The third class coach I was in had a center aisle with benches on both sides arranged to face each other at a distance that allowed the knees of Vietnamese travelers to just miss each other. I relied on sitting on the edge of the bench in order to have my longer legs jutting out into the aisle where I could stretch them out so as not to be bumping up against the person sitting across from me. The drawbacks to this were that taking the end space on the bench frequently left me with just enough room for one butt cheek to be on the bench while the other hovered above the aisle. The other annoyance was that the constant traffic up and down the aisle required me to be continually moving my legs to unblock the path and allow the people to pass. Vendors of water and tea passed back and forth with ridiculous frequency. Constantly calling out their wares they navigated the cluttered aisles in search of thirsty travelers whereby they would fill an aluminum coke can that had its top removed leaving a jagged and rusted maw from which to drink. I preferred to purchase bottled water and carry it with me. Both of the marathon train rides I took stopped about once an hour. During these stops the train cars would be besieged both from the exterior by vendors attempting to sell their goods to you through the open window and from the interior by the more persistent, who would add to the already crowded aisles (now filled with people getting on and off with their baggage). The variety of items to be purchased now ranged from whole cooked chickens to pieces of sugar cane to gnaw on. The truly daring would climb onto the top of the train while it was stopped and then once we had started again and they believed it was safe, they would climb down and crawl through the open windows while the train is cruising along at its stately 30-50 miles per hour. They would then have someone from above pass them their food/drink and we would now have more sellers to cope with. The unfortunate were the passengers whose window this new entrepreneur had decided to enter from. They would have to deal with a clambering soul who would come pouncing across the unsuspecting riders laps. These traveling salespeople had to deal with the train conductors who carried electric shocking devices which they would use on someone that they caught sneaking on board. Often times our aisle would fill with vendors who were being chased from one end to the other. When the conductor got too close everyone would head for the windows paying little heed to the passengers they had to hastily crawl over in order to get to the window and freedom. On one corner I leaned over (remember I have the aisle space) and took a look out the window at the roof of the train. I saw about thirty people of all ages and genders milling about with their goods trying to find out from their comrades already in the train where the conductors were and which was the best window to climb back into.
I arrived in Dong Ha (after 17 sleepless hours) which is a main city in the region of the former DMZ. I spent two nights here while I explored the area that saw some of the heaviest fighting during the war. I visited the Truong Son National Cemetery as well as the area surrounding the Con Thien Firebase. The hundreds of grave stones in the cemetery are labelled with the words Liet Si (martyr) at the top. I was told that many of them are empty as the body was never found (Vietnam has tens of thousands of MIAs). Children in this region make a living by venturing out into the former battle fields (still filled with unexploded mines and ordnance) and collecting scrap metal. While I was there one kid came back from the fields with his wicker basket filled with rusted pieces of mostly undecipherable metal. After weighing his booty on a primitive balance the loot was dumped onto a mound of the stuff in which I was able to find pieces of claymore mines and artillery shells.
A dinner I had at an initially empty restaurant in Dong Ha quickly turned into some sort of spectacle as about 40 people came in to watch me eat. Not many visitors stop in Dong Ha as the `attractions' are out in the countryside so visitors get alot of attention.
A 2 hour bus ride the next day deposited me in the city of Hue. The buses, which should more appropriatly be called 35 year old vans, begin their journey from a `bus station' (although vacant dirt lot would again often be more appropriate) but they do not have prearranged stops. When someone wants to go somewhere in Vietnam they often stand along side the road and wait until a bus approaches, wave it down, and leap in while it is still moving. When someone wants to get off they yell to the driver who proceeds to slow down to a speed inversely proportional to the persons age (passengers my age, 25, might get the bus down to 5 mph while senior citizens get nearly a complete stop) in order to allow a hasty exit. Since the buses never leave the station until they are full (and I mean full), and the rate in which people disembark is less than the rate at which those on the side of the road wish to embark, the bus stays packed from beginning to end. As we neared Hue the bus was making its usual stops here and there while I, needless to say having never been here before, had no idea where to get off. Eventually the driver after weaving us along some fairly narrow streets whose shoulders were conveying foot, bicycle, and donkey traffic stopped in what seemed like a completely random spot and gave me the impression that this was were I should be getting off. In a very light rain I was able to locate myself from the map inside my guide book as being along a tributary of the Huong Giang (Perfume River). The first items on my agenda were to find and then get to (two different tasks) the train station in order to figure out when I could leave. A 45 minute walk brought me to my goal: Ga Hue. I discovered that the next train south would not be passing through Hue (on its way down from Hanoi) until 2am. I decided to buy a ticket and quickly see as much as I could in the 14 or so hours I had until the train left. At an outdoor cafe I was able to rent a bicycle from a teenage girl for 1000 Dong an hour (the exchange rate is 11000 dong for 1 USD) and visited the tomb of Tu Doc, the Citadel, and Thien Mu Pagoda. Because I am a vegetarian and the food given to passengers on the train was meat and rice to be washed down with tea out of a communal cup, I had the family at the cafe make some sandwhiches for me to take along.
Another 18 hours and 18 dollars brought me to Nha Trang, a wonderful city with a fantastic stretch of beach. A spent two nights at the Khach San (Hotel) 44 for USD 5 a night and for the first time was able to relax a bit after the previous grueling few days. The Po Nagar Cham Towers made for a nice historical tourist attraction but for the most part I just took it easy. In Nha Trang I met a cyclo driver who had served in the South Vietnamese Army during the war. After spending 2 years in a re-education camp (prison) Trung was unable to get a job (because he was on the losing side) and ended up peddling around one of the manually operated `taxis' that are found everywhere throughout the country. There are no automobile taxis in Vietnam. Autos are such an extreme luxury that the idea of hiring someone to drive you across town is as inconceivable to them as the thought of hiring a helicopter for a ride across town is to us. Having worked with the Americans during the war, Trung spoke fairly good english. Trung showed me a letter that he received from a man in Oregon who had visited earlier which included a US Postal Service money order for 10 dollars in thanks for Trung having the American over for dinner. Of course Trung did not have a chance in hell of being able to cash a US government money order so I gave him 10 dollars worth of Vietnamese currency (equivalent to at least a months pay for him) and took the money order back to California with me. I have since mailed the money order back to the guy in Oregon and he sent me a 10 dollar check - that I had no problem cashing. There are plans to build a Club Med in Nha Trang when the embargo is lifted and unfortunately it is ideally suited for one. Nha Trang is a great vacation spot.
I then took a 5 hour bus ride to Dalat. This is often called the nicest city in Vietnam, and for good reason. It is the favorite spot for Vietnamese couples to spend their honeymoon as well as family vacations. Dalat is situated a little over one hundred miles northeast of Saigon in the mountains. It is the mountains that make Dalat such an attractive place. It is much cooler here than the rest of Vietnam and the mountains make for nice lakes, hiking trails, and waterfalls. But I didn't come to Vietnam for a honeymoon and left for Saigon after 1 night.
Saigon is much busier than Hanoi. Mopeds are now as plentiful as bicycles and there are even a few cars now and then. Billboards and neon signs can also be found here along with discos and expensive hotel cocktail lounges. Saigon goes to sleep later than Hanoi as young people cruise around on their mopeds up and down Le Loi Boulevard. I stayed at the Van Canh Hotel for 55000 Dong a night which is conveniently located just around the corner from a great vegetarian restaurant where full meals with sodas come to about one dollar. Saigon has some interesting sights. In particular, the former US Embassy, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Reunification Hall are all must sees. But my favorite was the Museum of Imperialist Aggressive War Crimes. Here you can get an extremely one sided view of the wars that the Vietnamese have fought with the Americans as well as their traditional enemy China. Various torture methods employed by the Americans and South Vietnamese Army are described as well as massacres of civilians (My Lai etc.). But as I mentioned earlier, the average person you are going to meet does not harbor any animosity whatsoever and only wishes that the US would lift the trade embargo so more foreign investment will come and hopefully lift the populace from their present state of 3rd world poverty.
In order to leave Vietnam by bus to Cambodia I had to get my exit port changed on my visa to Moc Bai which is the Vietnamese border town. I had this paper work done at the Oscan office in Saigon also in one day and also for the bargain price of USD 18.
Oscan Enterprises Ltd.
2D Pham Ngoc Thach Street
1st District
Ho Chi Minh City
Tel. 84-8-231191 (also 231022 and 231023) Fax. 84-8-231024
I don't want to seem like an agent for these people but they really got the job done and when you are 10,000 miles from home its the bottom line that counts.
I applied for the Cambodian visa at their embassy when I was in Hanoi and was able to get the stamp a week later from their consulate in Saigon. The people in Hanoi needed three photos and USD 10. They then gave me a slip of paper which I presented to the officials in Saigon who got another USD 20 out of me and then put the stamp good for 7 days in my passport immediatly.
The bus for Phnom Penh left Saigon at 6am. We had a one hour wait on the Vietnamese side of the border and then another hour wait on the Cambodian side of the border. The wait on the Cambodian side was made enjoyable by the fact that the UN peace keeping force (UNTAC) has a station set up just inside the Cambodian border. The Chinese, Australian, Thai, and Cambodian peace keepers let us wait inside with them as they showed off their gear and refreshed us with their bottled water. The bus continued, arriving in Phnom Penh at about 4pm. Phnom Penh has alot more traffic than Saigon. Although much of the traffic is UNTAC related, the roads were full of bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, buses, and cars (in that order). The city itself is in poor shape with all buildings, except the nicest hotels, being in a state between run down and collapsed. Like the Vietnamese, the Cambodians are very hard working and everywhere construction and refurbishment seemed to be occuring. Attractions in Phnom Penh included the Royal Palace, National Museum, and Wat Phnom, among others.
Of course Phnom Penh is also known for the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. |
