A six hour 240 km journey by bus took us from Phnom Penh,
Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The journey included a ferry ride with our bus across the Mekong
River. Once into Vietnam I did not
notice much difference in landscape; nothing but rice paddies and palm
trees. However, I did notice that the
roads were much smoother and the country seems to be a little more developed. We passed many children on their way to
school wearing uniforms. All of the high
school girls wear long white flowing pants with a long white shirt with long sleeves. The girls look so pretty with the uniforms
flapping as they bike to school.
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is much more
built up and advanced than Phnom Penh.
One guide book stated that it is the Paris of South East Asia. The architecture is beautiful and lush green
parks dot the city. I am a big fan of
the separate lanes for bikes and cars; although crossing the streets is still
not an easy task. We are staying in
District One in Ho Chi Minh, which is known as the backpacker’s district. Tons of restaurants and shops line the
streets around our hostel. When we
arrived a woman offered to show us where our hotel is located. I was weary to accept her help, because I
figured she would want to be paid. But
she persisted, “You don’t have to pay me.
I’m paid by the government.”
Vietnam is still a communist country, but they allow capitalism. I’m not sure how that all works.
This afternoon we visited the War Remnants
Museum. It was originally named The American
War Crimes Museum. The Vietnam War to us
is known as the American War to Vietnamese.
The title of the museum was changed so as to not offend the foreign
visitors. During the Vietnam War 3
million Vietnamese people were killed while 58,000 American soldiers were
killed. The museum displayed graphic
pictures of massacres, wounded soldiers, corpses and methods of torture. I felt sick to my stomach as I looked as some
of the pictures. Not only were the
effects of Agent Orange demonstrated through pictures of handicapped and
disabled children, but glass jars contained deformed babies and fetuses.
There were no mixed messages in the museums displays; America
was not the hero in this particular war.
I had many thoughts as I walked through the display. First of all I could not believe how young
the American soldiers looked in the pictures.
But when I think about it my Dad would have been younger than me
when he
was drafted for the Vietnam War. I
cannot imagine how scary it would be to leave the US to go to war. It
is hard enough for me to be away from home
for a year and my year is fun. Those
brave men served our country while being away from their family, in
horrible
conditions, not knowing if they would return home. My second thought
came from the pictures; war
is horrendous. Even when the cause is
just, war causes injustices; women, children, and civilians were
killed. Finally I wondered why Vietnam? Why did the US choose to
intervene in
Vietnam? What determines our
international involvement? Why did we not prevent the Khmer Rouge from
killing
so many in Cambodia? Why did we not help
with Sudan? Why are we not stopping the oppressive government in Burma?
And why is it the US that is expected to
always help? When we don’t help we are
wrong, but when we do help we make mistakes and are accused of being
wrong. All I can come up with is that I am so glad I
do not have to make these decisions, but I should be praying for those
who
do. It is easy for us to look back on
Vietnam and Iraq and complain about the mistakes, but it is not so easy
to make
the difficult decisions that will affect the world. Thank you to those
of you who served our country
in war. I am gaining more respect for
you everyday that I am in a foreign land away from my family and my
home. You gave up so much to serve our country. I am so grateful for
your willing
sacrifice.
All things considered, I am impressed by the warm reception
we have received in Vietnam. The people
seem genuinely happy to see us even when they hear we are from America. I am grateful for their quick
forgiveness.
This evening we went to the Black Cat Café that was rated as
on of the top 10 restaurants in the world.
Andrew and James went for the 500g burger.
After such a big meal we walked around the
city and enjoyed the beautiful lights along with the hustle and bustle.
