Cu Chi Tunnel
Two weeks went by like a whirl wind. I wanted to blog every day, but that was much harder than I anticipated. The internet connection was so slow. I tried several times to get connected, but failed.
I seemed I tried to live a whole year in two weeks in Viet Nam. Hardly sleep. Crazy.
Jason and I went two nights without sleeping on our 13 days trip. We had many great talks, half of which neither one of us could remember because we were so exhausted. I caught up on my sleep by sleeping the whole plane ride back, awoke just enough to eat lousy United Airlines meals.
Boarded the plane November 21st
On the plane ride we met Herbie Hancock and his band, great people.
We were all so excited that we finally got to go to VN.
Landed about 10:30pm at Tan Son Nhat Airport. Didn’t see any family members, they thought I was coming the next day. My cousins met us at the airport shortly after I called and we went to their house. We left all our big suitcases there and went to our hotel.
The next morning we got up very early and went to Sinh Café to get our tickets to go to Cu Chi Tunnel.
The first part of the tour we visited the Cao Dai Temple. We saw their worship service. Very cool. Cao Dai is a religion based on the combination of several religious teachings.
Had the first Vietnamese meal at lunch.
Went to Cu Chi Tunnel. Cu Chi Tunnel was the last stop of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Very crafty tunnel system that helped the North won the war. For each one of us, at different times during the tour, it no longer became a tourist attraction. Seeing a disable American tank, bomb craters, human traps, bombs, guns, made us realized how far removed we’ve been from this war. Sad.
I sat next to Luke on the bus trip back to the Hotel. Luke was born 5 years after the Viet Nam war ended. It was interesting to see how the visit to Cu Chi Tunnel affected him. I’ve talked to handful of close friends in the US about the war. It was the first time for me to share it with people I care about, Caitlin, Jason, and Luke, in person. I can understand why American Vets don’t want to share their stories. You feel so empty to have to be so vulnerable. Although people do care, their blank faces send you further into the abyss of loneliness.
Today was different. I didn’t have to share my personal story and yet I feel a warm band-aid over my wounded heart.
I seemed I tried to live a whole year in two weeks in Viet Nam. Hardly sleep. Crazy.
Jason and I went two nights without sleeping on our 13 days trip. We had many great talks, half of which neither one of us could remember because we were so exhausted. I caught up on my sleep by sleeping the whole plane ride back, awoke just enough to eat lousy United Airlines meals.
Boarded the plane November 21st
On the plane ride we met Herbie Hancock and his band, great people.
We were all so excited that we finally got to go to VN.
Landed about 10:30pm at Tan Son Nhat Airport. Didn’t see any family members, they thought I was coming the next day. My cousins met us at the airport shortly after I called and we went to their house. We left all our big suitcases there and went to our hotel.
The next morning we got up very early and went to Sinh Café to get our tickets to go to Cu Chi Tunnel.
The first part of the tour we visited the Cao Dai Temple. We saw their worship service. Very cool. Cao Dai is a religion based on the combination of several religious teachings.
Had the first Vietnamese meal at lunch.
Went to Cu Chi Tunnel. Cu Chi Tunnel was the last stop of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Very crafty tunnel system that helped the North won the war. For each one of us, at different times during the tour, it no longer became a tourist attraction. Seeing a disable American tank, bomb craters, human traps, bombs, guns, made us realized how far removed we’ve been from this war. Sad.
I sat next to Luke on the bus trip back to the Hotel. Luke was born 5 years after the Viet Nam war ended. It was interesting to see how the visit to Cu Chi Tunnel affected him. I’ve talked to handful of close friends in the US about the war. It was the first time for me to share it with people I care about, Caitlin, Jason, and Luke, in person. I can understand why American Vets don’t want to share their stories. You feel so empty to have to be so vulnerable. Although people do care, their blank faces send you further into the abyss of loneliness.
Today was different. I didn’t have to share my personal story and yet I feel a warm band-aid over my wounded heart.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home