The American War...

“Maybe the Americans should have brought baseballs instead of bombs.” 
― Ann E. Burg, All the Broken Pieces

In school we spend a lot of time learning about WWII but very little time talking about the Vietnam War or as its called in Vietnam, the American War.  Its almost embarrassing how little I knew about this war but Vietnam is a lot more than the war.   

I arrived in Ho Chi Minh, formerly Saigon, one rainy afternoon and instantly fell in love with the windy alleyways.

The next day I walked around the city enjoying the lovely French Colonial Architecture, wide sidewalks, and huge parks.  This city was especially amazing because it was completely opposite from the cramped, dirty streets of Phnom Penh.

The yellow building is the post office.  Inside the post office there is a little 86 year old man.  He has worked at the post office since he was 17 and has never missed a day of work, even during the war.  His job is to translate letters.  He translates business correspondence, text messages, even love letters from French, English, and Vietnamese.  If you are interested here is an interesting article about the man: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/the-man-who-writes-love-letters-a-day-with-saigon-s-last-public-letter-writer-a-470114.html 

This is an entire street of book selling stalls, I could live here.

Here we have the Reunification Palace, during the war this was the home and office of the president of South Vietnam.  

It hasn't been updated since the fall of Saigon in 1975.  The decor and colors look exactly like what I imagine my parents houses looked like growing up.

These rooms are the war rooms in the bunker under the building.  The president lived down here for many months during the war.  Its amazing to compare these rooms and the technology to what war rooms would look like today.

This is one of the famous photos from the Vietnam War.  When the tank rolled through the gate of the presidential palace it signified the end of the Vietnam War.  

And the gate today:

Here is the tank that went through the gate.

After touring the palace I went to the War Museum.  When it was first opened it was called the American War Crimes Museum, then when Vietnam and US relations improved they decided to change the name.  Outside of the museum is a display of American airplanes, helicopters, and tanks that were left behind when the Americans went home. 

The museum is obviously very pro-Vietnam and anti-American, however after seeing some of the horrors of war you can see why the people would be very anti-American.

Two floors of the museum were dedicated to showing the effects of Agent Orange.  Vietnam is now 4 generations beyond the war, yet babies are still being born effected by it.

This was part of a display about war correspondents.  I was so suprised to see a woman from Wisconsin listed!

 This is the building that Stark Towers was modeled after for the Avengers and Iron Man movies.

I love going to countries where I feel rich.  All of this money, 18,500 Vietnamese dong equals $0.84.

The following day I went on an excursion to the Cu Chi Tunnels.  During the war there were tunnel systems throughout the country.  The 75 miles of tunnels in Cu Chi have been preserved by the Vietnamese government.  The tunnels have been expanded though so that Western tourists can fit in them.  The tunnel systems were very complex.  They had booby traps, air filtration systems, and disguised entrances.  

This picture shows one of the hidden entrances to the tunnels.  When they asked for volunteers they said they needed tiny people.  Needless to say I would not have fit through this entrance.

 There was a display of booby traps that were throughout the forest and tunnels.  These would have been terrible to fall into.

There was also a shooting range.  I did not choose to shoot any of the weapons available.  I didn't like the idea of using a gun for sport that had been used to kill people in war.

Part of the tunnels are open for visitors to go through.  There were exits every 20 meters.  After each exit the tunnel became smaller, the last 20 meters were so small you had to crawl on your stomach.  I only made it 20 meters and took the first exit.  It was so cramped and hot, I couldn't do any more.

Being in Vietnam of course I had to try some pho.  Pho is a noodle soup and it is delicious!  It was fun to eat on the sidewalk and people watch.  

After three days in Ho Chi Minh I ventured North to Hanoi.