day 2 vietnam
Day 2 vietnam began before the first rooster ruffled his feathers and sauntered to the farm gate, opened his wide beak, thought meditatively for a second on which note to pick, when we scampered out of the Airbnb, onto a bus to head to the Cu chi tunnels in the north of the South. The bus had a motley crew of Australians, Kiwis, phillipinos, sardars, Britishers and our enthusiastic tour guide Ele. (Pronounced Elly, like the elephant.) It was a 1 hour drive to Cu Chi during which I activated sleep mode and caught up on a lifetime of sleep. The tunnels were the most mind blowing sight I had ever seen. If I have to give you a crash course in Vietnam......the US cast aspersions on the Vietnamese, saying they had bombed a US Marine ship. (There was no evidence of this act, but doesnt this sound all to familiar?) After this LBJ commenced a war against them (and communism) because it would all finish within the week right? 20 years later, and about a million deaths later, the Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh was fighting the US and the South Vietnamese who were allied with the US, all in an attempt to unify his country and take it back from the hands of centuries of foreign rule. I swear, that man was a genius! They had little money, much less infrastructure. But they had brains, and they knew the terrain: two huge advantages in war! Since it was a thicket of forest, they dug 250km of tunnels, in which they had kitchens, bunkers, booby traps, conference rooms, all underground. Some as narrow as 20cm for the average Vietnamese to negotiate. We climbed through those tunnels today. It was pitch dark, the air was thin and I felt a panicking feeling rise inside me. It didn't help that Antu wanted to scour the entire 250km! I followed him as far as I could, and then left him to his own devices. He came out at some other end of the forest, pleased as punch, just before we sent out a search party for him!
This was followed by a sumptuous lunch in a local viet restaurant. I chatted alot with the other tourists, much to the boys' chagrin (aai, don't speak, aai don't crack mom jokes) and the mood elevated after a sombre morning where we caught a small glimpse into the battle between ideology and pointless bullying. What people these Vietnamese are! They are really something else!!! Willing to take on an enemy so powerful and rich, with whatever resources they had, the biggest strength being their determination and fearlessness. They were unpaid guerillas. The US soldiers were paid, drafted soldiers. This was a war against people who believed and those who did not. It went on for 20 years with no definitive victory.
A two hour drive south took us to the Mekong Bay Delta, a gorgeous backwater in the southern most part. We took a walk through the village where we learned and practiced the art of bee keeping. (Yes, Aai held a bee rack) And drank some honey tea, followed by kayaking down the mekong bay backwaters (most serene and peaceful). We visited an island called Unicorn Island and headed back after a 12 hour day,when the rooster had tucked his feathers away, and was fast asleep, snoring softly.
How are you OB van kanobe? How is everything? Please message once to say you are safe and fine.
Missing you beyond comprehension. I can't write anymore episodes till I hear from you. It's like my brain is paralysed.
Today you enjoyed seeing everything as much as I did (travelling in my mind with OB is fun). You esp chatted with the Australian goths because they were an interesting couple.
#seeyouontheotherside
Aai