It is impossible to go to Vietnam and ignore the Vietnam war (and the conflicts before and after it). Vietnam has suffered at the hands of foreign armies including the French, Chinese, Japanese, American and other allied forces. The Vietnam War is the most obviously destructive war with evidence of it all across Vietnam.
On our way between Hanoi and Halong Bay we stopped at a craft centre. I immediately jumped to the conclusion this was one of the regular scams put on by tour companies where they get massive kick backs by depositing bus loads of tourist to buy overpriced items. But I was very wrong. Handspan (the tour company we went to Halong Bay with) has an eye for be ecological and helping out local NGOs and Charities. The craft centre we had stopped at is an employment scheme for disabled Vietnamese who otherwise often get forgotten about or become a large financial burden on a family. The centre (http://hongngocvn.com/) focuses on teaching disabled people craft skills they can use to become independent. It also acts as a centre to help disabled people feel a level of independence and regain dignity and autonomy. Most of the birth defects of the workers are a direct result of their parents drinking water contaminated by Agent Orange. Agent Orange is a herbicide sprayed by the gallon by the Americans in the Vietnam War to kill the forest so they could try to find the enemy forces. Sadly many Vietnamese are still being born with mental and physical disabilities decades later. Our tour guide today informed us that the rains each year flush the compound from higher to lower grounds impacting more people every year. the compound is firmly embedded into the food chain and unlikely to leave any time soon. We purchased a silk embroidery piece that looked stunning plus they let us meet the lady who made it. Sadly she was deaf and mute but we thanked her for making something so beautiful.
After the hustle and bustle of Hanoi it was nice to get into the relaxed town of Hue after our first real Vietnamese sleeper train. The train was comfortable if a bit more aged then the Chinese trains but we shared with a lovely couple from Holland touring Asia. Trading travel stories helped to pass the hours before bed. Hue is on a river and has been a great place to stay (if only briefly). For many years it was the country capital for various emperors and in their centre is a grand citadel with large square walls (bigger then Chester but a bit smaller then Xian) and a moat. Like Beijing the royal residence was laid out in the centre along a north south line. Unlike Beijing the royal forbidden city and royal courts and temples and government buildings have not survived. They where repeatedly bombed during the Vietnam War and the French conflict before. Almost everything was destroyed but they are slowly trying to restore and rebuild.
As the heavy clouds show we were at the royal grounds when a tropical thunderstorm rolled in. But unlike in Britain we welcomed the rain. It had been so hot (37 degree) and humid that the rain was a relief. We became the crazy English people waving off Taxis as we happily walked back to the Hotel in the pouring rain enjoying the free shower. Michelle was particularly happy that the puddles were warm enough to jump into and wade through. After a busy day exploring the city centre we went to bed early.
Today we went on a tour around the former Demilitarized Zone. We went to museums, monuments, landmarks, memorials and the war time tunnels. We saw pictures and the evidence of the tonnes of explosives rained down by the USA on the Vietnamese military and civilians. The deaths and injuries are ongoing with unexploded shells and mins still claiming fresh victims every year.
Visiting a Vietnamese war cemetery was a sobering experience. 58,220 U.S. service members died in the war but estimates of Vietnamese military and civilian deaths range between 1 million and 5 million. One of the reasons the range is so huge is the number of deaths that where unrecorded. The cemetery was full of graves marked with the words Chưa Biết Tên - Not Know Name. Hundreds and hundreds of unknown soldiers. The place was very similar to the WW1 cemeteries in Europe. This was one of the small cemeteries. Each grave is kept clean and attended to with regular burning of incense. Members of the public will also leave gift for the departed either incense, liquor, cigarettes or food.
All Viet war grave has the same words at the top.
Liệt Sỹ - Martyr
Liệt Sỹ - Martyr
Our final stop of the day was to visit Vinh Moc tunnels. A complex of tunnels hand dug into the red clay during the Vietnam war to provide shelter for villagers from the intense American bombing. The tunnels were built in 3 levels down to a depth of 30m and held up to 60 families with 350 individuals taking shelter in the underground sanctuary. The tunnel were light only by candles but held, sleeping quarters, maternity ward (17 underground births), nursery, meeting room, well, wash room and toilet. Above ground they hand turned a shell fragment into a bell to sound the alarm calling people to hide.
The above pictures show the warning "bell" and a family living quarters. They where intentionally kept small to minimise the risk of a cave in. Below are some tunnel pictures. It was very Humid in the tunnels and the camera struggled to focus in the low light.
The entire tunnel complex was built by the beach with many exits directly looking out to sea. Vietnam has a sad past but it is still a breath taking environment to be in.
Comments