A Hell of a trip from Hanoi to Kunmin

Friday we left Hanoi and took a taxi to go to the train station. The train station was packed with so many tourists asking questions about Sapa and Bac Ha which are beautiful places in Vietnam, but we were going to the border to go to China. We got on the train and the train left exactly at 8:50 pm. We were tired since we went to get the Chinese visa and buy the train tickets to leave immediately.

We shared our sleeping compartment with a younger couple. She was from Brasil and he was Swedish. We talked for an hour about our travel experiences and then we said good night. The train started to move and was going quite fast; each of us got in our tiny little bed. The three of them seemed to be sleeping, and I was looking through the window, but of course it was dark and couldn’t see anything. Once in a while I could see some dim lights and some houses. I felt like I didn’t have enough air, and the train was bumping along. I really wanted to sleep, but I was dead tired. I felt dizzy and wanted to leave the train, but the train was moving really fast. I got a terrible headache and I felt like throwing up. I tried to meditate, but it was difficult since the train was moving fast and making a lot of noise. I felt really miserable. Just when I falling asleep, an attendent knocked on the door and said, “here we are; get your possessions.” I felt drowsy and did not want to leave, but we had to. It was a little bit chilly and foggy. We had a very good breakfast at the border before leaving Vietnam. We walked two kilometers to the border with our backpacks. We went through customs,crossed the river into China, and went through customs again on the Chinese side.

Allan started to practice his Chinese and asked for the bus to Yunnan that was easy. Then we bought the tickets and it was about 9:15 am. We got on the bus at 10:50 am. After two hours the bus broke down with some kind of problem, but we didn’t mind since the ride was beautiful. We could see high mountains, rivers and small villages of twenty or fifty old adobe houses. I love to see the rice paddies on the mountainsides and the farmers working or selling their products along the highway. While the bus was being fixed, we ate in a small restaurant. First, they brought us a dish of bacon which we didn’t order, so we went into the kitchen and pointed out what we wanted (eggplant, tomatoes, scallions and garlic)which the cook soon fried up in his wok. We had a delicious lunch in that little place.

Finally, the bus was fixed and we started the journey again, but broke down several more times along the way. What it was going to be 10 hours ended up being 13 hours. We got to Kunming at midnight, we were cold, tired and hungry. We got a Taxi and here we are in Kunmin.

Thoughts about Vietnam

I have been thinking about Vietnam and I have concluded that it is so different than other countries that I had visited around the world including the underdeveloped countries. It differs in the position of women in society. I see a great number of women attending high school and higher education in urban cities and in the country side.

Vietnamese women seem to be proud and sure about themselves in the cities. I noticed that they are big contributors to the economy. I see countryside women working from sunrise to sunset in order to support their families. I have seen in the museums from south to north the participation of women during the Vietnam war how much they contributed for the triumph. Yet yesterday when we went on a tour, the guide told us a little bit about the women in this country. I didn't like to hear about the treatment of many women in Vietnam society. The guide said that there are prostitutes for married men because they get bored with the same wife. He also told us that arranged marriages are still customary, especially in the countryside where parents choose the spouse for their children.

Hue

Hue
Now, we are in Hue which is an incredible old and historical city. Hue has been on of the cultural, historical and educational centers with many royal tombs, a citadel, ancient pagodas and gardens. It was a hell of a place to be during the Vietnam war since the city was near the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ)and was the site of the largest battle of the Tet Offensive of 1968. It is amazing to see the number of tanks, bombs and granades that have been dispersed all over Vietnam in different museums.

We went for a walk yesterday to the Citadel, where the emperor used to live two hundred years ago. It is surrounded by large walls and guard towers with a moat protecting the inner area. There are beautiful gardens which surround the big palace. I am sure thousands of people were forced to help build the citadel. I know that throughout history all over the world kings, queens, leaders all over the world have obligated or and enslaved their people to build these huge palaces, castles, and special houses well protected, but I am glad that the United States presidents have been sharing the White House to live in without forcing the people to work and live there as slaves (although surely slave labor was used to build it). I am not crazy about visiting these emperors citadel or temples because they represent the suffering of the people.

Around the Citadel we saw some of the tanks that the Americans used against the Vietcong; it is sad to see such terrible machines that cause so much pain and destruction in this small city. I peeked inside of one of the tanks, I could see still a wire from an old telephone, an old rusted screen and some other gages that the soldiers used during the war. There were six tanks and other anti-aircraft. I was emotional and I thought about the thousands of soldiers from both sides who died here. It was a heavy scene to see because I can imagine the suffering of the American soldiers in this land which is far away from their home.

We went on six hour tour where we had the opportunity to visit the Ho Chi Min Trail, Khe San combat zone, the tunnels of Vinh Moc, and an Ethnic minority village and the Ben Hai river (the former dividing line between the North and the South).
The most impressive site to visit has been the tunnels which I have been so scared to go into because I am claustrofobic, I would go in only to save my life. The tunnels are very impressive and many tourist go inside to experience what the VC went trhough. When the tourists come out of the tunnels, they are sweating and without breath. They get a taste of the horrible conditions that the VC went trhough to save their lives. Here the tunnels were strong, but in other places the tunnels were weak and the Vc rebels died sofocated.

Visit to Child Care Center

I went to visit another child care center and I was amazed to see what a beautiful garden the center had. As usual, I was very impressed to see how spotless the center was. I had the opportunity to be there just when the children were going to lie down for a nap. Each child had his own pillow and a light blanket; they lie down without any problem there were 32 children and one teacher. I also was surprised that the care providers let me go in without any appointment and they were so friendly and wanted to talk to me. The curriculum that they implement is mainly teacher directed activities and the children follow directions. I visited the center in the morning and in the afternoon, and I had the opportunity to see when the parents came to pick the children up. It was interesting to see that at 4:30 pm the children were dismissed and most of the parents came into the center to get their children. Most parents stay and play in the playground with their children at least for 10 or 15 minutes. I thought that it was nice that the parents stay in the center and share some time with their children. I didn't see the parents signing out the children which was strange for me since in the United States we have to make sure that the parents sign in and out their children. I got the impression that the Vietnamese parents are not worried about safety issues or anybody taking their children.

Vietnamese Women

I love to see the participation of Vietnamese women in the work force; it is amazing to see younger and older women working in many different kinds of job. We have been in Hoi An (Central Coast) three days and I have been observing a lady who opens her little stand by the hotel at 6:30 am and leaves at 8:00 or 9:00 pm. She always has a big smile and she always tries to communicate with us, and offer us some of the French bread, brie cheese and other things that she is selling. I like to see the the woman at the restaurant who is smiling most of the time and inviting us to eat dinner or breakfast. This lady opens the restaurant at 6:00 am and closes at 10:00 pm. Then I love to see the women on the street carrying in their baskets vegetables, fish, meat, and other merchandise. Some women work at the river with tourists paddling the canoes and they seem to be happy. I see almost everyday women working in the rice paddies and taking care of their plants. Daily, I see women carrying their infants, toddlers and older children on their motorcycles.

Women are the economic moving force, yet some men do not treat them well. I am heartbroken to read in the Vietnamese English News paper accounts of women being abused by their husbands physically. Luckily,a law against domestic violence was adopted by the national assembly in 2007. and in Ha Noi in 2007, the United Nations Population Fund with help from Swiss Agency opened a women's shelter which at the beginning had only 43 women and 32 children, but now has about 400 women who are being helped. The shelter includes medical checkups, psychological counseling, vocational training support, job creation and part-time education. Domestic violence affects women from all different economic status. "The shelter is often accused of encouraging women to run away from their families", says Le Thi Thuy, director of the center. She responds to this by reminding people that the shelter is a last resort for emergencies where a victim's life, health, or dignity are in danger. According to the director, some women come directly from the hospital after being hurt by their spouses, and some women can not even walk when they seek refuge in the shelter, says a case manager. At least some women in Ha Noi are able to get some help at the center when they need it. If you would like to read the article here is the information. htt://vietnamnews.vietnamnews.vnanet.vn
Vietnam News: The National English Language Daily
Friday March 6, 2009 (page 4)

It was a pleasure to be here for International Women's Day,(March 8); in most places that I went women tried to communicate that it was a special day. There were many people selling flowers on the streets and you could feel the excitement. I saw quite a few men buying flowers for women in their family probably or girlfriends and boyfriends. This morning we met a German girl who spent some time with a family for Women's day. She told us that they had many different dishes and they were playing games to celebrate women's day.It seems that many people celebrate International Women's day here.

I know that we women have to work hard to change our status in the world especially in underdeveloped countries. It is horrible the abuse that happens in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America and some other parts of the world.

My Lai Massacre

I am educating myself about the Mi Lai massacre, one of the many atrocities that the U.S soldiers committed. To see this place was so moving to me and I remembered the massacres in El Salvador, the worst in a town call El Mosote where 1000 civilians were assassinated including babies. Only one woman survived to give her testimony of the horrific massacre. In the museum display, I read that 17 pregnant women were killed, and many children and old people among the five hundred and four. At the same time I was moved when I read about several Americans who burned themselves to death to express their opposition to the goverment. Only a few people survived the My Lai massacre which was stopped by two American helicopter crew.

I walked around the village and thought how terrifying it must have been for the people who lived here that day, March 16, 1968. I was shaking,trembling and thinking that I was once was in a civil war and it was horrible. I thought a lot about the people who died here and thought about my first husband and all my relatives, classmates, and friends who were killed in El Salvador. I empathize with the people of Vietnam because I know how it is to experience a war. War is hell and we should work together towards peace in the world so we won't have another American war. I took a course at San Francisco State University called "Genocide." We discussed the Holocaust and why it happened and that we should work together for peace and make a better world. We had another war in Iraq and now the Palestinian and Israel war. What about the massacre in Darfur? it seems like it never ends, I feel sometimes depressed about the wars but I know we have the obligation to speak out against them.

QUANG NGAI, AND HOI AN

In Quang Nai province, central Vetnam, we went to My Khe, a quiet village on the coast, My Khe has only two hotels. A two star hotel and a minus two hotel which are located by white sandy beach. Unfortunately, the white sandy beach is not clean which is sad and we couldn't enjoy it because there was too, much garbage on the beach. We did love the view all the way from Da Lat to Quang Nhai with so many green mountains, rice paddies, and rivers. It was such a beautiful sight. On the other hand, we were upset the way our driver drove, he was fighting with another bus driver over the passengers. Both of them kept passing each other and driving very fast that for a moment I thought our driver was going to crash against another truck. It was a very stressful drive, but we made it after two hours and half. We got to QUANG NGAI, but the supposedly nice hotel was full so we went to another hotel which had two cabins. We rented one, but it was funky and smelled bad, and it was hot. It was like a torture to be in this place, well for ten dollars what can we expect.

Now we are in HOI AN, which is an interesting place to see. Of course I do not enjoy the noise from so many night clubs. The music is loud and I can hear from my hotel the motorcycles honking and passing by. I don't think, I am enjoying this place with so many stores and so many tourists.

Visiting a child care center in Vietnam

This morning my husband and I went to visit a child care center which was located in the countryside. I introduced myself to the principal who at the beginning didn't want me to look at the center, but after I showed her my City College ID, then it was o.k. She took me to see a classroom where the children were singing already with their teachers. The center has 250 children. I observed that the health conditions were excellent; the classrooms were neat, orderly and the floors were super clean. All the children must take their shoes off before going inside the classroom and greet the teacher. Each child has his own cup to drink milk or juice. The children seem to be well-adjusted and they seem to be secure about themselves.

War and Cu Chi Tunneles and Museun

When we were in Ho Chi Min City we visited the Cu Chi tunnels and a museum; these two historical sites made me cry. I can imagine what the Vietcong went through. I didn't have the courage to go inside a tunnel because I am claustrophobic to the dark and besides the entrance was too small for me anyways. Maybe that was an excuse for me not to go in. I am amazed how well organized the guerillas were. The tunnels had three floors. The top floor contained guns, the second one was to protect the ill people, and third one was to protect from the bombing and to dig a well to have fresh water since the water from the Saigon river was poisoned with Agent Orange. It is interesting that the American army base was so close to these tunnels, but the Americans didn't know. The tunnels were well covered with grass and other trees. Guerilla women would go before dawn to get rubber from the rubber trees so they could make excellent rubber sandals to be able to walk in the mud and jungle. They also made sandals from used tires.

The war museum is in the heart of Ho CHi Min City. The museum documents the atrocities and crimes that the Americans and their allies caused to the civilian population. I was so moved and cried in silence when I saw the skulls of tortured people with nails still on the head, and some others had nails on their teeth of people who were tortured in the prisons. What a brutal and inhuman treatment of human beings. When I was looking and reading the documentation about the war here in Vietnam, it reminded me 0f the civil war in El Salvador.I remember all my classmates from the university who disappeared and the dead and torture corpses that appeared on the streets of my town. A flashback of these horrific crimes came to my mind, I know what it is to go through a civil war. I am upset that I was studying in a private high school and our teachers never mentioned anything about the war in Vietnam. I do empatize with the people of Vietnam, I can imagine what they went through.