Mui Ne
Sunrise at The Red Sand Dunes
The Fairy Stream
Monday, November 16, 2009
Mui Ne - Along the coast of Vietnam
Our mode of transport has definately stepped up a notch. We travelled to Mui Ne in a "sleeper bus". Each seat is like a lounge chair with upper bunks. No more cramped legs or 3 people in a one person seat. Time for a little R&R and seafood! We found a great place to stay on the beach. Each morning hundreds of fishing boats dot the skyline - small, round reed woven boats to large trawlers. At dawn the ocean is smooth as glass and in the afternoon the winds pick up and the kite surfers come out at full force.
Mui Ne
Sunrise at The Red Sand Dunes
Mui Ne
Sunrise at The Red Sand Dunes
Saigon
When we stepped off the plane into Saigon, it was strange because the tension of travelling in areas where you have to be on guard at every moment just seemed to melt away with the wave of heat when we stepped into the fresh Vietnam air!
The city is so clean and it is true that the Vietnamese are super friendly. People asked if we needed help with directions etc and being on guard slightly still, we declined, but we quickly learned that people are just genuinely interested in helping the travellers in their country and making them feel welcome.
Of course we had to start our trip off with a bowl of PHO, for those of you who aren't avid Pho fans, it is a Vietnamese noodle soup, that I have to say Ottawa's PHO place does a great job at. The PHO is great of course!!!
We wandered the streets the first day and let me tell you that crossing a street seems like an impossible task with hundreds of scooters, motorbikes and cars racing through the intersections - not too many street lights and on a rare occassion a cross walk sign. However, after the wise words of wisdom from Cammy, we hesitantly walked directly into the crazy buzz of traffic, looked straight ahead and began a slow and steady walk across and sure enough (to our amazement) - heart racing and palms sweating we ended up travelling across the road as the scooters miraculously avoided our path! It is incredible actually, to watch as people slowly walk across the street and become enveloped in the traffic yet make it safely to the other side. We were told that it seems mad and that you just have to walk slowly, don't stop or speed up and you will become a part of the weaving traffic pattern and we did!!!
In the afternoon and evenings, hundreds of scooters are parked along the sides of the roads and in the park with people just sitting and hanging out on their scooters. We have also seen a high chair stuck in the front of the scooter carrying an infant, toddlers standing on their fathers laps holding the handlebars, or on the bottom of the scooter with mom riding on the back with their brother and sister. It is unbelievable - Brittany Spears with her baby in her lap is nothing over here.
The weather is hot and humid and in the 30's.
We are going to try to do weekly updates so it isn't quite so long between and hope to get Nepal up and running soon!
The city is so clean and it is true that the Vietnamese are super friendly. People asked if we needed help with directions etc and being on guard slightly still, we declined, but we quickly learned that people are just genuinely interested in helping the travellers in their country and making them feel welcome.
Of course we had to start our trip off with a bowl of PHO, for those of you who aren't avid Pho fans, it is a Vietnamese noodle soup, that I have to say Ottawa's PHO place does a great job at. The PHO is great of course!!!
We wandered the streets the first day and let me tell you that crossing a street seems like an impossible task with hundreds of scooters, motorbikes and cars racing through the intersections - not too many street lights and on a rare occassion a cross walk sign. However, after the wise words of wisdom from Cammy, we hesitantly walked directly into the crazy buzz of traffic, looked straight ahead and began a slow and steady walk across and sure enough (to our amazement) - heart racing and palms sweating we ended up travelling across the road as the scooters miraculously avoided our path! It is incredible actually, to watch as people slowly walk across the street and become enveloped in the traffic yet make it safely to the other side. We were told that it seems mad and that you just have to walk slowly, don't stop or speed up and you will become a part of the weaving traffic pattern and we did!!!
In the afternoon and evenings, hundreds of scooters are parked along the sides of the roads and in the park with people just sitting and hanging out on their scooters. We have also seen a high chair stuck in the front of the scooter carrying an infant, toddlers standing on their fathers laps holding the handlebars, or on the bottom of the scooter with mom riding on the back with their brother and sister. It is unbelievable - Brittany Spears with her baby in her lap is nothing over here.
The weather is hot and humid and in the 30's.
We are going to try to do weekly updates so it isn't quite so long between and hope to get Nepal up and running soon!
Rememberance Day
The Aftermath of War
On this remembrance day it is fitting that we made our way to the Cu Chi Tunnels just outside of Saigon. This is where some of the longest and brutal battles ensued to take over the area and reach Saigon, however the people of Cu Chi - men, women and children fought to maintain their land and freedom. They built an intricate tunnel system in the jungle. The first level had chambers to store weapons, complete with sniper holes to shoot the enemy so that they wouldn't know where it was coming from. The tunnels are extremely narrow and there were booby traps along the hundreds of passage ways. The tunnel access points were hidden beneath the jungle floor and the tunnels so deep that bombs could not penetrate and destroy them. The Viet Cong created a venting system for the smoke from their fires so that the smoke would travel far from the site of the tunnels and come out as a trickly of smoke instead of the billows that the military was looking for to blast.
The entire experience was told from the Vietnamese viewpoint, so there was definately some bias, but the experience was heart breaking and thought provoking. On our way we stopped at this factory set up to enable the innocent victims of war to survive the aftermath and become self sufficient. It was humbling to watch as the evidence of chemical warfare has left a permanent reminder with each of the workers. Missing, dysfunctional and mis-sized limbs were just a few of the ramifications of the poison, yet the artwork that is produced from eggs shells and poa shels all cut and glued incredibly to create works of art is incredible.
I am not sure how to completely explain the emotion that was evoked by the whole experience. It was a pensive day as remembrance day should be, and it really struck home the sacrifices that were made by all involved, military, civilians, innocent bystanders caught in the middle of the horror of war. All the freedoms we enjoy and take for granted on a daily basis are a result of so much sacrifice and loss. Sadly, we are travelling through so many countries that do not enjoy these freedoms and luxuries and who constrantly fear for their safety or cannot even fathom a future beyond today.
Let us remember, let us not forget.
On this remembrance day it is fitting that we made our way to the Cu Chi Tunnels just outside of Saigon. This is where some of the longest and brutal battles ensued to take over the area and reach Saigon, however the people of Cu Chi - men, women and children fought to maintain their land and freedom. They built an intricate tunnel system in the jungle. The first level had chambers to store weapons, complete with sniper holes to shoot the enemy so that they wouldn't know where it was coming from. The tunnels are extremely narrow and there were booby traps along the hundreds of passage ways. The tunnel access points were hidden beneath the jungle floor and the tunnels so deep that bombs could not penetrate and destroy them. The Viet Cong created a venting system for the smoke from their fires so that the smoke would travel far from the site of the tunnels and come out as a trickly of smoke instead of the billows that the military was looking for to blast.
Air holes - they look like termite nests
We entered the first tunnel - one without a booby trap thankfully. The tunnels have actually been widened for westerners so we can fit through! Legs first and then arms up to slip into the depths of the hard earhen tunnel. Damp leaves and bats inhabit the tunnel and it is pitch black. Our instructions was to take the first left and then the next 2 rights. However, in the pitch black it is easy to feel your throat tighten and the walls- that are so close already - start to close in a little more. I blindly followed the orange light of the camera of the girl ahead of me as bats squealed around me. At one point I lost her light and felt around only to find that there were tunnels all around me, I had to call to her to get my bearings. Crawling on my hands and knees the 7 meters felt like a mile.
Can you see the handles for the secret tunnel?
The second cave had some lighting in it and we walked through a chamber before duck walking through the 120 meter tunnel system that sloped up and down. At points we had to slide down and lower ourselves down holes. It felt like an eternity and the heat was stiffling, even though this was the air conditioned tunnel. We were literally dripping sweat when we surfaced. This was just the first level of the 3 tiered tunnels as they have closed the other levels due to the drops and climbs, booby traps and danger to tourists.
Having little support and even fewer weapons they constructed some horrible weapons of war - booby traps - pits with swing doors and dagger sharp spears, previous animal traps converted to maim and kill humans, bomb shells converted to become explosives for tanks and humans.
The entire experience was told from the Vietnamese viewpoint, so there was definately some bias, but the experience was heart breaking and thought provoking. On our way we stopped at this factory set up to enable the innocent victims of war to survive the aftermath and become self sufficient. It was humbling to watch as the evidence of chemical warfare has left a permanent reminder with each of the workers. Missing, dysfunctional and mis-sized limbs were just a few of the ramifications of the poison, yet the artwork that is produced from eggs shells and poa shels all cut and glued incredibly to create works of art is incredible.
I am not sure how to completely explain the emotion that was evoked by the whole experience. It was a pensive day as remembrance day should be, and it really struck home the sacrifices that were made by all involved, military, civilians, innocent bystanders caught in the middle of the horror of war. All the freedoms we enjoy and take for granted on a daily basis are a result of so much sacrifice and loss. Sadly, we are travelling through so many countries that do not enjoy these freedoms and luxuries and who constrantly fear for their safety or cannot even fathom a future beyond today.
Let us remember, let us not forget.
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