Travels in vietnam

[happy daze john in oz]

VIETNAM

Visiting Vietnam for the second time gave me a betterinsight into the nation and the events of times past.
My last cruise had seen us take a cultural tour of thecountry seeing many of the sights there and seeing the local people and howthey live.
This time we decided on a tour of a part of the countrywhere the Vietnam War took place.
The area we visited had been within the confines of agreater part of the country involve wit direct contact of USA and other Armedforces. Set now as a living museum giving great insight as to the events of thetime.

The museum is set out to show how the Vietcong Armed forceslived, dressed and fought, the weapons used and the manner in which theyconducted the battles. The remains of a USA army tank hit by a mine sits by theentry.

It was during the French occupation that the construction ofthe tunnels began, the first in 1948 and the last in 1968. They are set atthree levels, 3,6, and 9 meters depth.
The first level was used for fighting purposes and for easeof movement of troops. Most of these tunnels were of short distances and veryoften built without ventilation shafts. The second level at some 6 meters wasfor movement of armaments and most ran for far longer lengths. The lowest levelat 9 meters was for living space and storing of supplies. These tunnels areventilated and at that depth safe from the bombs dropped by the USA bombers.There are a number of craters left by such bombs so it is easy to se why thetunnels were so deep.

A number of ‘booby’ traps remain on show, vicious spikes setin deep holes giving the victim no chance of survival. A variety of other trapsalso set in doorways and walls were on show. A series of ‘pop up’ holes whereVietcong troops would appear without warning armed to kill. During the tour anumber of ‘actors’ appeared in this manner without warning, it would have beena nightmare for the troops fighting at the time.

A mock up camp- site with models dressed in clothing of thetime and sandals made from old tyres. A demonstration of how a pair could bemade in about 20 minutes was enlightening.

But the most provocative and interesting part was theshowing of a documentary made at the time, an old black and white movie made toshow the people how they were winning the war. It was obvious from the wordingthat the conflict was seen not so much as a civil war but rather a war betweenthe forces of the Vietcong backed by China and Russia against the forces of theImperialist USA. The commentary gave the impression that it was an extension ofWW2 with control of the seas around Vietnam as the prize.
But the item of most interest in this was the work done bythe females of the Vietcong. It was the females who dug most of the tunnels,the longest being some 235 kilometres in length, and at night crept out to laythe mines and set the booby traps.

By the end of the tour my concept of the war had changedsomewhat, I saw something of it that at the time neither I nor many in the westwere made aware of. The hatred of the West at the time was such that the peoplewere prepared to go to any lengths to gain a victory. Today as a united peoplethey look at the war as a bad time in the history of the nation, realising nowthat the reason for it was not valid. However those in positions of leadershipat the time were so consumed with hatred of the West, in particular USA, thatthey were able to brainwash the populous in to thinking they were correct.

Now still a poor nation in some aspects it is one where thepeople now work for the benefit of the nation in the hope that they can allprosper and live in peace with their neighbours.

[Doc Vernon]

Hello John
Welcome back mate!
Thank you once again for your very interesting and informative post,as always easy to read !
Seems that as per usual you and her Indoors had a great trip,now mate time to settle in again!
You were lucky to have missed all the bad weather that had been around since you left!
Now a lot better thank the Lord!
Cheers

PS Say hello to Terri for us!