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| Tank of Destiny |
HO CHI MINH CITY:
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| Reunification Palace |
The basement, from where operations were controlled and briefings given, is a maze of airless rooms through which tourists, in large groups, are constantly on the move. Above are reception rooms, a residential area including a Catholic chapel, a library and theatre. A helipad sits on the roof incongruously beside a beautiful bonsai garden.
The surrounding grounds are home to decommissioned Communist tanks, similar to those that crashed through the gates of the Palace in April 1975. I could also see one or two aircraft through the trees - these may be to recognise damages inflicted in 1975 from bombing by a renegade pilot.
In the city centre, various hotels are settings for war remembrances. The Rex Hotel was used by American servicemen and journalists; the Continental was one of the settings for Graham Greene's novel "The Quiet American" (I'm still trying to read this); the Caravelle housed journalists and photographers; and the beautiful People's Committee Building, once the Hotel de Ville dating from 1908, also housed servicemen during the war years.
The War Remnants Museum is an eye-popping and rather disturbing display of photos and other memorabilia dedicated to recording the horrors inflicted during the war years. There are a number of other similar military museums to visit; essentially dedicated to the victors of the North at the expense of ignoring half a country.
Cholon (HCM City's chinatown), specifically Cham Tam Church (Saint Francis Xavier) was the site from where President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother were captured and shortly afterwards executed in a 1963 coup.
Further out are the Cu Chi Tunnels, an extensive network of tunnels which were build during the French (1940's) and Vietnam conflicts by VC. There are some 250km of tunnels, in some places three levels deep making an extensive underground village. They speak heaps about dogged determination and power of the mind.
DANANG:
Danang, a fishing village seized by the French in 1859, was soon to become the main port of central Vietnam. Later in 1965, the US first landed troops at Red Beach and Danang became the site of the first US consulate in Vietnam. Soon after, during a period that has locally been described as "the 70's unpleasantness", Danang became the site of a large base for the US Airforce and nearby China Beach a rest and respite area for servicemen.
To the south, five large Marble Mountains, also of significant cultural interest, provide a excellent view over Danang and the South China Seas. The mountains and caverns were occupied by VC and provided a perfect vantage point to check over US military activities.
HAI VAN PASS:
We were fortunate enough to take the long and winding road over the Hai Van Pass, or Pass of the Ocean Clouds, on a clear day. It was indeed like climbing the back of a dragon!! The views were spectacular from this natural barrier and strategically significant vantage point.
The summit and pass are marked by a remarkable construction which boasts a first level from centuries past with a gate wide enough for an elephant to pass. Border patrol necessary even then! Surrounding pillboxes and gun placements were added in more recent years by French and Americans.
HUE:
Hue is the former imperial city although it was badly damaged during the Tet Offensive in 1968. If you can, read Gavin Young's account of his time as a war journalist in Hue during that period in World's Apart. (Try the Book Depository for it).
The Thien Mu Pagoda houses an important war and religious artifact; the car used by Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Duc.
DMZ:
We continued to be amazed by the large, overpowering sculptures that seem to mark every important venue or cemetery.
HANOI:
We were unable to take our visits to a grey and forbidding Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and his modest House due to a delayed flight from Hue which never took off! So, we drove - a long but rewarding day in a bus!! These sites were closed when we came by but at least we were able to stand, almost alone in the rain, in Ba Dinh Square where Ho read the Declaration of Independence on 2nd September 1945.
Nearby is the Military History Museum which houses a collection of uniforms, maps, photos and other memorabilia documenting Vietnam's battles for independence and reunification. An imposing, crumpled B52 bomber stands in the grounds, resembling a modern sculpture Its meaning is not lost on us.
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| The Quiet American (find on Amazon) |
The War Remnants Museum is an eye-popping and rather disturbing display of photos and other memorabilia dedicated to recording the horrors inflicted during the war years. There are a number of other similar military museums to visit; essentially dedicated to the victors of the North at the expense of ignoring half a country.
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| Father Tam's Catholic Church |
Further out are the Cu Chi Tunnels, an extensive network of tunnels which were build during the French (1940's) and Vietnam conflicts by VC. There are some 250km of tunnels, in some places three levels deep making an extensive underground village. They speak heaps about dogged determination and power of the mind.
DANANG:
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| View from Marble Mountains, Danang |
To the south, five large Marble Mountains, also of significant cultural interest, provide a excellent view over Danang and the South China Seas. The mountains and caverns were occupied by VC and provided a perfect vantage point to check over US military activities.
HAI VAN PASS:
We were fortunate enough to take the long and winding road over the Hai Van Pass, or Pass of the Ocean Clouds, on a clear day. It was indeed like climbing the back of a dragon!! The views were spectacular from this natural barrier and strategically significant vantage point.
The summit and pass are marked by a remarkable construction which boasts a first level from centuries past with a gate wide enough for an elephant to pass. Border patrol necessary even then! Surrounding pillboxes and gun placements were added in more recent years by French and Americans.
HUE:
The Thien Mu Pagoda houses an important war and religious artifact; the car used by Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Duc.
DMZ:
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| DMZ |
The bridge at the DMZ (demilitarized zone) is over the Ben Hai River. The road north of Hue had been dubbed the "road without joy" by the French who fought fierce battles against the Vietnamese along it.
We continued to be amazed by the large, overpowering sculptures that seem to mark every important venue or cemetery.
HANOI:
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| Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum |
Nearby is the Military History Museum which houses a collection of uniforms, maps, photos and other memorabilia documenting Vietnam's battles for independence and reunification. An imposing, crumpled B52 bomber stands in the grounds, resembling a modern sculpture Its meaning is not lost on us.
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| Inside a Prison Cell |
Many prisoners-of-war were incarcerated in Hao Lo Prison or Hanoi Hilton, Before 1954 it was used by the French to imprison, torture and guillotine thousands of revolutionaries and later by the Vietnamese to secure political detainees and prisoners-of-war, whose fate was probably not much better that those under French governance. Despite modifications in 1994, I'm sure many ghosts remain in those cells to haunt us. It is indeed, a grim and very sobering reminder of the cruelties of war.
