Penchant

Vietnam - Saigon (Pictures)

Vietnam - Saigon

By the time I got to Vietnam I was running short on time in Asia. I’d stayed far longer in Thailand than initially planned and I was already cutting out places from my trip. But, I had an open invitation from Daniel and Stephanie’s parents to stay with them in Hanoi, that I wasn’t about to pass up. So I was off to Vietnam

My first stop was Saigon. While technically it was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in the 1980s, most residents use either interchangeably. The first thing one will run into here are the motorbikes. In a city of 15 million people, there are 12 million motorbikes. The city doesn’t have much in the way of crosswalks, and when they do, there aren’t any lights. Crossing the street is like playing a real life game of Frogger. At first it’s nerve-wracking, but once you become good at it, it’s actually kind of exhilarating. The actual city itself, however, isn’t all that exciting. It’s just a dumpy major city that isn’t uniquely Vietnamese. But there are several museums I wanted to see, all of which were about the Vietnam War.

All Americans learn about “The War of American Aggression,” yet the only question posed to us in history courses are whether it was necessary for us to be there. Having studied this subject and era extensively in college, I was fascinated with seeing the other side to the story.

The Reunification Palace is one of the most important symbols of the war. In 1975, North Vietnamese tanks stormed the gates, signaling the end of the war and reunifying the nation, hence the name. Prior to that it was the seat of the South Vietnamese government and head of U.S. Military operations during the war. Following a bombing in 1950s, it was rebuilt with a new design. Like most Palaces, the furniture and décor hasn’t been changed since its beginning. Because of this, the Palace looks straight out of the 1960s, which is pretty cool. Hell, a lot of the old U.S. communications equipment is still housed in the Palace bunker.

The other major stop in the city is the War museum, which is one of the best museums I’ve ever been to. The walls are covered with almost every weapon imaginable from the War. From the smallest pistol, to rocket launchers, to fighter jets sitting in the front yard, their collection was incredible. There was also a collection of photographs from journalists killed during the conflict. Some of them are very powerful and very graphic. Including the one of a Buddhist Monk committing self-immolation on the streets of Saigon, which is the most powerful picture I’ve ever seen. However all exhibits pale in comparison to the one on the victims of Agent Orange.

30 years after the U.S. pulled out of the war, the remnants of Agent Orange still linger. Many babies are born deformed because their parents carry as few as one mutated gene from coming in contact with something contaminated with Agent Orange. The American Government knew all too well about its side effects yet chose to continue using it. Yet no one from the government has ever stood trial for war crimes. It’s an atrocity what the U.S. did to those people, but all is not lost. The exhibit ends giving the observer hope by showing how many people despite their physical defects become functioning members of society. Many end up joining the arts, some having to learn to write and draw with their toes. It’s very moving.

Lastly, I got to see the tunnels in which the Vietcong lived. The Cu Chi tunnels are series of 200 miles of underground passages and rooms that surround the outskirts of Saigon. Throughout the Vietnam War, the Vietcong used these as their home base. Because the Vietcong lived on a small portion of rice and tea per day, they were very small. Far smaller than 9 out of 10 American soldiers. So, the tunnels were tiny. No soldier could fit in there. And if they did it was too easy to get lost.

We were able to go through the actual tunnels (they’ve widened them for us fat westerners), and they had on display the homemade traps that were used against the U.S. military. They’re very simple, but highly effective and undoubtedly painful. These guerilla tactics and the inability of the American military to flush out the Vietcong from the tunnels were the main reasons for the eventual pullout by the United States.

By the end of my stay in Saigon, I’d begun to have a better understanding of how the Vietnamese people view the war. It was obviously a tough time for them, but no one seems to harbor much resentment. In fact, as the borders have opened up in the past 15 to 20 years, many of the youth are embracing western culture at an increasing rate. As I would learn throughout my trip, this is a pretty common thing. Especially in places it’s least expected.

Cambodia - Phnom Penh (Pictures)

Cambodia - Phnom Penh

I was only in Phnom Penh for two days, but they were chock full of activities. The first day I wandered around the city, stopping in a few museums along the way. They were mostly full of historical artifacts from the Angkor people. I also went to the royal palace. Compared with the Grand Palace of Bangkok, it was quite small. But the craftsmanship was just as beautiful and it was far less crowded. You could explore the details of the palace without being swarmed with hordes of tourists, which made for a more enjoyable experience. But, all the cultural stuff aside, there were two reasons I stopped in Phnom Penh: the firing ranges and the killing fields.

Rumors swirl along backpacker trails about lesser-publicized activities. The mother of which lies in Phnom Penh. According to a rumor there is a firing range outside the city where one can blow up a cow with a rocket launcher. I had to at least check out the validity of this claim.

I hired a tuk-tuk driver to drive me around for the day. Our first stop was the firing range. Several ex-military operatives run the operation in a little concrete building on the outskirts of town. They literally handed me a menu of guns and respective prices. Naturally the one to catch my eye was the RPG. I had to do it. But, I didn’t want to start with something so powerful. I figure: start small and work your way up. I started with a 9mm then try an AK-47.

By now I had to ask: Can you really blow up a cow? Yes. But it costs $150. And they were out of cows. I was offered a goat.

Whether or not I would have blown up a cow, I didn’t have enough money on me. But, what’s the point in shooting something that powerful without a target? A propane tank was far cheaper. And I did have enough money for that. So I bought it.

The handgun was fine. Been there done that. The AK was very cool. Especially when holding down the trigger. But the RPG is almost beyond description.

We had to go another hour further into the countryside to even shoot it. Nestled in between a secluded series of hills is another military firing range. There I met two Aussies who were doing exactly what I was. They had bought a set of hand grenade and RPG rounds. So we all took turns having fun with each explosion. Because of the topography, there was a tremendous echo every time any round went off. It was awesome.

When it was my turn to fire the RPG, I could not have been more excited. I’d never blown anything up. And it would stay that way. I missed the propane tank. In hindsight it was probably a good thing. The soldiers later told us a story of how someone had blown up the tank and the shrapnel nearly took out some of the onlookers. I’m also glad they didn’t tell us that beforehand.

Even though I missed, the soldiers brought out a belt fed machine gun. This time we made sure to take out the propane tank. Though it didn’t create an explosion like the RPG would have, it was still fun as hell.

By the time we got to the Killing Fields it was late afternoon. I realized there were two reasons the driver suggested doing the firing range first. Most tourists want to do either the grenade or RPG, which takes several hours. Seeing the Killing Fields puts you in no mood to handle any type of weapon. The whole experience was very eye opening.

Cambodia was taken over by the ruthless dictator Pol Pot for the five years following the end of the Vietnam War (or war of American aggression, depending on your point of view). Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge closed all borders and put everyone into work camps. Those who didn’t follow orders or were deemed unfit, were taken to separate camps and killed. It’s an almost exact copy of Nazi concentration camps.

It was not a fun experience visiting this place, but I feel it’s a necessary one. If for no reason other than an awareness of the evil in this world.

Cambodia - Siem Reap (Pictures)