Now we are in the middle of the country in a town called Hue to take a tour of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). For those of you not American or don't know, the Vietnam war (they call it The American War - rightly so) was fought here. The Vietnamese don't understand WHY we would want a poor country but most Americans will tell you we were trying to wipe out communism. The DMZ is divided by a river which separated North Vietnam (communist) and South Vietnam (supported by the States). This zone was supposed to be free of fighting, but of course, like any war things go wrong and it seemed MOST of the gruesome fighting took place here. Many U.S. army bases were here and the Ho Chi Minh Trail (used to bring artillery to the south which was American occupied). The north won, so the country is communist (a much better type than before). One good thing that came out of the war is....icecream!!! (Tasted so good after eating Asian food for a month straight)
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Those of you who are American might know what this is. During the American War (Vietnam war), the local guerillas (the Viet Cong) used tunnels to live, fight and sneak up on the Americans. Living underground allowed the Vietnamese cheap housing (good idea!!) and opportunity to fight unseen. Rather ingenious, if I say so myself! Because of something called 'safety', the tunnels are cemented and made larger so those monster tourists can get through!
An entrance to the Viet Cong tunnels. Our guide covered it with leaves and asked us to find it. No luck. When he first said to go down we thought he was kidding. My hips barely fit.
Yeah, Vietnam has a BIT of a termite problem. This termite hill over the tunnel was perfect for snipers in surprising Americans (see that hole at the bottom?). Sometimes a series of these were created so that smoke from the kitchen was not detected. This was so the tunnels were not found by spotting one trail of smoke.
A map of the tunnels. The three colors represent three levels. Top (starting at 5 ft. deep) used for the army, middle used for civilians, and the bottom (15ft.deep) was used for artillery storage. The civilians that dug the tunnels got to live in them. What a pay check, hey? A chance to live!!
The lovely traps that were left for the Americans. The one in the center was nicknamed the souvenir trap because if a foot goes through the center you need to clip the prongs to get your foot out. They made many different traps that made the Americans so paranoid they would step in the foot print of the person in front of them. The traps are made from whatever materials the Americans left behind.
A lovely bamboo trap found in the VC's tunnels. So the enemy (Americans) isn't even safe in your own home - the Viet Cong just remember where all the traps are!!!.
Excuse the daggy photo but it proves a major point. A perfect example of why the Vietnamese 'won' the war. (won, American's pulled out, whatever). These are the shoes that the VC (local guerillas who lived in the tunnels) wore. The materials are made from AMERICAN tires which last the whole war and are great because they provide enough support and at the same time dry quickly in the jungle. What really cracks me up is that the material is all from the AMERICAN'S army (anything from bullet to tires were reused). These people have learned how to make something out of nothing for generations and when war came, survival was something they knew how to do already (we were missing our microwave dinners). It amazes me that these people used OUR materials to make complicated mines, shoes and artillery to use AGAINST us.
Got to choose between ten different guns to shot from, including a Tommy and a shot gun. I chose the AK-47 and the M-16, mostly because I hear a lot about the AK-47 and the M-16 was the gun the Americans carried around during the war.
Check this out. See the headphones I am wearing? At first we thought those were ear protection headphones, but later we realized they were music ear phones. Music earphones are cheaper then the real ones and they can get away with it, so why not? Hahahahaha I like how the guy watching me is plugging his ears. He must be the only guy that when his wife complains that he doesn’t listen, has a valid excuse as fingers in the ears don’t really block out any sound.
Now we leave Hue and go a bit south to Hoi Ann a largely touristy town were people end up staying for weeks doing hardly anything.(I spent five hours here.)
YIKES!!! Souvenirs for tourists, but I got a photo instead as knew it would never make it back to the States intact. Your would-be souvenir Kent!!
Here is just a photo to prove that old Vietnamese is really just Chinese. You are supposed to go "ahhhh, how interesting."
In one of the older Chinese houses from the 19th centuty. You are supposed to realize by this time that Vietnam has lots of Chinese influence.
In southern Vietnam there is a mountain full of marble (called Marble Mountain - how creative) and the people there have carved stuff for the tourists to buy for cheap. A small chess set costs 1 American dollar though she would probably take 50 American cents if you haggled with her.
Saigon: the nicest city in the country (due to American influence before/during the war). First time I saw a supermarket and department store (other wise you go to the market in the center of town for everything you need). On the other hand, the War Remnants Museum was the most scariest experience I've ever had. I can't tell you what it was like, but can do the next best thing and give you photos from the museum. This museum was scary partly because it was mostly based on the emotional aspects of war and blaming the Americans for everything (We are used to that but it was good to hear their side of the story). To give you an example one display showed a map of the world with all the countries but the US against the war (though later on, most Americans were against the war) and comparing the Americans to monsters. HEADS UP ! The following link leads to some pretty gruesome photos but worth the time they take to download. CHECK THEM OUT!!
During the war, the President of South Vietnam was bombed twice. This is where the war 'ended'; when a tank rolled up the lawn of this mansion and demanded a surrender. We were told the people hated him so much he slept in a different room every night because he was afraid of being assassinated. In this mansion the war was run from behind his desk. The maps are still there.
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