The big difference between the north and the south is that in the south, you are just in Vietnam. While in the North, you sense you are in a once divided country because it's everywhere....it's a feeling. The people are also different....nice, but harder. These 2 days were spent in areas where tourists typically don't go and so we were quite foreign to the "mountain people" as they were called by other Northerners.
Our first stop was to a Citadel that marked an area of the old, no longer existing, Monarch's stomping grounds which was used as a base during the war by the Viet Cong (North Vietnam / Liberation Army) - much was destroyed due to bombings and it's since been made into a memorial. It's important to note that April 30, 1975 was the day that South Vietnam was completely taken over by the North, marking April 30th as Vietnam's Liberation Day. This day of our tour was April 27th, an important time for the country, and so there were many people there burning fake money and clothes for those passed (as I've mentioned before).
Next stop was a Catholic Church built by the French that was destroyed due to the popular battle that lasted 81 days, 81 nights in 1972 - you could see the once beautiful church behind the bullet holes and destruction. The most interesting part of the day for me was going to the Vinh Moc tunnels. Because this was an area with so much fighting/bombing, civilians were constantly in danger. Therefore, the people of Vinh Moc village built an underground tunnel that was 2000 km long. Over 8 years, almost 2,000 people lived in the tunnel; they had wells inside for water, went to school, had meetings, the whole bit. About 80 babies were born in there each year. We walked through some of it and it was quite narrow, having to bend over through some parts. In the south, there are tunnels similar to this called the Cu Chi tunnels and although we didn't go there, I understand those tunnels were even smaller, having to crawl through. Meanwhile people lived in there like that for years. There were many terrible things about this war, but probably the worst part is the number of civilians that died. Marj and I have been doing a lot of our own research just to grasp a greater understanding of a hard-to-understand war, and there were many civilian deaths because nobody knew who to trust. The Viet Cong and the South/America both had many informants, undercovers providing inside info, locals providing support in various ways, and so so so many actual soldiers, that everybody was seen as a threat to both sides. As if war isn't bad enough, that can really mess with your mind.
As we were driving, we passed a group of people on the side of the road digging up a hole and had the little station set up with incense and other offerings. Le told us that families dig up bodies of the dead after a certain number of years (depending on the family) to retrieve the bones, burn them and save the ashes. It's always sad when someone dies and the body is never retrieved, which happens so often in war and genocides. Because many bodies of the Vietnam War were never found, loved ones were unable to dig up the bodies. Both American and Vietnamese bodies are all over the country, unknown. Le shared with us that there is a lady who is quite famous now, who has a psychic-type ability and finds where bodies are for families to dig up. Thus far, she's located 10,000 Vietnamese who died during the war. The government, who typically doesn't believe or encourage this, has been convinced she is legit and is encouraging her services. The woman was always just a normal chick, but a few years ago was bit by a rabied dog and never got treatment. Lucky to be alive, she apparently was also given this special ability.
Hien Luong Bridge is the bridge over the Ben Hai River that divided the country in two, built by the French. For many years there were tons of French, American and Vietnamese guarding the area, keeping it separate and making it a hot spot for fighting. In 1975, it was no longer seen as the bridge that divided but rather a symbol of reunification. There are some beautiful photos of families being reunited after years of separation, quite special. Of course there's a museum nearby and huge photos of Uncle Ho everywhere. The patriotism is nice, but for me, the Uncle Ho stuff is too much. It's also very clear that the Communist government doesn't give any alternative to patriotism. It's very much in your face, and it's increased the further north we go. We were told by some Vietnamese that nobody talks about their real feelings about the government out of fear. They are able to share with foreigners because other Vietnamese don't speak English. So all of these museums use a lot of propaganda to show how awful the American side was and the suffering we caused. It's always portrayed as the American side and the American War, not the Americans supporting the south or as a civil war, which really, I think it was a little of both. Like I've said before, I'd never minimize the suffering we caused, but the Viet Cong did a lot of damage to Americans and their own people as well and it's never shown. One thing I will say is that they always show how the American people didn't want the war.
The idea of reunification is quite lovely. It's amazing how this country has been controlled by others (Chinese, Japanese, French, American) forever and how long they had to revolutionize against it. The Viet Cong were very much people who were angry and just wanted to be Vietnam, and I appreciate and respect that. During that time, Uncle Ho did a really good job of rallying his people too; women, ethnic minorities who historically have been discriminated against and teenagers all fought. Kids helped by working on building various weapons. That is crazy to me. This, to me, helps to explain why Vietnamese people are known to be less warm than other SE Asian people. They are harder because all they know is challenge and survival. Yet, with the exception of the frustrating and nasty money exchanges, I've found the people to be quite nice.
The last stop for the day was a 300 hectare piece of land that was an American base during the war. Only 3 hectares were kept as the site of the base and museum, the rest is used for farming. The Americans didn't have it easy here, but this base was smack in the middle of the mountains and surrounded by beauty.
During afternoon coffee time, we asked Le some questions, one being my most common question "are the Vietnamese still angry or dislike Americans?" He said that the young people aspire to be like America and love it. He said there are still older people who hold some resentment, but not everybody. After a long and heavy day, I went for an evening run. It was a run full of greetings, giggles, waves, people asking me where I'm from, kids chasing after me, and offerings of a ride, as though I was running to get somewhere, rather than just for fun. Same same in Thailand. It reiterated to me that despite the past, we are still welcomed here. It was a refreshing way to end the day.
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