Oh - We - Oh ..... HO Chi Minh

The title above is:

A) The only line I remember from Good Morning Vietnam
B) A reference to the city formerly known as Saigon
C) The namesake of a jovial looking Communist head of state
D) All of the above.

Picking up after we said goodbye to Lindsey, Kristen and I have been staying in a little room in a little house down a little alley with a little Granny as our keeper. It's been very comfortable and cheap with the added bonus of cable in our room. Now this might not seem to be a big deal to most, but considering I've been making do with Chinese Television for the last two years watching an episode of Mythbusters or Project Runway (don't judge) has been like manna from heaven.

Speaking of manna - I've been relying on a steady diet of baguette sandwiches stuffed with cheese and veggies washed down with (REAL!) coffee on the cheap. Say what you will about French Imperialism (and there's a lot to say), the remnants in the form of food and architecture have made this city a really pleasant place to while away some time. I also can't forget to mention the friendliness of Saigon folks. Even the hawkers and touts are quick to crack a smile or joke even if you're not interested in their schwag.

As far as sites go, yesterday Kristen and I took a trip to see the Cu Chi (Ku-chee) tunnels outside of town. And yes, I have so far refrained from making any juvenile jokes about the name (out loud at least). The tunnels were built before the 'American War' but were used extensively by thousands of Viet Cong to attack targets in and around Saigon and were the planning and staging area for the infamous Tet Offensive.

We took a day tour and were fortunate to have a guide by the name of Mr. Binh (pronounced 'Bean' ha =/) who was a South Vietnamese soldier working on the swift boats as a paramedic in the area. After the U.S. pulled out he was convicted as a war criminal and was sent to a reeducation camp for 4.5 years where he spent his days looking for UXO (un-exploded ordinance a.k.a. live bombs). Restricted from going back into medicine or teaching, he then spent time as a black-market cigarette/liquor smuggler, cyclo driver, and finally tour guide. It's nearly impossible to distill the information and stories he gave, but suffice to say they were eye-opening.

Above is a picture of Mr. Binh showing a map of the area controlled by the Viet Cong soldiers (red), South Vietnamese and Americans (green), Contested areas (yellow) and villages that may or may not be aiding the VC (pink). Complicated much? Look closely for Mr. Ho Chi Minh watching over the proceedings.

The actual tour had re-creations of the various types of tunnel structures. Culminating with a 100m. crawl through a hot, dark and tiny space, it was enough to have driven a person with even mild claustrophobia insane. Hard to imagine spending the greater part of the day hiding out with the only interruptions being a guerilla attack or a retreat into the Saigon river where one would lie on his/her back underwater and breath through a bamboo reed to hide. Above is a soldier playing peek-a-boo from a sniper hole.

As the first country we've visited since leaving China I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn and re-learn a little more about Vietnamese history. While these country summations always seem to sound trite, it's nice picking up small nuances and trying to fit them into (or having them alter) my conception of a country. After two plus years in China I'm more convinced than ever that I'm never going to be able to talk about a place without qualifying nearly every observation - and I'm ok with that. I'm also sure that I'm one lucky dude to even have the opportunity to make these observations.

I'm going to stop now as writing the last paragraph kinda made me throw up in my throat a little. Friggin blogs. Off to the Mekong delta tomorrow!