Vietnam. I flew into Hanoi on Tuesday and met up with Bryan, Gary, and Sheri. It was freaking cold; turns out it's a lot further north than I had imagined, and I didn't bring any winter clothing (for the entire semester). On Wednesday, I went and saw the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum- that ups the count of enbalmed former dictators I've seen to two (I think). Went to the Literature Museum and Sword Lake, had some (kinda) street-style pho, visited the Hua Lo Prison (nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton", the prison where Sen. John McCain was held) then watched a water puppet show that's supposed to be pretty famous- it was alright I guess. Took an overnight train to Hue. On Thursday, we went to the (Nguyen) Imperial City and the Thien Mu Pagoda. Strong Chinese cultural influence present in both. On Friday we took a bus to Hoi An, where we just kinda wandered the city, shopped a little, had some clothes tailored (I only had some drawstring pants made; didn't have time for a suit), then went out drinking at night.
On Saturday morning, we got into an argument with the travel agency service that was blatantly trying to overcharge us on a taxi ride. But it turned out to be incredibly difficult getting a taxi anywhere else, and we were in a big hurry. We ended up taking four separate moped taxis on like a 30 minute ride to Danang (I had to carry my massive suitcase on my back like a backpack). We nearly missed our train to Saigon. We arrived after the scheduled departure time, but the train was delayed and everything worked out ok. That's one of the only instances where I've been thankful for "Asian time."
The train in Saigon (technically Ho Chi Minh City, but everyone calls it Saigon) arrived Sunday morning. We went to the Ho Chi Minh City Museum and the Binh Thanh Market; neither was very spectacular.
On Monday we went to the (Viet Cong's) CuChi Tunnels and the War Remnants Museum. These were both very educational. I think the tunnels were the redeeming point of the whole Vietnam trip, saving it from just mediocrity. I got to shoot a real gun (M-16) for the first time (cost US$1 per bullet)- it was quite empowering, but a hell of a lot louder than I would have imagined, even with ear protection. Crawled through a tunnel that had been widened to tourist size; it's amazing how well-made and extensive the tunnel network is; also amazing that people could live for months or years in those tunnels. The tunnels and the Vietnam really gave a different take on the Vietnam War. Surprisingly, the people generally were not that bitter towards Americans; they just saw it as them sticking their noses into a civil war, which the Soviets were doing the same. The museum really pointed out the damage that our intervention and our weapons wreaked on the nation and its people though; I came pretty close to crying. War is hell. Even when you win, you can lose a lot.
Reflections. (Especially in the North) There's strong Chinese influence evident all over the place here. Chinese writing everywhere, Confucianist temples, and same building styles- could easily be confused for Chinese... Like no offense to the Vietnamese people, but to tell the truth, most of the country has felt like kind of a rip-off of Chinese culture. Like Chinese but a bit more run down and war-torn. Not a whole lot of localization evident here at all- just straight out copying. For instance, the Nguyen Imperial City literally was an attempt to recreate the Chinese Forbidden City. The South was a bit more interesting though- more visible French and colonial influences on architecture, culture, etc.
There's so much blatant Communist propaganda all over the place here. Hammer & sickles, Uncle Ho (Chi Minh)'s portrait, the flag all over the place. (I actually didn't know for the longest time that the single gold star on a red background was the Vietnamese flag. I always thought it was the three red stripes on yellow background; turns out that's the flag of the former South Vietnam. Since the North won, it's been the star one.)
By and large, Vietnam has been a country ravaged by war (they were basically in a state of war for the latter half of the twentieth century). And one would think that would tear the people apart, but they thrive in spite of it- a testament to the will of the people to move on with their lives. They've worked so hard to put the past behind them; I feel like I could learn something.
On Saturday morning, we got into an argument with the travel agency service that was blatantly trying to overcharge us on a taxi ride. But it turned out to be incredibly difficult getting a taxi anywhere else, and we were in a big hurry. We ended up taking four separate moped taxis on like a 30 minute ride to Danang (I had to carry my massive suitcase on my back like a backpack). We nearly missed our train to Saigon. We arrived after the scheduled departure time, but the train was delayed and everything worked out ok. That's one of the only instances where I've been thankful for "Asian time."
The train in Saigon (technically Ho Chi Minh City, but everyone calls it Saigon) arrived Sunday morning. We went to the Ho Chi Minh City Museum and the Binh Thanh Market; neither was very spectacular.
On Monday we went to the (Viet Cong's) CuChi Tunnels and the War Remnants Museum. These were both very educational. I think the tunnels were the redeeming point of the whole Vietnam trip, saving it from just mediocrity. I got to shoot a real gun (M-16) for the first time (cost US$1 per bullet)- it was quite empowering, but a hell of a lot louder than I would have imagined, even with ear protection. Crawled through a tunnel that had been widened to tourist size; it's amazing how well-made and extensive the tunnel network is; also amazing that people could live for months or years in those tunnels. The tunnels and the Vietnam really gave a different take on the Vietnam War. Surprisingly, the people generally were not that bitter towards Americans; they just saw it as them sticking their noses into a civil war, which the Soviets were doing the same. The museum really pointed out the damage that our intervention and our weapons wreaked on the nation and its people though; I came pretty close to crying. War is hell. Even when you win, you can lose a lot.
Reflections. (Especially in the North) There's strong Chinese influence evident all over the place here. Chinese writing everywhere, Confucianist temples, and same building styles- could easily be confused for Chinese... Like no offense to the Vietnamese people, but to tell the truth, most of the country has felt like kind of a rip-off of Chinese culture. Like Chinese but a bit more run down and war-torn. Not a whole lot of localization evident here at all- just straight out copying. For instance, the Nguyen Imperial City literally was an attempt to recreate the Chinese Forbidden City. The South was a bit more interesting though- more visible French and colonial influences on architecture, culture, etc.
There's so much blatant Communist propaganda all over the place here. Hammer & sickles, Uncle Ho (Chi Minh)'s portrait, the flag all over the place. (I actually didn't know for the longest time that the single gold star on a red background was the Vietnamese flag. I always thought it was the three red stripes on yellow background; turns out that's the flag of the former South Vietnam. Since the North won, it's been the star one.)
By and large, Vietnam has been a country ravaged by war (they were basically in a state of war for the latter half of the twentieth century). And one would think that would tear the people apart, but they thrive in spite of it- a testament to the will of the people to move on with their lives. They've worked so hard to put the past behind them; I feel like I could learn something.
posted by Dear Daniel at 5:00 PM
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