Hanoi and Ha Long Bay

I wrote a blogpost on our time in Hanoi 4 days ago and when I went to post it, it had disappeared!  Now we have been 3 days in Malaysia (and have already posted on Facebook from here) but am finally getting back to the Hanoi part :)

We loved our 5 days in Hanoi, which included an over night excursion to Halong Bay.  I shared in a Facebook post that we were especially fond of the small street where our hotel was located in the old quarter where we had our nightly favorite cocktail at the Polite Pub and after dinner take-away dessert from the French bakery.

We were especially impressed and moved by the Women's Resistance Museum which chronicled almost a 100 years of Vietnamese  women's leadership in the struggles for independence and human rights. To mention a couple women - Madame Binh, still active at 90, who led the PRG delegation at the Paris Peace Talks in the  late 60's and early 70's; Ngo Ba Thanh, a leading lawyer activist in the South during the war; and the Buddhist nuns who chained themselves together (with the threat of self-immolation) to demand the release of political prisoners promised with the Paris Peace Agreement.   I was struck by story after story of particular Vietnamese women and their courage, creativity, and persistance in their struggle - an inspiration for us in thinking about our own commitments to the work that is needed in the US today.

On another day we visited the Temple of Literature, begun over thousand years ago as a Confucian university.  While I was walking around, Ron sat down and was soon engaged in a lively discussion with about a dozen Vietnamese high school students on a wide range of topics from protest to Trump to music. About a half hour later, their group leader came to collect them. The Museum of Fine Arts was conveniently located across the street.  We particularly enjoyed the contemporary art, including some paintings addressing issues such as environmental degradation.  There were many pieces that portrayed dimensions of war in Vietnam from WW II through the American war.

We also saw a performance of one of Hanoi's reknown water puppet theater groups.  Lots of humerous folk tales acompanied ny traditional music.  Fun! We did not make it into the mausoleum of an embalmed Ho Chi Minh (against his wishes when he was alive) though we did see it from the outside and saw the house where he spent some time.

Midway through our time in the North, we spent a delightful, 24 hours on Ha Long Bay about a 3 hour drive northest of Hanoi. Ha Long Bay is an extraordinary, UNESCO World Heritage Site with 1,969 islands - limestone, tree covered outcroppings, small mountains.
There is a major tourist industry taking  people out for 24 or 48 hours on boats fitted out with several dozen staterooms.   You get 4, 5 course meals, kayaking, swimming, and a spectacular cave tour, all while cruising among all these islands.  There are many of these boats.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and our guide Qui.  We were sad to have it end.

Back in Hanoi, as in Ho Chi Minh City, part of our time was spent in meetings with representatives of various groups including the Vietnam Peace Committee, the Vietnam-USA Society and the Foundation for Peace and Development. These appointments were a time of reconnection for Ron and some of the Vietnamese we met as well an opportunity for the Vietnamese to reiterate their gratitude for the American peace movement  (which we heard again and again and found hard to accept ).  But they were also a time to talk about current US politics and to assure the Vietnamese there is much resistance to the Trump agenda. One of the people we met, Vu Xyan Hong, is a member of the National Assembly of Vietnam.  Another, 89 year old Pham Khac Lam, told us some great stories about General Giap and about Ho Chi Minh.

In a future post, I will share some brief impressions of contemporary Vietnam, based on our experiences and reading (limited as they are).

I will also post more pics from Hanoi snd Halong Bay on Facebook.

Hoi An and Hue

Early on in our trip, when we were a bit anxiously trying to negotiate a multi-stage transport to the Mekong Delta, a retired Dutch couple who had been in Vietnam 3 weeks reassured us, "Don't worry; they take care of you here - especially if you are older." Indeed we have found that to be the case.  Whether it is lifting bags on and off trains, some one offering an arm to Ron as he goes down stairs, or helping us get taxis, people are so kind to us.

After we left My Lai we took the train and then a taxi to Hoi An - a UNESCO World Heritage Site untouched by the war with lots of old buildings from its heyday as a major trading seaport in the 15th - 19th centuries.  The old town is closed to cars, making it even more atmospheric.

We stayed 3 nights at a wonderful place called Hoi An Garden Villas, with a couple 2 story buildings set around a pool and gardens.   It felt like paradise to us, and we spent our first 24 hours there without leaving except to go to the pharmacy to get throat lozenges for the cold I had acquired.  Can you imagine - $31 a night with breakfast included? (and even a complimentary dinner the first night).  They took care of us like we were their relatives. 

The second night in Hoi An was the full moon festival -  a celebration of the ancestors.  The electric lights in the old town are turned off and many lanterns and candles are lit, including floating them on the river. There were hoards of friendly people and it sort of reminded me of Day of the Dead in Mazatlan last November.  Honoring one's ancestors in Vietnam is a major impetus for family gatherings and in our discussions with Vietnamese, they have shared how such gatherings have played a major role in the process of reconciling family members divided by the war.

Our stay in Hoi An also gave us an opportunity to have lunch with Andrew Wells-Dang, an ex-pat who has been living in Vietnam over 20 years, now working for Oxfam.  We made the connection with him through a former AFSC colleague of Ron, John McAullife who has been working on US-Vietnam reconciliation since the  eatly 1970's.  We heard from Andrew about current economic and political developments in Vietnam and were able to check out some of the perceptions we had been developing through our experiences and reading.

We were sad to leave Hoi An Garden Villas, and especially our host Trang who had taken such good care of us (including taking me on the back of her motor scooter to retrieve glasses I had left at a restaurant).

On Monday, we followed the advice of some American friends who had traveled in Vietnam, and took a private car with a driver from Hoi An to Hue, making short stops at Marble Mountain and DaNang (which has had massive development in recent years and lots of fancy resorts) before traveling over Hai Van Pass.

Hue was the old imperial capital of Vietnam and the site of major battles in 1968, during the TET offensive.  (That battle was the most intense part of the 1987 Stanley Kubrick film "Full Metal Jacket").  We visited Thien Mu Pagoda and Buddhist temple, another iconic symbol in Vietnam.  Since the 1960's this place and its monks have been a source of political protest in Vietnam.  In 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a monk from this community, went to Saigon where he immolated himself to protest against the policies of South Vietnamese President Diem.   The blue Austin that transported him is on display behind the temple.  Ron vividly remembers that, inspired by Duc, an 82 year old German Jewish American Alice Herz immolated herself 2 years later in protest against the war,  and then Quaker  Norman Morrison and Catholic seminarian Roger La Porte followed.

That afternoon, I spent several hours on my own, wandering the vast area of Imperial Enclosure within the walls of the Citadel of Hue.  Except for tour groups clustered near the entrance,  I found myself sometimes out of sight of any other people and other times, just a few others.  It was fantastic.  The enclosure once had 148 buildings but after bombings in the French and American wars, only a few dozen remain, mostly magnificently restored.  I totally loved the Emperor's reading pavillon and the Queen Mother's pleasure pavillon above the lily pond.  Throne rooms have never done much for me :)

Wednesday, we took an all day trip north from Hue to Quang Tri province and the DMZ (demilitarized zone) and area just north of the DMZ, the parts of Vietnam most heavily saturated with US bombs during the war. The DMZ was north and south of the Ben Hai River, the de facto border between North and South, though the 1954 Geneva Accord intended that the river be only a provisionsal military demarcation until national elections (that never happened due to the Diem regime in the South with US support)  Our first stop was the Mine Action Center in Dong Ha where we met with its director Phu to learn about efforts to deal with the large amounts of unexploded ordinance that remain in Quang Tri province.  They are involved in major effort to map the areas and build up a database accessible to all concerned.   He said because of the huge quantities,  it is an issue of managing rather than eliminating. They do a lot of outreach and education and work cooperatively with other groups including Peace Trees started from Seattle. 

We had arranged for a knowledgeable, English-speaking  guide, Mr. Vu, to be with us for the day.  He takes lots of US vets to the DMZ and knows a huge amount about the war and Vietnamese history.  We traveled on the Ho Chi Minh trail - once a one lane road to transport supplies from North to South, walked across the Ben Hai River  on the replica of the Freedom Bridge (the original had been bombed), and ate lunch on the site of US Firebase 2, listening through our guide to a story of loss and devastation during the war  from our 63 year old cook/server. In the afternoon we visited  Vinh Moc tunnels where a whole Vietnamese fising village lived during the bombing. Quite an experience.

I will post some pics on Facebook.  Still doing this all on my phone!

Now - Thursday, we are on to Hanoi.

Vietnam Days 5-7

(In my first Vietnam post I included 4 days not 3 in case any of you need to keep track :))

Day 5-6:
From Ho Chi Minh City we took an 8 hour train ride to the bustling beach town of Nha Trang.  High rise hotels, beautiful beaches, and huge numbers of Russian tourists. Being white, rather large, European looking types, we found ourselves being addressed in Russian by a number of Vietnamese. I think Ron was hoping to find a Russian or 2 to talk to but didn't find someone willing to engage.

We had been upgraded to a 14th floor ocean view room with floor to ceiling windows in our hotel right across from the beach.  Not bad for $45 a night in a resort town. The next morning we saw
people were already swimming by 6 am.  We were out on the beach by 7:30, renting a couple loungers in the economy section (of course).  The ocean was warm and clear. We had a much needed lazy day with an early dinner at a beach restaurant and lights out at 8 pm.
Days 6 & 7:
We took the 5 am train to Quang Ngai.  (6-7 hours) The train was comfortable though the seats were a little narrow for us.   Lots of beautiful scenery - mostly bright green rice paddies dotted with white birds (perhaps  small herons), and mountains to our west.  When we got on the train at 5 am, 3 Vietnamese women across the aisle appeared to be reading bibles.  Later, with the help of a Vietnamese student using a translation app on his phone, we learned that they were Catholic nuns from the Sisters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul . They work with the poor in Hanoi.  They insisted on sharing food with us that they had brought for their 30 plus hour trip.  It was good to break bread together.

When we disembarked at Quang Ngai we were were met by another former political prisoner from the time of the American war along with his 12 year old granddaughter to help with communication.  He hosted a meeting  that afternoon with about 8 others who were part of the Association of Former Political Prisoners - mostly formalities and short speeches.  (and more flowers)

The American Friends Service Committee had a clinic in Quang Ngai during and after the war to make and fit artificial limbs for war victims which is partly why we wanted to go there. (Ron had been there in 1974 when he was the National Peace Secretary for AFSC.) We also wanted to see the memorial to the My Lai Massacre of 1968.  That massacre of  504 unarmed civilians (mostly women, children and older men) by US soldiers was not reported until almost a year later by investigative reporter Seymor Hersh with the help of some courageous GI's.  That revelation, along with the revelation about US complicity with the tiger cages and other forms of torture at Con Son Prison helped turn the tide of American opinion against the war.

Our English speaking guide at the  memorial had lost relatives in the maasacre. Her narration was straight ahead without a great deal of emotion but there was a steely strength showing her commitment to telling this story.  The massacre - which the US army tried to cover up - was photographed by an army photographer. All the photos were in display at the memorial.  Some were featured in Life magazine when the story broke.   I'll spare you the descriptions - suffice it to say the brutality was tremendous.   As I saw the photo of one young boy I thought of our grandson and I started to cry.

The question when a person visits such sites is how could any human being do this?  I think the answer lies in the process of war and the dehumanization of the Enemy that can turn many people into killers.  Some GI's tried to stop it. Others made sure the story got out.   As I read history, it seems almost every war has its atrocities.  War is the real enemy.

On the train to DaNang that afternoon we had a great, wide-ranging conversation with a Vietnamese man with great English who was guiding a group of Danish and Norwegian high school age young women.  When we asked him about his family and the war, he said his Dad managed to avoid it while one of his Dad's brothers fought for the North and three for the South.  There was obviously a lot of tension during and after the war but the brother from the North helped his brothers from the South get reduced time in the re-education camps.  Eventually they all realized their motivations that led them to choose different sides were not all that different and they are reconciled.

He said a lot of people he guides ask him what he thinks of Americans and to respond he tells this story:
A couple years ago, he signed up to guide 3, older American men who were brothers.  He met them at a hotel in DaNang and they showed him a picture of a young man, the 4th brother in the family.  He had been stationed at Chu Lai airbase during the war.   After he got off duty he would often go and play with a group of Vietnamese kids teaching them how to play baseball.  He had written back to his family how much he loved Vietnam and if it weren't for the war he would want to live there and teach sports to youth.  He was killed in combat in1968.  Almost 50 years later, his brothers came to Vietnam bringing his picture and suitcases full of sports eqipment for the children living near Chu Lai - now a commercial airport.  The guide had tea
rs in his eyes as he finished the story. 

For me, the story was a great gift on the same day we had gone to My Lai:  our human capacity to dehumanize which can lead to enormous brutality juxtaposed with our capacity for connection and compassion.

Vietnam - days 1 - 3

I had hoped to have this first post from Vietnam up before now but there have been a few snags, particularly that our only laptop on the trip was left at airport security in a ridiculous mad dash to make a connection last Thursday evening.  (It appears to have been recovered but we cannot confirm for sure until we go back through  Incheon at the end of the journey.)
SO - I am trying to do this on my phone. Crazy...

Day 1:
After arriving at our very comfortable hotel in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) about 1 AM on Friday morning we were greeted with a bouquet of flowers and a message from our main contact in Saigon - Loi.  He had been imprisoned in the tiger cages in the 1960's and  was instrumental in making them publicly known. Ron met him  in 1970 in Saigon when Ron came with a group of US student and religious leaders who joined Vietnamese students and religious leaders in protesting the war in the heart of Saigon.
After 6 or 7 hours sleep and seeing a few sites in HCMC, including the "palace" where US generals plotted war strategies with South Vietnam's dictator Thieu and his cohorts, Loi came to pick us up.  He took us to a lovely restaurant along the Saigon River where we were greeted by 3 more  men who were with Loi in the tiger cages at Con Dau Island (and also  more flowers and gifts)  The oldest was 93.  Communication was a bit challenging but that did not detract from the power of the evening.  After seeing an exhibit replicating the tiger cage experience and other tortures at Can Dao (complete with pictures of American military advisors)  I cannot imagine their suffering, but these men survived and harbor no hatred.  What was so humbling was how they wanted to honor us for our work in the anti - war movement.  It is too much...
Loi now wants us to  meet other tiger cage survivors in other cities as we travel north.  We had not planned this but how can we not?  We will, and it will be a blessing.
Day 2:
We took a 4 hour bus ride to Can Tho in the middle of the Mekong Delta.  We stayed at Green Village, a rural accommodation with 6 rustic bamboo bungalows.  Bad bed but good mosquito netting and great company at dinner - Russians to our left and Danes to our right :)  The next morning we were met at 6 am by Linh, a delightful university student who loves English  and guides tourists to help pay for his education.  We boarded a small wooden boat for a 45 minute ride down a backwater canal to the Cai Rang floating market where farmers sell their fruits and vegetables from a wide variety of old wooden boats.  The absolute highlight was a totally unique version of a fast food stop.  We pulled up to a funky wooden boat where a husband and wife were cooking.  They handed us steaming china bowls of pork, fish and rice noodle soup.  We even had a plank across the boat for a table.  So yummy and fun.  We talked to Linh pretty much non-stop for 4 hours.  He plays guitar and sings pop songs, including to us.  He loves Nottinghill and imitating Brits.  We talked some about the war and America.  We have a new friend.
The bus ride back to HCMC with lots of backed up traffic was not fun but there was wifi on the bus.
Day 3:
We visited the famous War Remnants Museum (where we ran into Maren Hinderlie, whose father and mother founded Holden Village)  The museum is a somber place and includes a section on US war crimes as well as a moving tribute to war photographers who lost their lives. The last room was a tribute to the resilence and rehabilitation of war victims of bombings, mines and Agent Orange.
At lunch we met a Norwegian who lives in the town next to where my grandparents grew up in rural Trondelag and knows the farm we visited in 2015 where my great grandmother lived.
Tonight we have dinner with Ron's Vietnamese friend Mam, who he reconnected with when he was in Vietnam in 1995. Mam was the president of the Saigon Student Association and part of the 1970 protests.
After 3 days it really does seem like we are all - as MLK said - caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.
Tomorrow we leave early for the beach town of Nha Trang where we will be for a day and 2 nights.  No meetings there, but we hear there are lots of Russians and you can bet Ron will be striking up conversations.
Sorry I cannot manage to insert pictures but will post some on Facebook.