Saigon
I spent the day on a packaged tour – cost me all of $5 (not including lunch and entry fee) and went to a town near the cambodian border and visited the Cao Dia main temple…the religion is as a concoction of taoism, buddhism, christianity, and
islam…we were permitted to walk inside the temple before the noon mass – and then had to retreat to the balcony for the service. Quite interesting…lots of chanting and gongs and that sort of thing…all of the devotees had robes on – some of rainbow colors, but most were just in white. Men on the right, women on the left. The temple was a day-glo cacophony of color. Victor Hugo, Lao Tzu, Sun Yat Sen and various others are indirect influences on the beliefs…Weird.
Then I went to the CuChi tunnels – the main VC hideout/headquarters west of Saigon. We watched a (propaganda) film about the American aggression and how the tunnels provided resistance to the ruthless enemy (us). Again, quite weird, but I suppose the victor gets to write history. But of course, I think the film was mostly very accurate. One display showed the punji-stake pits of various forms. Actually used the real things…there were about 10 styles. A mural in the background showed American victims. Weird, but I am guessing it was accurate. It was gruesome. War is the terrorism of the strong; terror is the war of the weak. The finale was a crawl through part of the tunnels – widened of course, to fit the western girth.
Back in Saigon now and just finished what may have been the best meal of the trip. A Vietnamese version of cashew chicken and spring rolls – washed down with a couple of (big) bottles of Saigon Beer.
Heading north tomorrow and the first stop in Mui Ni, a small town on the South China Sea. I’m hoping to stay there a few days and just relax. I feel that I’ve just been non-stop for too long. Hope it’s as nice as the guide books make it out to be. I may rent a motorbike (I wouldn’t dream of doing so in the chaos of Saigon) and explore the area a bit.
I’ve hardly talked to anyone in a copuple of days – although last night I ended up sitting in a restaurant with an Aussie bloke my age. He had just completed a bicycle tour from Hanoi to Saigon – quite the adventure considering that middle age seems to have gotten the best of him. But he was bright and insightful and good company. He’s a writer for Aussie TV and has done a lot of ‘joe jobs” along the way, so very multi-dimensional. We ended up each having 4 (big) Saigon beers with dinner and I actually slept until 7AM this morning and had to rush to get ready for today’s tour.
Tags: Travel, vietnam
jpb
November 16th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
Mun i is ok,but try to make time for NhaTrang,its very nice,and i live here,so if you need any help just ask.