Asian Journeys
Independent Travel with Style around the Asian ContinentA World Refugee’s Day Post : Retracing the Vietnam War
As I’m starting this blog on World Refugee Day, it seems appropriate to use the first post to remember the events surrounding one of the worst refugee crises.
I’ve never had an appetite for war. I could never stomach for movies like Apocalypse Now or Rambo or read literature about war. I couldn’t tell an M16 from a B52. So visiting sites on the war trail was the furthest thing from my mind on my first-time trip to Vietnam, a couple of weeks ago.
But friends kept urging me to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, so I bowed to the pressure and scheduled a pit-stop there. What I initially thought would be a tick on the checklist of ‘things to see in Vietnam’ turned out to be one of the most fascinating and enriching places I’ve ever visited. To my own surprise, I decided to reroute my journey to take in other places where I could learn more about the war. I would thoroughly recommend these places to anyone who has plans to visit this country. Learning about its tragic history is an integral part of the Vietnam experience.
My visit to the infamous Cu Chi (pronounced Gu-Chi) tunnels took places on a sweltering day in early June. This ingenious underground network of tunnels frustrated the military might of West, enabling Vietnamese fighters to engage France, and later the US, in guerilla warfare. Cu Chi sits on a strategically important site between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It was the gateway into attacking Saigon. But today, sitting amidst quiet rubber plantations and paddy fields, there’s little hint of its tragic past.
The resource-poor but idea-rich Viet Cong dug this sophisticated 200km labyrinth of tunnels here, where they lived, hid and plotted against the enemy for 20 years. Simple tools were used to hollow out the hard clay underneath the villages of Cu Chi.
There were underground kitchens, meeting rooms, hospitals, booby traps, complete with air vents. The tunnels even connected to the Saigon river so Viet Cong fighters could jump into its waters and find their way back into the tunnel network.
What’s even more mind boggling is that many of the tunnels only measure 30×30. Our guide triumphantly announced that the tunnels had been widened for ‘foreign bodies’ – even then they were still claustrophobia- inducing spaces. 
One tourist in my group attempted to enter, only to get stuck at the entrance and had to be lifted out.
The tunnels at Ben Dinh are recommended for their authenticity. Apparently the Ben Duoc tunnels, which have a bit more of a Disneyland feel. A typical visit to Ben Dinh starts with a screening of a black and white Viet Cong propaganda video, filled with vicious condemnation of the ‘US imperialists’. Next, we move on to marvel at booby traps, air vents disguised as termite mounds, sandals made out of US tires, Viet Cong equipment made from discarded US weaponry, a shooting range where you can try out actual rifles and of course the obligatory crawl through a modified tunnel. The irony is palpable when we stop under the trees for refreshments - our guide looks on quizzically as American tourists eagerly munch on tapioca, the famous Asian wartime staple.
The tunnels helped the Viet Cong prolong the war and its treacherous traps and hidey holes led many of the allied forces to their deaths. But living for 20 years in such difficult conditions took its toll. Some 16,000 Vietnamese lived in the tunnels during the war. When the war ended, only 6,000 emerged alived.
War Remnants Museum is another important stop. Previously known as the Museum of American War Crimes, it has understandably been given a name change in deference to the many American tourists that now visit Vietnam. Outside, there is an array of different tanks and fighter planes on display, but its worth spending time inside at two key exhibits. One is an exhibit on the consequences of war : with photos, literature, weapons, and even preserved foeteses documenting the horrifying impact of the Vietnam War.
The other is the moving Requiem Exhibition of photographs. This was donated to Vietnam by the government of Kentucky. The Requiem Exhibition is dedicated to the memory of newsmen that died in Vietnam, and consists of pictures taken by photographers who died during the Vietnam war. The dead came from all sides : US, North and South Vietnam, France, Japan, even 3 photographers from Singapore. You cannot help but be moved by the stark artistry of the black and white photos, made even more poignant with captions relating how the photographers died. Photos of US soldiers weeping as their platoons are decimated sit side by side with pictures Vietnamese civilians cringing with guns pointed at their heads.
Cu Chi and the War Remnants Museum paint a sobering picture of war, one which is grim on all sides. In war, there are never any winners.
To bring my journey full circle, I hope to visit Pulau Bidong, which sits off the coast of Terengganu, Malaysia. This island housed a refugee camps which was the destination for hundreds of Vietnamese Boat People fleeing the South after the Viet Cong took over. Bidong is a deserted island now, lying in ruins, but traces of refugee life remain. Remnants of churches, schools, hair salons testify to the sense of normalcy that the refugees tried to give themselves, even under difficult circumstances.
Through travel, we can now retrace the footsteps of war. But can we learn its lessons?
