So far, I'm loving Vietnam! It makes sense that I feel right at home in communist countries after spending three years at HLS (the Kremlin on the Charles). The food is really good and the people are friendly but not overly aggressive. This may also because my backpacking wardrobe suggests I'm an angry lesbian (convertible pants + birkenstocks + baseball cap= dreamy), but that never deterred the Bolivians or Chinese.
My first stop was the War Remnants Museum. There was an entire room dedicated to the evil US, featuring pictures of US soldiers shooting Vietnamese "civilians." There was an outdoor garden featuring american tanks, planes, and helicopters. I'm not sure if that was supposed to trigger white guilt, but it made me want to listen to "Brought to you courtesy of the red, white and blue." (If you dont know it, youtube it immediately.)
In the afternoon, I went to the Reunification Palace. It was built as a palace for the French governor. There, instead of the US being the bad guy, the French were the evil ones. I managed to choke back the involuntary laugh when France and "great military power" pop up in the same sentence.When the communists invaded Saigon in 1975, this building was left just as it was. Just like the Churchill war rooms in London, all the old telephones, radio rooms, and war maps are still in place. It's a total timewarp.
I'll post pictures some time but the internet here is super slow. Off to Phu Quoc tomorrow!
My first stop was the War Remnants Museum. There was an entire room dedicated to the evil US, featuring pictures of US soldiers shooting Vietnamese "civilians." There was an outdoor garden featuring american tanks, planes, and helicopters. I'm not sure if that was supposed to trigger white guilt, but it made me want to listen to "Brought to you courtesy of the red, white and blue." (If you dont know it, youtube it immediately.)
In the afternoon, I went to the Reunification Palace. It was built as a palace for the French governor. There, instead of the US being the bad guy, the French were the evil ones. I managed to choke back the involuntary laugh when France and "great military power" pop up in the same sentence.When the communists invaded Saigon in 1975, this building was left just as it was. Just like the Churchill war rooms in London, all the old telephones, radio rooms, and war maps are still in place. It's a total timewarp.
I'll post pictures some time but the internet here is super slow. Off to Phu Quoc tomorrow!
I appreciate the Toby Keith reference ;)
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, at one time the French were actually quite respected as a military power. :)
ReplyDelete