Indoctrinated.

You know, it's almost easy to forget that Vietnam is a Communist country. Then, you get subtle (read: propaganda) reminders. I was exposed to this today as I took a tour out of Ho Chi Minh City to the countryside to the Cu Chi Tunnels. I'm sure some of my elder (and I mean that in the nicest way possible) readers are familiar with these, but for my generation not so much. The Cu Chi tunnels are a system of tunnels in which the Viet Cong guerrillas hid during US bombing sweeps of the area during the Vietnam War. Not only for hiding, the tunnels were base camps for the NLF fighters. In layman's terms, it's a bunch of tunnels where Vietnamese lived to escape American bombings.

Remember how yesterday I said I wanted to study up a little on the Vietnam War? Well, I won't get an objective viewpoint here. All the pictures I saw today at the tunnels and also at the War Remnants Museum were all about documenting how scared, undermanned and defeated the Americans were. Want to learn about how the US got involved and why campaigns began in the country? Sorry, can't learn about that. But there is a nice exhibit on the My Lai massacre. Want to know about why North Vietnam was attacking South Vietnam? No help there, either. But please watch the video about the brave, courageous and proud Vietnamese and how they were attacked- unprovoked- by the "great white devils".

Now, I claimed to be naive in an earlier post, but I'm not really. I know that the US involvement in Vietnam is something that is in question even today. I know that many veterans still don't understand why we went there in the first place. I also am aware that acts committed by US forces during the campaign are reprehensible. But seriously, a whole day of listening to how America was scared and photos of civilian bombing victims really has my head spinning.

Well, best to move on. I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Delhi. I don't really know what to expect. I'll be sure to update frequently in India.

Bits and Pieces

-I underestimated the bike/car ratio here. It's more like 30:1. Americans drive on the right side of the road. Our British friends drive on the left. Vietnamese drive on both. There is little semblance of order. It actually kind of makes it fun.

-At the Cu Chi tunnels today I got to fire an AK-47. It was a little expensive, but I figured it was something I had to do. Just fired 10 rounds into the distance at some targets. I don't think I hit one. This seemed a little more organized that the trips to the shooting range I was offered in Cambodia. Of course, in Cambodia they have RPGs, grenades and Gatling Guns to use. They also (for a price) will give you a live target, like a cow.

-In general, I find the Vietnamese to be less friendly than Cambodians. They're still nice, but definitely less smiley and friendly.

I suppose my next post will be from New Delhi, India. This is my most anticipated stop on the trip. I will be there for a week. I just imagine a circus from touchdown to takeoff. Until next time...