Vietnam Our next stop was Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We spent only two days there, the first and last in port. In between we spent three days in Cambodia. The downtown part of Ho Chi Minh City is still called Saigon by many people there. The most immediately remarkable thing is the traffic. Streets are filled with motor bikes and scooters, cyclos and bikes, and a few cars and buses. It is a challenge to cross the street. Once you head out just keep on going and do not hesitate or change your pace. The drivers plan their routes around you. Many drivers wear face covers and often gloves that go all the way up and over the elbows. Helmets are required but are often not used. Some male drivers smoke while they move. Again we saw 2, 3, or 4 people to a cycle, sometimes an infant wedged between two adults. The first stop on our City Orientation was Thien Hau Pagoda, known for its profusion of incense coils that burn for as long as one month. We traveled to the History Museum that documents the evolution of Vietnam’s various cultures. It also featured a water puppet performance, a traditional Vietnamese performing art that dates back to the 11th century. Lunch was wonderful; dish after dish enjoyed by our group. We also visited the Presidential Palace where everything has been left much as it was on April 30, 1975 when the North Vietnamese military tanks crashed through the front gates and overthrew the South Vietnamese government. That night Hóg and I went to dinner and then to the Sax ‘n Art Jazz Club. A friend on the ship was to play there with the regular house jazz quartet. We thoroughly enjoyed the show. When the regulars took a break the Semester at Sea group members, who were all in the house, took over. The sax player, and club owner, joined them for a bit. He can play two saxophones at once with great energy. Our musicians were thrilled to play in Saigon.
On our last day in Vietnam we met some of our extended family for lunch. We went to Phó2000 and all enjoyed phó, the ubiquitous noodle soup, which was wonderful. I will be searching for more in Philadelphia. Bill Clinton ate there and we sat under his photo. Shopping in Vietnam is just too much fun. Currency is the dong with an exchange rate of 17,000 to the USD. Our lunch bill for 7 people was 444.000! As we walked the city I was offered a shoe shine while I was wearing flip flops! We bought several more things and are now concerned with how to get everything off of the ship as our pile grows.
Lectures and classes before this port focused on the American War. They call it the American War while we still call it the Vietnam War. Some SAS participants visited the Cu Chi tunnels, two hours away from HCMC. Many people lived and operated out of the Cu Chi tunnels, the 200 kilometer network of underground tunnels. The tunnels were built by the Viet Cong and used in wars against the French and the Americans. The Viet Cong could launch strategic attacks from the tunnels and then seemingly disappear into thin air. Within the tunnels were kitchens, a hospital, and meeting areas. Some people spent years in the tunnels. Babies were even born there. All of our memories of the Television War were stirred by this visit. We told students about the lottery for the draft, the protest movement, and conscientious objectors who moved to Canada. One sees many civilians with missing limbs getting around the city.
We were able to see Gran Torino on the ship, the new Clint Eastwood movie about the Hmong of Cambodia who fought as mercenaries for the US and then were abandoned when the US lost the war. Many now live in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin. See it if you can.
Cambodia Some of the shipboard community took a three day trip to the Kingdom of Cambodia. It is getting to be a joke on ship that the most recent country visited is always the new favorite; but it seems to be true this time again. Parents were invited to join the voyage in this port and many chose to do so. We were on the excursion with many parents; Hóg and I adopted the kids on our trip who did not have parents visiting and we thought they were great. We flew from Tan Son Nhat airport to Phnom Penh on March 23. We visited the Royal Palace with the beautiful Silver Pagoda. Most of the buildings have many tiered roofs that are topped by towers which symbolize prosperity. The King of Cambodia uses the Palace and its many buildings. Sihanook, who you will remember, has cancer and diabetes and is being treated at the age of 88 in China. His son is the new King of Cambodia since October 29, 2004. We moved on to the National Museum and then went for a sunset cruise on the Mekong River. Later that evening we visited the Palm Tree Orphanage which was started by two SAS graduates and is now partly staffed by SAS grads. 86 orphans from 3-17 years old greeted us. They grabbed each of us by the hand and showed us their home. We brought coloring books, stickers and toys for them but they gave us so much more in their warm smiles and immediate taking to us. It was a really wonderful experience. Still later we had a wonderful dinner and then checked into our hotel for the night.
On the second day in Cambodia we went to the Killing Fields of Choeng Ek. This was a frightening and horrifying experience and will be disturbing to read. Briefly, Pol Pot headed the Khmer Rouge beginning in 1975. He ordered the killing of all intellectuals, killing more than 2 million of his own people. That included teachers, doctors, monks, priests, and even people who wore glasses. He proceeded with the genocide until 1979 when the Cambodian Liberation Party with support from South Vietnam finally overtook him. Choeng Ek was just one of 343 such killing places in Cambodia. UNESCO built a 17 level monument on site to those who were disinterred there after the killing stopped. Skulls are displayed in the monument, separated by age and sex. Clothes are piled on the bottom level. More clothes and even some bone fragments are still visible as you walk through. We went on to Tuol Sleng called the Genocide Museum. It was a school turned into a detention and torture center for innocent and intellectual prisoners. Huge displays of photographs of the thousands killed there, mostly children, are displayed. Seven survived and one of the survivors was there on the day of our visit. The survivors have told the story of what happened. No one was unaffected by the action of the Khmer Rouge. Our guide lost three younger brothers and five aunts and uncles but feels fortunate because his parents survived. War criminals still live among the Cambodians, unidentified. The few trials that have taken place were a sham. The real questions were not asked. The same Prime Minister is now in office. Corruption and nepotism are big problems. There is an outward appearance of change but as our guide said, “there is a new bus but the same driver.” Many people wear a t-shirt that says Same Same on the front and But Different on the back. There is much more to tell here. It was all a very difficult and significant experience for us. Since the genocide of intellectuals, there are not enough teachers for all of the young students. School is held in two half day sessions to maximize the teaching resource. It is the goal at the orphanage to educate so that many of the orphans will become teachers. After return to the ship students and adult passengers have reflected on why and how it happened. The movie The Killing Fields is a good representation of the events. One aspect of this holocaust that we did not remember or were not told about was the exceptional cruelty and degree of personal violence involved. This was no Nazi killing machine and bullets were not to be wasted. People were stabbed, hanged, beaten to death; babies were bayoneted or smashed into trees. All performed by someone who looked you in the eyes and could have been a neighbor.
Also that day we went to the Russian Market for some shopping and bargaining and to lunch. We then flew to Siem Reap, which means Siam (Thailand) Defeated. Siem Reap is the location of Angkor Wat Temple, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. After a brief evening visit to Angkor Wat we went to dinner and a cultural dance show. Finally we checked into our hotel and joined others for drinks there. Cambodia and Vietnam are extraordinarily hot and we were not even there at the hottest time of year.
On the last day we got up very early to see sunrise at Angkor Wat then back to our hotel for breakfast. Over that day we saw several more Buddhist temples from the 10th to the 12th century. One was Ta Prohm Temple, the jungle temple where the Anjolina Jolie movie Tomb Raiders was filmed. Trees that are several hundred years old have grown in over the ancient walls. The photo shows what I mean. Another was Bayon Temple, an edifice of 54 towers, each carved with the four enigmatic faces of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. We made our third trip to Angkor Wat to see the whole interior in the afternoon. It was quite amazing. It took 30 years to build. The building was done by slaves and volunteers. As Buddhists the volunteers thought they were developing good karma by working on the project. Sculptors had to demonstrate and perfect their skills before they were allowed to work on the interior bas-reliefs.
We thoroughly enjoyed Vietnam and Cambodia and would love to return to Southeast Asia if only we can determine a cooler season. Hope you are all well. We're now in Hong Kong harbor. Happy birthday to Tara!
On our last day in Vietnam we met some of our extended family for lunch. We went to Phó2000 and all enjoyed phó, the ubiquitous noodle soup, which was wonderful. I will be searching for more in Philadelphia. Bill Clinton ate there and we sat under his photo. Shopping in Vietnam is just too much fun. Currency is the dong with an exchange rate of 17,000 to the USD. Our lunch bill for 7 people was 444.000! As we walked the city I was offered a shoe shine while I was wearing flip flops! We bought several more things and are now concerned with how to get everything off of the ship as our pile grows.
Lectures and classes before this port focused on the American War. They call it the American War while we still call it the Vietnam War. Some SAS participants visited the Cu Chi tunnels, two hours away from HCMC. Many people lived and operated out of the Cu Chi tunnels, the 200 kilometer network of underground tunnels. The tunnels were built by the Viet Cong and used in wars against the French and the Americans. The Viet Cong could launch strategic attacks from the tunnels and then seemingly disappear into thin air. Within the tunnels were kitchens, a hospital, and meeting areas. Some people spent years in the tunnels. Babies were even born there. All of our memories of the Television War were stirred by this visit. We told students about the lottery for the draft, the protest movement, and conscientious objectors who moved to Canada. One sees many civilians with missing limbs getting around the city.
We were able to see Gran Torino on the ship, the new Clint Eastwood movie about the Hmong of Cambodia who fought as mercenaries for the US and then were abandoned when the US lost the war. Many now live in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin. See it if you can.
Cambodia Some of the shipboard community took a three day trip to the Kingdom of Cambodia. It is getting to be a joke on ship that the most recent country visited is always the new favorite; but it seems to be true this time again. Parents were invited to join the voyage in this port and many chose to do so. We were on the excursion with many parents; Hóg and I adopted the kids on our trip who did not have parents visiting and we thought they were great. We flew from Tan Son Nhat airport to Phnom Penh on March 23. We visited the Royal Palace with the beautiful Silver Pagoda. Most of the buildings have many tiered roofs that are topped by towers which symbolize prosperity. The King of Cambodia uses the Palace and its many buildings. Sihanook, who you will remember, has cancer and diabetes and is being treated at the age of 88 in China. His son is the new King of Cambodia since October 29, 2004. We moved on to the National Museum and then went for a sunset cruise on the Mekong River. Later that evening we visited the Palm Tree Orphanage which was started by two SAS graduates and is now partly staffed by SAS grads. 86 orphans from 3-17 years old greeted us. They grabbed each of us by the hand and showed us their home. We brought coloring books, stickers and toys for them but they gave us so much more in their warm smiles and immediate taking to us. It was a really wonderful experience. Still later we had a wonderful dinner and then checked into our hotel for the night.
On the second day in Cambodia we went to the Killing Fields of Choeng Ek. This was a frightening and horrifying experience and will be disturbing to read. Briefly, Pol Pot headed the Khmer Rouge beginning in 1975. He ordered the killing of all intellectuals, killing more than 2 million of his own people. That included teachers, doctors, monks, priests, and even people who wore glasses. He proceeded with the genocide until 1979 when the Cambodian Liberation Party with support from South Vietnam finally overtook him. Choeng Ek was just one of 343 such killing places in Cambodia. UNESCO built a 17 level monument on site to those who were disinterred there after the killing stopped. Skulls are displayed in the monument, separated by age and sex. Clothes are piled on the bottom level. More clothes and even some bone fragments are still visible as you walk through. We went on to Tuol Sleng called the Genocide Museum. It was a school turned into a detention and torture center for innocent and intellectual prisoners. Huge displays of photographs of the thousands killed there, mostly children, are displayed. Seven survived and one of the survivors was there on the day of our visit. The survivors have told the story of what happened. No one was unaffected by the action of the Khmer Rouge. Our guide lost three younger brothers and five aunts and uncles but feels fortunate because his parents survived. War criminals still live among the Cambodians, unidentified. The few trials that have taken place were a sham. The real questions were not asked. The same Prime Minister is now in office. Corruption and nepotism are big problems. There is an outward appearance of change but as our guide said, “there is a new bus but the same driver.” Many people wear a t-shirt that says Same Same on the front and But Different on the back. There is much more to tell here. It was all a very difficult and significant experience for us. Since the genocide of intellectuals, there are not enough teachers for all of the young students. School is held in two half day sessions to maximize the teaching resource. It is the goal at the orphanage to educate so that many of the orphans will become teachers. After return to the ship students and adult passengers have reflected on why and how it happened. The movie The Killing Fields is a good representation of the events. One aspect of this holocaust that we did not remember or were not told about was the exceptional cruelty and degree of personal violence involved. This was no Nazi killing machine and bullets were not to be wasted. People were stabbed, hanged, beaten to death; babies were bayoneted or smashed into trees. All performed by someone who looked you in the eyes and could have been a neighbor.
Also that day we went to the Russian Market for some shopping and bargaining and to lunch. We then flew to Siem Reap, which means Siam (Thailand) Defeated. Siem Reap is the location of Angkor Wat Temple, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. After a brief evening visit to Angkor Wat we went to dinner and a cultural dance show. Finally we checked into our hotel and joined others for drinks there. Cambodia and Vietnam are extraordinarily hot and we were not even there at the hottest time of year.
On the last day we got up very early to see sunrise at Angkor Wat then back to our hotel for breakfast. Over that day we saw several more Buddhist temples from the 10th to the 12th century. One was Ta Prohm Temple, the jungle temple where the Anjolina Jolie movie Tomb Raiders was filmed. Trees that are several hundred years old have grown in over the ancient walls. The photo shows what I mean. Another was Bayon Temple, an edifice of 54 towers, each carved with the four enigmatic faces of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. We made our third trip to Angkor Wat to see the whole interior in the afternoon. It was quite amazing. It took 30 years to build. The building was done by slaves and volunteers. As Buddhists the volunteers thought they were developing good karma by working on the project. Sculptors had to demonstrate and perfect their skills before they were allowed to work on the interior bas-reliefs.
We thoroughly enjoyed Vietnam and Cambodia and would love to return to Southeast Asia if only we can determine a cooler season. Hope you are all well. We're now in Hong Kong harbor. Happy birthday to Tara!
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