Today was the Vietnamese war or as they call it here, the American war or the second Indochina war. Although we do not hear much about the war in America, it is the equivalent of 9/11 here in Vietnam. This war has colored the government’s perception and how it interacts with the world. We saw some of the most interesting parts from the war.
The first thing we saw were the Cu Chi tunnels. These are the tunnels that the Northern supporters in the South used to attack and sabotage the American forces. They were well hidden and almost impossible to see without aid. They were also designed for the Vietnamese so they don’t fit my tall frame well. The few entrances they did have, I was able to get into, but go no further. Fortunately, they have expanded tunnels for tourist use.
After crawling through the Cu Chi tunnels in the morning, we went to the war remnants museum. This was originally called the American War Crimes Museum, so as you can imagine, it has a fairy strong anti-American message. This museum provided a different prospective on the Vietnam War, one that you don’t hear from many wars. Almost every war that we have fought in has resulted in our victory so we never hear what the other side has to say about us. Being able to read how the Vietnamese government stated facts about the war and seeing how different their perspective is, is a real eye opener.
No comments:
Post a Comment