A Different Perspective

The alarm was set for 7 AM but around 6:30 we started to stir. The sounds of the city (mostly scooter horns) and knowing we had to be up soon made it hard to get those last few minutes of sleep in. It mattered not. Since we got to bed so early we had all the rest we needed. While getting ready to go we got to enjoy a chat session with my parents which surprisingly turned in to a chat session with Tricia and Megan (Hi Guys)! It was nice to catch up and see everyone ready for a night on the town. Being 12 hours ahead we already knew Friday night was a good one and suggested they enjoy it ;-) I looked every bit the part of someone who just woke up and rolled out of bed (I had “Jesse Morning Hair” as described by my good friend Kristen Farrell).

We left the room at 8 to get breakfast and meet our guide at 8:30. To our surprise our guide was already ready to go. He explained that it is policy for them to be early but insisted we enjoy our breakfast first (we obliged). After breakfast we hopped in the car and started our 1.5 hour drive to the tunnels. Along the way Tri, our guide, explained how his company insists they get a 5 star “excellent” rating of 87% or higher from their customers. Anything less is unacceptable. The 87% is a trip rating, not just a guide rating. So, if a trip is rated less than 5 stars because the hotel was horrible (even though the guest chose a 3 star hotel) then it comes back on the guide. They go out of their way to ensure we are 100% happy in every way and it definitely shows.

We arrived at the tunnels around 10 AM where we met Chu Nam (In English: Uncle 5, which depicts his rank in the family). Chu Nam was a solider for the VC (Viet Cong) throughout the entire war. Right off the bat we noticed his missing right arm. Our guide and Chu Nam lead us down to a private briefing room where Chu Nam started to tell us, through our translator, about the war and the tunnel system. After he spoke for about 10 minutes we started a QA session, again, through our translator. Chu Nam had a kind yet in-charge way about him. It’s hard to put in to words (at least for me) but I knew this man had a good heart despite years of war.

Katie and I asked questions like:

- How did you lose your arm? (American tank round)

- How long were you underground? (in the tunnels for 15 years, at any one stint, without seeing light, 2 weeks

- What did you eat? (Rationed fruit, some meat and water from a well)

- Where did you go the bathroom? (small out coves in the caves or used ammunition boxes)

- Do you have a family? (Yes, wife, 2 boys, 2 girls and 7 grandkids)

- Do you live far from here? (No, about 7 kilometers)

- Have you ever travelled, and where do you want to go? (No, I’ve never been from this area. I’d love to go to the US but I cannot afford it. Even if I could afford it the US would never grant me a Visa).

The questions went on all morning as we walked around the camp looking at the tunnels, how they survived and the booby traps the VC made from whatever they could find. The booby traps were amazingly clever. I feel horrible for any person who ever had to encounter one. Check out the photos to see for yourself. At one point they gave us a challenge to scour an area for the hidden entrance to the tunnel system. They warned us that they set up some non-harmful booby traps to simulate what it would have been like during the war. In the war they put deadly booby traps around any entrance to protect it. As we started looking around they set off a VERY loud firecracker which cased Katie and I to nearly faint. It was extremely funny after we realized what had happened (they were already laughing). Check out the photos and video to see how small of an entrance they used.

We walked further down the path to a live ammunition gun range where you could choose whatever gun you wanted to shoot. The rounds went from $1 US to $1.5 US per round. Since I’ve never shot an M60 I chose it over the other guns available. As it turned out the M60 was the most expensive at $1.50 a round. I purchased 100 rounds and off to the range we went. I probably would have purchased more but they only took cash which is hard to come by around here. The ATM machines only give you $105 US at a time.

At the range it was interesting to see them grease the gun and the bullets in preparation for our shooting. Katie went first and fired about 3 times; each time was about a 3 round burst. After that it was my turn. I did a few quick shots to get use to the gun including how accurate the iron sites were. The targets were mostly shot up so I decided to take out a small 1 to 2 foot pillar used to hang targets. At 100 yards it was pretty tiny but with a fully automatic gun like the M60 it’s hard to miss. With about 50 rounds left I held the trigger in and watched the stick disappear. Very impressive and VERY fun. Check out the video…

We finished the tour by having a sit down snack with Chu Nam. They served hot tea and tapioca root. We chatted a bit more about our countries, our families and the war. After snack time we headed our separate ways. The drive back to Saigon was uneventful; about 1.5 hours total. I slept while Katie and Tri chatted about American slang. Tri was curious where “It’s raining like Cats and Dogs” came from. He even created his own slang “It’s raining like kittens and puppies.” (meaning, not as hard as Cats and Dogs)

Back in Saigon we went to lunch at a place called “Temple Club”. We felt bad but, excluding the spring rolls, we had to order off the western menu. We split a Caesar Salad and the “American Club.” We ordered a great bottle of New Zealand’s Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc. During lunch it started raining like Cats and Dogs so we took our time. It was amazing to see the city of scooters transfer to the city of ponchos. The people covered themselves and their scooters with these huge ponchos and continued about their crazy driving like it wasn’t raining at all.

We settled up with the waiter and had the driver pull up to the front door. Katie and I made a mad dash to the vehicle and off we went to the American War Museum. Wow. What an eye opener. There were some very disturbing pictures showing how Vietnamese families suffered during the war. In America the war was always portrayed to me as America, the heroes, coming in to fight for democracy. The North Vietnamese attacked the South Vietnamese and America came to the South’s rescue. This museum portrayed a very different story.

I can’t imagine how the Vietnamese people can be so nice to Americans based on what we were seeing at this museum. Every display was about how inhumane the Americans were. They talked about the bombing and killing of civilians, the use of Agent Orange, shooting of pregnant women and children, etc. It felt like we were reading about Hitler and genocide. It was hard to read such negative information about the country I love but they showed pictures backing up their claims. I feel very blessed to not have had to been a part of that and very proud that our country’s people and the Vietnamese people have a good relationship today. There were also many stories of the American Veterans making trips here to apologize and help rebuild Vietnam. We spent at least an hour at the museum before heading back to the hotel for some R&R before dinner.

The rain never stopped but we still opted to walk to dinner. Our friend Zeb suggested a place a few blocks away so we headed there. I was very impressed with the way this restaurant did business. We got there and they seated us like they do at any other restaurant (no AC, bummer). The waitress then gave us a sheet and said “walk around to any of the food stations and when you see something you like give them this sheet.” So, that’s what we did. Each of these food stations is operated by an independent family and they get a cut of whatever they sell. It’s like being at a flea market for food. We (I), picked out a few things and got back to the table. I handed our paper to the waitress and a few minutes later the food started showing up. It was pretty good. We finished up and headed out to walk the rainy streets of Saigon.

It was about 7:30 PM when we finished dinner and started walking around. It was amazing to see that the rain didn’t slow the town down a bit. The outdoor market was still open and people were wheeling and dealing. A man selling coconuts followed us for about 15 minutes trying to sell us his coconuts. He was actually very nice but we didn’t want his coconuts. After 15 minutes he said “For you, free, please take one.” Even that we declined but it was funny how hard he tried.

After enough of walking around we found a neat bar called the “Saxx Club.” We walked in and, other than one other couple, there was nobody there. The workers were all around the bar watching the world cup (which by the way is HUGE here). They stared us up and down then started talking loudly and laughing. Oh well, we found a seat and asked for some help. One of the guys walked over and took our order. It turned out that we were there before the bar opened but they were nice enough to serve us anyway. Around 8:30 they turned the game off and put on a Ray Charles DVD which was a live concert tribute to Ray Charles. It was in English and Katie and I enjoyed watching it for about 30 minutes. During that time the bar started to fill up with people and the jazz band prepared to play. A little after 9 the DVD was shut off and the live music started. We hung out until about 9:30 and then decided to move on.

We started walking towards the hotel when we met another persistent street vendor which we both regret not getting on video. She was a young and pretty girl, probably 15 years old. She said “Sir, you buy flower for pretty girl (Katie)” – I said “No, thank you” – she kept persisting so I said “I’m sorry, she’s allergic to flowers” – she ran up to Katie and shoved the flowers in Katie’s face “See, not allergic, you a liar” – Katie and I were cracking up. I said “I’m sorry but no thank you” – she said “Ok, you buy gum for your bad breath” then started trying to hand me gum. It was so funny and kept going on. After I said No enough times she said “You suck” with a big smile on her face and then punched me in the back (a kidding around type of punch). We were laughing so hard but we kept walking. At one point we stopped to take a picture and out of nowhere she showed up again. I ended up buying gum for 40 cents US and that was the last we saw of her.

Once back at the hotel we called it night --- probably around 10 or 10:30. In the words of Billy Joel “Goodnight Saigon”…..Tomorrow morning we’re off to Seam Reap (Cambodia)…..