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.
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.
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