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.
No comments:
Post a Comment