon arriving, we discovered that the scenery had changed quite a bit from the photos our dad had shown us and it was difficult to find anyone who actually knew where it was. Think about how you would try to act out the words US army base in charades taking into account the setting we were in. No thanks. Speaking of the unknown...so we had seen multiple signs saying the same thing, but not knowing vietnamese we paid little attention and kept wandering about. Apparently, the signs we failed to understand were do not enter signs. We walked
Streets of Saigon
It isn't even rush hour. right into a VC army base with our cameras around our neck haha. Talk about an awkward situation. While looking for the guard tower where our dad stood watch we encountered snakes, pissed off cows, and just wandered right into their base. It wasn't apparent to us until an actual guard appeared in the guard tower we were heading towards. Needless to say we got out of there pretty quick. The chaffeurs of our steel stallions found it pretty entertaining though.
We decided not to waste what little time we have in Vietnam so we hopped on the night bus for a little R & R in Nha Trang. After the 10 hour sweaty, sleepless ride, all we wanted to do was eat and take a nap. Nha Trang is a beautiful beach town and it is a good place to unwind. That's exactly what we have been doing. Well, that and starting Vietnamese dance parties in the local bars...with the help of Colleen, one of the Americans we met in Saigon. We are headed up the coast to Hoi An, Da Nang, and Hue where we plan on checking out some more sights from the war and relaxing
Me in a Nutshell
Actually a foxhole... on China Beach. We will post another short blog after a few days. Later!
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Nicole
non-member comment
You bitches are crazy!! Really, I'm just jealous!