It Wasn’t Exactly a Walk in the Park
The heat and humidity in the South are both all they are touted
to be. As I mentioned before that the day’s activities consisted of a 3 hour
drive to the north and a visit to the most beautiful temple in the world. That
would remain to be seen.
The drive out of Saigon was as you would expect of a roadway
carrying in excess of 3 million +/- motorcycles. The frenzy was that of rush
hour the difference being that it was going in both directions with no end in
sight in either direction. As the day’s itinerary unfolded and the bus ride
continued, I began to question the wisdom and planning behind a 3 hour drive to
spend 45 minutes in the ornate Temple of Cao Dai in the town of Tay Ninh. The
Monks we are going to see are a unique collection representing Confusianism,
Taoism and Budhism. Fortunately for us, they are all wearing their team colors,
so we can easily identify the players.
The drive this morning sounded like a tuberculosis ward on
Michelin Tires what with all the hacking, coughing and sneezing as we wound our
way thru the countryside. For the most part, the health of the group has been
good with just a few chronic “sickies”. For most of us its just been a mild case
of head colds, due primarily to the ins and outs of all the air-conditioning and
then back into the heat and the humidity. No major accidents to report as we all
are watchful to “mind our steps”.
Our arrival at the Temple was with the timing of a military
operation. The mid-day service, one of four conducted each and every day. (sure
wouldn’t want the 4am duty) was set to begin shortly after a walking tour of
this magnificent Temple. The Temple was an odd gathering of colorful robes
distinguishing the various players. I chose not purchase a program and was a bit
confused as to whose sect belonged to the white, orange, blue (green?) jerseys.
If I remember correctly white elected to punt and orange elected to defend the
south entry of the temple. It was quite the spectacle as viewed from the
surrounding balconies, in the orchestra area.
I elected to bow out of the service early as is my Sunday
practice, and strolled back to the bus, seeking a bit of refuge from the rising
heat and terribly, oppressive humidity. With shirts sticking and the winners
declared in the first ever Cao Dai wet T-Shirt Contest, we pushed on to the
infamous Cu Chi Tunnels of South Vietnam.
As the guide books point out, the Cu Chi tunnels are an
intricate network of tunnels that acted as a refuge for the VC during the day so
as to do their dirty deeds during the night time hours. In addition to being a
staging area, they also acted as a supply depot for goods and weapons coming
down the Ho Chi Minh trail. They were originally constructed for similar
purposes by the Vietnamese during their fight with the French. A good portion of
the tunnels were far too small for an American "Wide Body", but many were spacious
rooms used as schools, hospitals and motor pools.
After a grainy, black and white propaganda piece produced by a
low budget communist PR firm, we set off on a walk about, thru this cheery
little underground city complete with pop-up VC, distant gunfire, pungi pits,
stakes included and all sorts of snares aimed at the allies. After this
inspiring/perspiring visit we boarded our bus for the return to the War Famous,
Rex Hotel in the center of Saigon.
While it was touted as a 5 Star hotel (which I’m sure it was
during the war considering the other options) today a couple of the stars should
come down. The lobby area while spectacular was never air conditioned making it
difficult to enjoy. Some Vietnamese bean counter in times past had determined
that tremendous savings would result if hotels did not provide A/C to any of the
common areas to include lobbies, hall ways, and elevators.
Some of us called a halt to the pace, and passed on dinner down
by the water. Just a bit too over-heated and exhausted by our day in the
sunshine. We did rally to the roof-top bar previously frequented by reporters
and generals who reported and planned the war’s goings on, over gin and tonics,
fine food, and wonderful service. I bet the entertainment was similar to that of
the 70”s. We had a great collection of talents, that included a Karaoke singer
made good backed by computer generated band of 35, and a real nice little dance
band with an Asian singer who I think understood the words to what she was
singing.
We danced and dined on our cheese burger/fries, bought tonic to
go with our smuggled in vodka and simply enjoyed the lights of the city and the
breezes that had begun to cool down Saigon (excuse me, Ho Chi Minh City aka
HCMC). As I look back on the night and previous cocktail parties, I think we
would have done better to smuggle in the tonic and buy the vodka given their
relative prices…..but it’s the gaming and the thrill of it all that keeps us on
a budget mentality.
Today is Friday, Day 17, of this marathon. On route to the
airport where we fly to Siem Reap, and the numerous temples of Angkor Wat, we
tour to the south to the great rice bowl known as the Mekong Delta. While the
jungle fighting that had occurred in the North, fighting in the South in the
Delta region would have to have been pure hell. With temperatures in 100’s and
the humidity above that, the thought of humping serious amounts of supplies and
weapons, could hardly be imagined. The extreme heat, humidity, bugs and overall
conditions gave me a new appreciation for what many of the GI’s experienced.
Now, I really feel guilty having just sat on my beach in Chu Lai with a beer in
hand, not to mention the 365 days I spent there in 1969.
In the wars ahead, which are sure to be many, we should pick
our points of conflict based on weather conditions, with less regard for
political realities and natural resources. For history teaches us that once the
war is over, the tourists are sure to return, and we don’t want to be mucking
around in inclement weather and humidity.
The boat trip thru sections of the delta, helped keep a crease
in our pants while providing a nice viewing point for this region. Lunch
overlooking the waters of brownish waters of the Mekong Delta River. We lunched
on a local specialty, (elephant ear fish) something fish, deep fried whole,
served vertically, and picked apart by a skinny Asian gal who puts the delicate
white fish into rice paper to what amounts to a “see thru” fish
taco……….mmmmmmmmmmmm good! Of course I find any thing tasty if you can put
enough chili/hot sauce on top.
I have to say, without exception, I have yet to taste anything
that I thought was totally inedible. Sure the dishes have become repetitive over
time (the thought of another deep fried spring roll sets me reeling…..I may even
have to give up taquitos on my return) but the food always seems fresh, well
prepared and always in abundance. Beer with a meal usually runs $.50-$.90 wine a
bit more. In the hotels considerably more, but since we eat most of our meals on
the road and in small restaurants, the beverage charges are always quite
reasonable, amounting to just a couple of bucks (ten million Dong per meal)
Its now time to “say good-bye” (aka its time to tip again) to
Cuong and our driver. Our driver who is from the south left us in Hanoi, and
drove the 700 miles south to pick us up in Saigon (there should have been a
better way of doing this, but we did hear he was from the South as was the
bus).
The Saigon Airport was a bit of a circle jerk as Cuong had to
rescue me at the ticket counter so that we boarded on time. He was not allowed
to accompany us inside the international terminal so as his second in command I
was put in charge. With my limited command of the language it seemed I allowed
all of the other tour groups, of which there are many, to walk all over the
“Gary Brown Group”. As the clock ticked away, here came Cuong to the rescue and
began nudging and conjoling his way to the head of the line insuring our timely
departure. We made our one flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia with time to spare. We
are all anticipating our visit to the Temples of Angkor Wat, while at the same
time dreading the extreme heat that surely awaits us.
We arrive in Siem Reap and after navigating the visa process
…big spender Don Orr, tips his way thru the paper work and greets us on the
other side with our new guide Loeung Viseth. After learning his life story and
Don sharing his with Mr. Viseth we are all introduced to one another and head
off to begin our brief visit to Cambodia.
We are immediately greeted with the news, that for the next few
days the temperature will be down +/- 10 degrees with overcast skies making for
what we are promised to be a wonderful time for visiting the temples. The Temple
grounds cover 77 square miles and are a designated World Heritage Site. While we
will only be viewing a very few of the temples in our two day stay, others will
spend a week or more, going from Temple area to another.
We stray a bit from the itinerary, and start with the Angkor
Temple after an early departure from the hotel in the hopes of avoiding some of
the after noon heat and the expected crowds. While the locals were aware of the
existence of the Temples the grounds and temples themselves were not discovered
until the early 19th century when European explorers stumbled upon
these ancient cities.
In the years that followed the jungles were pushed back
shedding modern light on these magnificent structures. But with the wars that
followed and the arrival of Pol Pot and the Khemer Rouge this extremist Maoist
Party left the Temples to again be devoured by the jungles. It was only after
the death of Pol Pot and the eventual demise of the Khemer Rouge, did the
country realize the potential tourist bonanza they had waiting for them.
With
under developed oil reserves to the West, tourism seemed the most likely revenue
source. Today, this moderately, socialist government and the people of Cambodia
have these 70 plus stone temples to thank for their marginal 20th
century successes. While the jungle has been driven back to reveal the bulk of
these ruins that were built between AD 800 and 1432, there is a generation or
two of restoration still ahead.
While Angkor Wat is touted as the world’s single largest
religious complex, the other temples are equally stunning. It was not only the
encroachment of the jungles that decimated the temples it was also the warring
of the diverse religious orders that inhabited the region over the years. Each
surviving group, desecrating the religious and sacred icons of the conquered
religion and reigning king. Elements of Buddhism and Hinduism fought for control
as each religion/king sought to expand his empire.
One of the single greatest problems that confronted the
restoration of these religious grounds, was the removal of all of the land mines
that were placed about the temple grounds by Pol Pot and his group of madmen.
Many thousand lost their lives as well as their limbs in an effort to make this
the tourist attraction that it is today……….Something Disney never had to deal
with………
His reign lasted 15 years from 1975 thru the early 90’s and he
is credited with the deaths of 2 million Cambodians in what is deemed to be one
of the worst acts of genocide in modern history.
Sunday, Day 19 lead us back into the Temple grounds for a few
more looks and very steep climbs. The early am visit was to Angkor Thom
(12th century and pronounced “Uncle Tom’s ) and a climb to the top
with panoramic views of the surrounding jungle. Thru the use of satellites, ruins
are still being discovered, but with that comes the problems of additional land
mines. The day was filled sites such as the Elephants Terrace…..The Ta Prohm
Temple….the Temple of Preah…….The Royal Baths…….Banteay Kdei……….no, that was the
local restaurant for lunch…….then back to the hotel for a rest, more shopping
and the transfer from the hotel to the airport and our flight back to Hanoi and
our home away from home, The Flower Garden Hotel.
We said good bye to our guide and driver (and you know what
that means) at the international airport and prepared for our flight back to
Hanoi. Interesting as to some of the tipping requests…. Bruce Lyau and Ron Dong,
our male, Asian representatives in the group are constantly being asked for tips
by the immigration officials for processing their visa requests. Bruce, when
asked, issues a defiant “no” grabs his passport and moves on. Some of the white
boys have been assessed additional $1 charges for incomplete paperwork and
missing signatures….what a system. We even had a cop at one of the temples
trying to sell us his badge. Made us all think we may just need a “get out of
jail card” before our journey ends.
Bach in Hanoi on Day 19 and in the safe confines of the Flower
Garden Hotel we begin to re-pack our bags with dirty clothes and gifts we have
left at the hotel from previous stays. The group flies home Monday on different
flights….an 11am departure and a 5pm departure with Toni and Steve spending and
extra day and a half……..‘cause Toni had a bit more shopping to do.
Monday, AM, we shared good byes amongst the group with all
agreeing that it really had been an adventure and that we had proved ourselves
“travelers” and not just mere tourists……‘The first Bus departed only to return
as we discovered a left bag in the lobby with Barbara Orr’s name written all
over it.
Not quite ready to plan a return visit, but still a trip that
will remain with us in the years ahead. A trip that will surely become more
memorable with time and far less demanding as the memories of the heat and
humidity and the discomforts of the road fade from our memories……….It truly was
a wonderful 3 weeks filled with enough experiences to last us until our next
departure………..gb
Only one question remains unanswered……….5 Flights ……20 plus
Hotel Stays…….2 Train Trips…….50 plus meals……..100’s of miles in bus transport +
drivers and two guides……numerous boat trips………museum tickets………..all for
$2100
.…………….How the Hell Do They Do That?.......................................
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