I arrived here in Hanoi, Vietnam after 9 days in Cambodia tropical paradise. I managed to allow myself to come to a complete halt after weeks of being on the go in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh before heading to another busy city like Hanoi. The decision to come to Hanoi was due to the northern geographical location and the weather. After months of dry 95F (35C) temperatures and no rain, I wanted a little bit of relief from the heat. Plus, unlike Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), I was told more Vietnamese culture had been preserved here in Hanoi post wartime (1970’s ish).
After my trip to South Africa and not having done any historical homework of the region, I wanted to make sure that anytime I am traveling to a new unfamiliar country I was going to make sure I did my homework to learn about the country’s history. A lot of us already know a little bit of something about the Vietnam War. When I was taking history classes in Chicago Public Schools I don’t remember going over anything about the Vietnam War, could just be my adolescent lifestyle that prevents me from remembering.
Fortunately, we live in an age where information is close by and at our fingertips when we need it. I was walking through Phnom Penh and came across a store that sold DVD copies of just about anything you could possibly want. USA copyright laws non-existent. I bought the 10DVD (20+ hours) version of The Vietnam War by Ken Burns, and watched The Post with Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. From those productions I learned a lot from the perspective of the United States and knew there was more for me to learn prior to the 1950’s.
Did you know….
In the Vietnam war the United States used 29 kinds of destruction bombs, 13 kinds of anti-personnel bombs, 25 kinds of mechanic detonators and 10 kinds of electronic detonators.
Between 1965 and 1972 the United States dropped about 5,382,000 tons of different types of bombs on the North and South of Vietnam. By the end of the war, 7 million tons of bombs had been dropped on Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia – more than twice the amount of bombs dropped on Europe and Asia in World War II. The U.S. Bombardments in Vietnam killed more than 80,000 people and injured more then 200,000 others.
Between 1965 and 1973, the U.S. dropped 2.7 million tons of explosives — more than the Allies dropped in the entirety of World War II — on Cambodia, whose population was then smaller than New York City’s. Estimates of the number of people killed begin in the low hundreds of thousands and range up from there, but the truth is that no one has any idea.
William Shawcross, in 1979’s Sideshow: Kissenger. Nixon and the Destruction of Cambodia, was the first to advance the theory that the meteoric rise of the Khmer Rouge was not in spite of the U.S. bombing campaign but because of it. “The impact of this bombing… is clearer than ever,” they write. “Civilian casualties in Cambodia drove an enraged populace into the arms of an insurgency that had enjoyed relatively little support until the bombing began, setting in motion the expansion of the Vietnam War deeper into Cambodia, a coup d’etat in 1970, the rapid rise of the Khmer Rouge, and ultimately the Cambodian genocide.”
I learned the Vietnamese fought and struggled for their country’s independence and their own identity for a long time. Since the Mid-1800’s where China, France and Japan both had an interest in what they called “Indochina” during that time. The unification of what we know as Vietnam today has only been in existence since the mid 1970’s and Ho Chi Minh was a pivotal player in making that happen. You can do your own historical research.
During this week I made my way to the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Mausoleum, The Vietnam Military History Museum, Hanoi Street Food Tour, cooking with my host family and lots of walking around the Old Quarter of Hanoi. I’m headed to ĐÁO XUÂN Festival on Saturday/Sunday and looking forward to some live music.
The political climate that the United States is in now has been created by the people because we have fought for the democratic freedoms that are still fairly new for the Vietnamese people. I have learned to appreciate the freedoms that come along with living in the USA that are still being developed in some of the countries in S.E. Asia that I have visited. You won’t find a family of 4 all riding on a motor scooter transporting a freezer down the sidewalk while the driver is texting in the USA but, you will find equal opportunity (mostly) for all citizens. I realize that statement is open for question and debate.
I am incredibly privileged to have the freedom and been given the chance to travel like this. From being granted a sabbatical from my academic place of employment, having managed my finances properly to be able to afford it and having a brother stepping up to the plate to help care for my father who is dealing with many health issues and dementia.
I met someone who told me they couldn’t read some of my writing because I was complaining about one or some of my experiences. My intention is to write about my well rounded experiences that include my disappointments and my return to joy. It’s hard to hear that kind of feedback from someone that doesn’t really know me. I sure hope that I’m not writing and complaining about everything and missing all the joys in life and all the gratitude I feel for being able to live this life.
My landing into Hanoi has been slow and with intention. After a couple weeks of dealing with a cold/cough in Cambodia, I decided to see someone about it and was given some antibiotics for a bacterial lung infection which is common in this part of the world. My cough went away and a few days later while my body was building back antibodies post antibiotics, I came down with the flu the day before I was scheduled to travel to Vietnam. UGH. Then after a couple days of rest, I tweaked my back not doing a thing. I’m doing everything I can to keep a positive outlook and take care of my health and my body. I’m resting a lot, walking to keep my body moving and eating good yummy food.
Time will tell what is in store for me, I’m still planning on going to Ha Long Bay next week, Da Nang the following week and winding all of this up in Indonesia – Denpasar, Bali, to be home in May after all the snow has melted and see about going to the Montreal Jazz Festival the end of June.
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