Horrors of War

Obliteration. Genocide. Devastation. Annihilation.

These are the words that float through my mind as I walk through the Aggression War Crimes gallery at the War Remnants Museum in Hanoi. The feelings that course through my heart are equally strong.

Horror. Shock. Anger. Rage. Hopelessness. Sadness. Numbness.

Visiting this museum has been the single most powerful experience thus far in my trip to Vietnam. I was accompanied by Nam, a young student from Tra Vinh province who volunteered to guide Karl and me through the museum so we could learn more about the American War. As we walked through the Agent Orange Aftermath gallery, Nam kept his eyes fixated on me, watching my reactions.

I won’t describe the photos I saw and the text I read because I don’t know where to begin.

I can share with you how I felt – desperate to make sense of the images I was faced with, searching to understand how such events could take place and be tolerated, and trying, trying, trying to understand the horrors the Vietnamese people like Nam’s parents and grandparents witnessed and lived through.

I don’t know what else to say.

Please don't throw rocks at me. Thanks.

Thunk! Right on the back of my head. And then surprisingly, another whack in the middle of my back before I even have time to turn around. The chanting of “Germany bad!” and “Fu*k you!” instantly stops when I spin around. The 8-year-old boy quickly hides the rock he's holding behind his back and his eyes widen with anticipation. What will I do? What will I say?

I'm a polite Canadian and I idiotically say "Please don't throw rocks at me. I'm not German. Thanks."

He tilts his head with confusion, but at least the mean glint in his eyes is gone.

The day started off on a much more positive note. Along with my counter-part, Van Anh, I headed to explore the small town of Mui Ne just outside of Phan Thiet. We hit the sand dunes first. The Mui Ne area has a unique micro-climate and it was bizarre to see palm trees quickly give way to cacti and sand dunes. Unfortunately, the sand dunes were over-run with tourists, but they were still neat to see.

A vendor on the sand dunes.

Children try to sell "sleds" to tourists to go sledding down the dunes.

We then made a spontaneous stop and took a quick peek at some pungent vats of fermenting fish sauce behind someone's house. You could definitely smell them before you saw them.

Our next stop was the 'Fairy Stream' in Mui Ne. I'd read and heard wonderful things about this spot.

You take off your shoes and walk for a few kilometres in a stream surrounded by a beautiful and strange landscape.

It started off well and the scenery is really gorgeous.

However, things quickly changed when I came across a young German woman. She was clearly upset and on the verge of tears. She explained that a group of children had followed her along the walk and when she reached the end, they claimed that they had been her 'tour guides' and demanded money from her. She said that they had just trailed behind her uninvited and that she felt she didn't owe them anything. They then started to call her names and now wouldn't leave her alone.

I volunteered to walk her back to the beginning of the trail and we headed back. The kids followed along behind us, yelling obscenities. And then things got even uglier. The yelling of “Germany bad!” and “Fu*k you!” got louder and more passionate. They became more aggressive and started throwing rocks at us. I was totally caught off guard. I was surprised suddenly at how unsafe I felt and how threatening this little 'gang' of children looked! Some of them looked to be around 14 or 15 years of age, and there was certainly a menacing look in their eyes. Both the German woman and I were happy when we safely approached the trail-head.

I later learned that these kids are not used to hearing 'no'. Apparently, most of the visitors to the Fairy Stream are Russian tourists who are quick to dole out money to the children, creating dependency relationship. It's a case of tourism gone wrong.

Is it lunchtime yet?

There are many great things about my job - the people I work with, the office environment, the casual atmosphere, the flexibility - but one of the most unexpected and wonderful surprises has been lunchtime! I'd like to introduce Huong...

She cooks lunch for the office staff every day and she charges us each 30,000 VND ($1.50 Canadian). Around 11:30 am, the smells of highly-anticipated Vietnamese dishes start to waft through the office. At noon, we all eagerly head for the lunch room/kitchen where she cooks and serves up a fresh, hot meal. It's the best Vietnamese food I've had so far! This was today's lunchtime feast...

This is the sweet and sour soup...

My new favourite dish - a beautiful salad with crunchy green papaya, shredded carrots and loads of fresh basil and mint.

And another favourite of mine - freshly fried peanuts with coarse salt.

I love the fact that Huong sits with us and shares the meal. I hope to get to know her better in the coming months...who knows, maybe she'll share some of her cooking secrets with me and I can become half the cook she is?

Video: Phan Thiet

My video of the sights around Phan Thiet...

Phan Theit

Phan Thiet: famous for fish sauce. Other than that, this costal town in the province of Binh Thuan is not known for much else. It produces around 20 million litres of fish sauce per year. Before arriving, I was told that the town had a distinctive and overpoweringly fishy smell. I explored the town today and happily found that is not the case.

I'm waiting for my Vietnamese partner, Van Ahn, to arrive tomorrow and I tried to take advantage of the time on my own to check out some sites that may be of interest to the Canadian students. My expedition lasted only about two hours because I quickly succumbed to the draining heat. The temperature in Saigon has been as high as 47 C with humidity these past few days, and it feels similar here. Walking about is a bit of a slog.

Here are some photos from my walk around Phan Thiet...

In Binh Thuan province, acres and acres of fruit plantations...I love tropical fruit and was happy to finally discover what the plants...

...for dragon fruit look like. Here's an unripe fruit...

...and some riper ones.

Along the river, there was lots of action amongst the colourful boats...

The market in town proved to be equally entertaining.

Sunrise at Phan Thiet.

Jackfruit trees.

Duc Thanh School, a cultural and historic site. Around 1910, Ho Chi Minh stayed and taught at the school.

Bao Tang Ho Chi Minh Museum in Phan Thiet.

I hope to explore more of the town on my next visit which will be next month. Here are a few more photos from around Phan Thiet...

Video: Hanoi

Here's a short video-clip I filmed in Hanoi...enjoy!

Around Saigon

Yesterday was a busy but rewarding day. I spent it with Karl (the other Canadian coordinator) and Linh (one of the two Vietnamese coordinators working on the project). We spent the morning investigating venues for the seminar and then visited a couple of sites in Saigon. Karl and Linh left south for their field site in Tra Vinh in the early afternoon. It was wonderful to discuss the details of the seminar with them as it seems that we have quite a lot of freedom in shaping what it will look like. I'm excited about all the possibilities!

We visited Ben Thahn Market. Everything that is commonly worn, eaten or used by the Saigonese is available here. The building was built in 1914.

The market provided me with my first authentic Vietnamese meal as it has a fabulous vegetarian food stall.

It was a delicious as it looks.

And perfectly complimented by this drinkable dessert that Linh ordered from me.

After Linh and Karl left, I visited the Saigon Central Mosque, built by South Indian Muslims in 1935. It's beautiful. Only half a dozen Indian Muslims remain in Saigon as most of the community fled in 1975.

(Unfortunately) The courtyard is used as motorcycle parking (as are almost all sidewalks in the city).

A cyclo driver tending to his mode of living. Karl remarked that if we had come here fifteen years ago, we would have seen city streets filled with cyclos and bicycles instead of scooters and cars.

Elderly vendor selling drinks on Saigon street.

Built between 1886 and 1881, the largest post office in Vietnam. It has gorgeous architecture both outside...

...and inside.

Phone booths inside the post office.

Statue outside of the post office.

Notre Dame Cathedral, in the centre of Saigon's government quarter. It was built 1877-1883 in the neo-Romanesque style.

I'm off to Binh Thuan province this morning to visit my field site for the first time. It's a 4.5 hour drive and I'm excited to see the rural landscape! More to come...