our flight home (June 2)

The day – our last one of the trip – began early.  We packed, went down for some breakfast, went back to the room and finished packing, set out our suitcases, headed back to the breakfast room to say our good byes and then went to the lobby to wait for our taxi.

OAT has certainly taken good care of us, and Mai rode with the four of us to the airport (Greg, Cheryl, Oren, and Harold/I).  We talked a bit about having Mai’s aunt write a memoir of her experiences.  Maybe.

Our flight home went off without a hitch.  We first flew from Saigon to Hong Kong.  We had a 3-4 hour layover, longer than I realized, but we hung out at the upscale international terminal in Hong Kong before we boarded our Cathay Pacific flight back to Newark.  We slept some, watched a couple of movies, and were glad we had spent some extra money for premium seats.

Got to Newark on time and tried out our new Global Entry passes which allow us to go through customs with only a quick pass through an electronic kiosk.  Took only about 45 second each!  Unfortunately, our luggage was about the last to come out at the baggage claim, but eventually it arrived, and Randall came to get us.  Now we are looking forward to a good night’s sleep and getting back on track in a time zone that is 12 hours different from what we are used to.  Yikes!

Spent a couple of days enjoying Ella (and Randall and Olive) and then started the drive back to Pittsburgh.  Unfortunately, a semi plowed into us, we spun 360 degrees and hit the concrete barrier head on.  Car is totaled; we are fine (whew).  Decided to buy the same kind of car again because it did well by us!

Cu Chi -- our last day of touring (June 1)

We were primed for the Cu Chi tunnels by Darlene Voeltz who posted information about her trip last November.  The day started early (we left the hotel at 7:30 am), and the drive was a couple of hours (Julie got somewhat car sick).  On the way, our guide, Mai, told us about her cousin who, during the war, was raped (?) by a black American soldier.  Unfortunately, she got pregnant, which meant, in Vietnamese culture, that she was a ruined woman. The child was born, and looked quite different from a full-blooded Vietnamese which meant the child was harassed mightily as she grew.  Compounding the difficult situation, the only person who cared for the daughter was the grandmother.  The result was that the girl left Vietnam when she was 13 (the mother could have gone too, but didn’t want to) through a US program for children of US servicemen.  Since then she has returned to Vietnam for visits, largely to care for the grandmother, for whom she bought a house.  The relationship with the mother has always been strained.   It was quite an emotional personal story and affected all of us.

The story was relevant for us on this travel day because this was the day when we learned the most about the “American War” (as the Vietnamese call it) and the reasons behind the various points of view in the country (Viet Cong versus those who supported the US).  Mai’s parents, for example, came from families supporting differing sides, with Mai’s mother coming from a Viet Cong family and her father supporting the US.  The mother was disowned when she married Mai’s father and after the war, when Mai’s father was not a part of the emigration to the US, they suffered greatly, living in the slums with no ability to get a job because of the “wrong” biography.  Mai’s father ended up being a cyclo driver, and the mother became a seamstress.  Things were very difficult for the family.  Finally, the mother got the father a false identity card, and he was able to work productively for for about 10 years when his place of business found out he had supported the US.  He lost his job.  Fortunately, he was able to start his own business making motorcycle horns, and things started working out for them, but the family has been intensely discriminated against still, with Mai’s sister loosing a prime teaching position when she applied for an administrative position.  When they learned of her biography (or rather, her father’s), she was sent to a small school about an hour from there and ended up loosing much money.

And more of the story – when Mai’s mother was young, she helped dig the Cu Chi tunnels where we are going today.  Her family is from that area.

The Cu Chi tunnels were massive and hidden well, with air vents, cooking air vents, a hospital, a military strategy room, and massive tunnels for village people and Viet Cong soldiers.  There was also quite a sophisticated system of traps in the area for unsuspecting, opposing soldiers.

A disguised air vent

entering a tunnel via a tourist entrance, far more accessible than the original entrances

This tunnel areas have been enlarged for tourists.  They were originally much smaller.

a vent for the kitchens.  They would cook at night an allow the smoke to exit  in the early morning when it was foggy; thus the smoke just added to the smoggy effect and it was not obvious. 

do you see the entrance?  There would be a special kind of twig to designate where the entrance was, and the Viet Cong would know this signal.

a vent from the kitchens 

We had the opportunity to talk with a former Viet Cong soldier who was leader of the Viet Cong veterans’ association.  He had been treated quite well by the government, unlike Mai’s father.  He was actually saved by an American soldier who carried him to the edge of the hospital grounds after he had been shot, but unfortunately, he had four brothers who died during the war.

The Vietnamese are compassionate about the Americans who were there, recognizing they were drafted and didn’t want to be there and the Vietnamese also knew how badly the returning soldiers were treated when they returned.  They also know about the protests within the US during the time of the war.  They understand that it was a fear of Communism that brought the US to Vietnam and that the US was not intent upon imperialism, which is what the Viet Cong feared: that the US was just going to take the place of the French imperialists.

All in all, the day was filled with learning compounded with emotion.

For lunch we stopped at a 4-generation Pho restaurant and had this famed Vietnamese soup, taking 2 days to prepare and compiled from 24 different herbs and spices.  It was excellent although Julie spent much of the afternoon in the bathroom.

We then went to our farewell dinner and shared the top 3 things from the trip:  Julie liked today (including Mai’s story), the art instruction about Angkor Wat from Rath, and the time at the Killing Fields.  Harold picked the Thai boxing afternoon and the iron lung and riding the motorbikes through the iron lung park area, also Angkor Wat, and his last choice was the entire trip (is that cheating?).

We left dinner early and went to the Saigon Opera House to see Ta Dum????, a wonderful performance by a group of dancers/acrobats from the highlands of Vietnam.  The production may be travelling to the US at some point.

the cast in the entrance of the Opera House after the production

We packed a bit more and then hit the bed for our last night on our trip.  What a wonderful trip!

Mekong River Delta (May 31)

Today we headed for the Mekong Delta.  Our guides wanted us to get the flavor of the vastness of the Mekong River, so this excursion was a follow-up to the day we spent on the upper Mekong in Laos, and of course, the Mekong Delta figured largely in the Vietnam War.

We left at 8:00 am and rode our bus for about an hour to the Mekong Delta area.  Then we walked on a concrete path through a wooded area until we reached one of the delta streams.  It was rainy and slippy.  Unfortunately, Marge slipped and fell, but happily she didn’t get hurt.  Whew.  The pathway was formerly clay and was very muddy when wet, but the Grand Circle Foundation sponsored the area to put in the walkway.  It has tremendously increased the financial capabilities of those who live by it.

Mai, our guide, telling us her dramatic family history story.  Her father was a supporter of the Americans in the war, and because of that, he and the entire family was treated very badly after the war, and the discrimination is still occurring.

When we got to the river canal, we all got on a "sampan," a traditional boat mode of transportation.  It’s a long skinny boat with one person at the boat who rows and steers.  Three people to a boat, and we were all given the Chinese bamboo hats to wear.  It was a nice ride.

We then got to another larger water area where we walked a bit and then boarded a bigger boat to take us to a restaurant.  We rode for about 45 minutes gliding through the Mekong River Delta area before we arrived at our restaurant where we had an excellent lunch including “shrimp butter,” the fat from the head of the shrimp, a food that Anthony Bourdain said must be on the bucket list of exotic foods to eat. Done! It was a tasty, small bit.  The prawn was excellent!  What follows is various scenes from the Mekong Delta when we were on the larger boat.

rice farmers hard at work

a fish farm

fish traps

the prawns -- delicious

the "shrimp butter" a delicacy to be sure.

We headed back to the hotel by boat and bus, and hung out in the bar with some of our compadres.  We have an excellent group of fellow travelers and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. We opted not to have dinner because we have had so much food on this trip (and today).  I have gained a ton of weight. . . .

We rested a bit and then a few of us went on a special excursion.  First we went to a beer garden and had some local brew but were also served something exotic and weird looking.  It turned out to be marinated and roasted duck tongue.  Who knew ducks had tongues?  I had the very tip which was quite soft and mushy.  Harold chowed down though, and the 8 of us had a good time.  Next we got on “cyclos,” the modern-day rickshaw with the cyclist on the back and one person riding in the front.  We headed through the rush hour traffic of Vietnam.  Scary at first, but then it was fun.

Would you have been able to guess what this is?  Not us.  Duck tongue.  soft and squishy at the tip, which is what I tasted.

our drivers were waiting for us.  These individuals all supported the Americans during the war.  As a result,  this was the only way they could make any money after the war (and even until now).  Mai's father drove one of these bikes.  Hard work.  All really ice guys who pointed out to sights to us as we drove by.  We were concerned about the traffic, but we all lived!

some of the sights along the way

There we were, right in the midst of Saigon rush hour.

Anyway, we made it to the water puppet theater and sat down ready for the water puppet show.  It’s quite amazing what they can do with these water puppets.  Man, our guide, had summarized the stories that were presented – about 16 of them, and despite the fact that it was in Vietnamese, we could still follow the action.  There were even smoke, water, and fireworks that would come out of the mouths of the water puppets.  All in all, an enjoyable experience.

musicians on both sides.  They also had the speaking parts for the water puppets so they were busy and had to concentrate

We are looking forward to tomorrow, our last excursion, but are also looking forward to getting home.