Re-unification of Vietnam

Helicopter at the Reunification Palace Helipad

For me, one icon of the Vietnam War is the helicopter - yes, I'm thinking of the one in Miss Saigon with the American G.I. waiting beside it, to take the heroine to the US.  Of course, she never shows up... ... and he is forced to fly off without her.  Saigon, more than 30 years after the end of the Vietnam War, is a completely different city.

The Reunification Palace is however one place where time has stood still.  In itself a result of the strife in Vietnam after WWII, the Palace was completed in 1966 after the previous Presidential Palace (the Independence Palace) was bombed and partially destroyed by two pilots who rebelled and bombed the Palace instead of the Viet Cong.  The Palace was too badly damaged to be repaired and was instead rebuilt.  However, it did not last long as the seat of power.  On 30 Apr 1975, North Vietnamese tanks rolled through the main gates of the Palace, culminating in  the dramatic "handover" of power to the North Vietnamese government.

Mahjong, anyone?

Today, the Palace remains more or less untouched from these last days.  The upper floors contain the formal reception rooms and meeting areas, including an auditorium and the Cabinet meeting room.  On the top floor, however, things get a little more interesting with the addition of a mini cinema and a gambling room.  The mahjong table is still on display.  

But what makes the Palace truly interesting is the basement, fitted out with the communications equipment and maps required for the President to keep a handle on the progress of the war.  The mood is sombre, and heavy.  A place and a government which history has left in the dust; events have moved elsewhere and the palace remains today as a museum and tourist attraction.  

A small exhibition in the basement of the Palace gives a brief pictorial history of Vietnam in the 1960s to recent days.  The events leading up to the war, the protests against the previous government are all covered.  There are still some hardware around to be seen - a helicopter rests on the helipad; replicas of the tanks which went through the gates of the Palace sit near the exit.

But the Reunification Palace as a whole is a calm and serene looking building.  No longer a seat of power, it is now a memorial to moment in time where the fate of Vietnam was decided.  Hopefully, its days of turmoil and strife, of bitter battles and last stands, are finally over.

Reunification Palace

More photos here.

Re-visiting Vietnam's Tumultuous Past : Cu Chi Tunnels

The decades following WWII were tumultuous ones for South East Asia.  It was a time when the colonial powers - the British, French and Dutch - were slowly withdrawing from their colonies in South East Asia.  A time when Communism found fertile ground amidst a people who were fired with a new nationalism, and a burning desire  for Independence.  We were fortunate in Singapore and Malaysia, where the new democracies were able to withstand the Communist threat.  But the countries of IndoChina - Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, went through many  years of turmoil, war, and hardship.  The legacy of the Vietnam War was not so apparent in Hanoi, or Danang/Hoi Ann - the only other places in Vietnam I had been to previously - but here in Ho Chi Minh City, the memories and reminders of the War are still very much all around.  We visited both the Reunification Palace, and the Cu Chi Tunnels - both must see sights for visitors to HCM City.

Emerging from the tunnel

We went to Cu Chi Tunnels in a small tour group, comprising a British family (of three), a solitary Brit and three male Aussies. I did think that it would be a leetle awkward if there was an American tourist on this particular tour!  Our guide, Son, was a young man at the time of the pivotal events which led to the successful capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese forces and the reunification of Vietnam.  Now 62 years old, Son gave an authoritative tour of the tunnel system, and of how the tunnels were used.  He punctuated his narrative with warnings of potential dangers facing unwary tourists and reminded us that our task was to follow him, as he certainly would not be following us.

What do we see of the tunnels? The site itself has changed, we were informed, as during the war there were no trees or greenery covering the site.  These would have been bombed to smithereens or killed by chemical agents, by the American forces who were trying to clear the Viet Cong from the area.  Today, there are youngish trees covering the site.  Bomb craters still remain, here and there. Tunnel entrances dot the place. From their positioning, and distance from each other, we do get an impression of the labyrinth beneath our feet.  There are a few types of tunnels, we are told, ranging from the small, narrow "one-star" tunnels which presumably were just meant for the Viet Cong fighters to sneak out to attack the enemy, up to the "five-star tunnels" which were used as living quarters, and even had electricity!  A "soldier" showed us how the fighters emerged and returned into the "one-star tunnels" - indeed, with the leaves covering the earthen "lid" of the tunnel entrance, it would be difficult for any casual observer to spot the entrance.  Our guide also showed us how people lived in the tunnels. Every now and there, there were big bunkers - which formed eating/cooking/sleeping spaces.  Smoke was channeled from the bunker itself to a point some distance away, to misdirect watchers from guessing where the bunker really was. What did they eat or drink?  Obviously food was scarce.  We sampled some - tea made from pandan leaves and steamed tapioca.

Visitors also watch a documentary at the site..  Although obviously propaganda, the hardships

Visitor exploring the damaged tank

faced by the civilian population do come across clearly.  The short film includes short portrayals of the heroes and heroines of the fighting, including a farmer whose mine-laying capabilities took out numerous enemy tanks/soldiers, and a young girl who fought as fiercely as any man.   Using explosives taken from the enemy, the Viet Cong made their own mines - and used them to deadly effect.   The site also shows examples of the traps used to capture/maim the enemy.

Did we go down into the tunnels?  The answer is yes- there are a few tunnels open to visitors.  These have been widened and strengthened for the purpose.  Nonetheless, they are still quite cramped especially for larger visitors.  Small Asian girls like me, can squeeze through with ease (even though I still had to go through doubled up).  Unfortunately, I suspect that the guide leading us through got a little fed up with the bunch of tourists behind him who were complaining about hitting their heads and apparently brought us up to the surface before the trickier portion of that particular tunnel was reached.  Hmmf.  But out of the group of 9 tourists, only four (including us two Asian girls) even made it to the halfway mark.

All in all, the Cu Chi tunnels certainly served their purpose of enabling the Viet Cong to hold the land, even though the South Vietnamese and America forces may still have held the cities and towns.  But as Son reminded us at the end of the tour, war is a terrible thing. Today, the Vietnamese people want to live in peace and harmony with all.

More photos found here.