FogHorn January 12, 2017 - Ginger Minoletti - Traveling in Vietnam and Cambodia
Ginger and her husband Paul took part in a fascinating, rewarding and multilayered adventure with fellow travel professional's last fall to Viet Nam and Cambodia.
They flew to Saigon on September 1st where they spent 2 nights before boarding an AmaWaterways trip on the Mekong Delta. They experienced two of the most beautiful, historic and friendly places in all of Asia, dynamic Vietnam and pastoral Cambodia. They are intriguing studies in contrast. Each possesses its own unique charm and social traditions, its own tragic history and complex past. In many ways, a visit here is less about the sights you see than it is about the people you meet and the experiences you have along the way.
Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City offers a heady mixture of old and new while Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, surprises visitors with its charm. As the lifeblood of Southeast Asia, the Mekong teems with colorful floating villages and mementos of its French Colonial past. Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s thriving capital, is fast-forwarding to the future yet retains a provincial intimacy. Colorful Siem Reap provides the gateway to the vast UNESCO-designated jungle temple complex of Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was constructed during the early 12th century by King Suyavarman II, when the Kmer were at the apex of their power.
Saigon – renamed HoChiMinh City in 1975 but those from the south still call it Saigon. Their guide for this part of the trip was 32 years old Hau. His father was an officer in the South Vietnam Army and when the U.S. withdrew, he was sent to re-education camp for 5 years and his property was confiscated. On the 3 hour drive to the Cuchitunnels, Hau shared that his father was very bitter, and when it came time for his own mandatory military service at age 18 – his father begged him not to go. But he felt he needed and did so. For the next 3 years his father refused to sit at the same dinner table when he was home. Hau served in Cambodia – helping rid the country of the Khmer rouge. At the end of his term, he went back to the government and requested that his family’s property be given back based on his fulfilling his obligation to the government and it was. That night his father sat at the same table with him and many tears were shed that night.
The Cuchi tunnels involved a propaganda film and Vietnam State guides at the site. But as one of her colleagues said – they won the war – they get to tell history their way. The underground village of 200 km of tunnels was a big part of the Viet Cong defeat of US in the south.
They experienced Saigon with its Cathedral and mixture of Christianity and Budhism.
Along the Mekong Delta the group visited different villages – where life revolves around the water. In Vietnam there were village cooperatives making handicrafts and gifts to sell, all at bargain prices.
Their next gujide – Long – who escorted us through much of Cambodia, started with us at the Killing Fields in Phnomh Penh – one of many in the country. It was a difficult visit and not everyone was able to do it. He told us about his father – who was the only one of his family to survive the Khmer Rouge and the mass killings. Everyone who was educated was rounded up and killed – if they had any education. Pol Pot was sending the populace to the country to have an agrarian society. Lon’s father’s entire family – 5 brothers except his father were killed. He and his family were set to leave Bangkok at the beginning but his father wanted to make sure his grandfather was OK. Not to be, Long’s father escaped being killed by saying he was a barber (he was a teacher). They said fine – cut 5 haircuts now - He passed! The Khmer checked for calluses and length of fingernails. Over 3 million died in 7 years. The current communist government is made up of many from the Pol Pot regime and most of the government workers drive Lexus RX350 that retail at $50K US where an average wage earner makes only $49/month.
Colorful Siem Reap provides the gateway to the vast UNESCO-designated jungle temple complex of Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was constructed during the early 12th century by King Suyavarman II, when the Kmer were at the apex of their power. Angkor Wat was extensive and amazing as we saw in the photos.
When Ginger got to Hanoi, they were down to 6 participants, with one Navy seal in the group. She visited the Hanoi Hilton – which was interesting for the emphasis on the French Occupation, but the end display was so full of their wonderful treatment of US pilots – thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, chess games, etc. Including their humanitarian rescue off John McCain. The worst for our navy seal was our hotel bomb shelter – where there were pictures of Joan Baez and Joan Fonda. That really set him off.
There were kids begging in both countries but especially in Cambodia. Their travel organisation takes a responsible approach to this and asks tourists not give candies or money to children. They do not yet have a nation of beggars and do not want one. Give the money to a school or Rotary project that will help the kids. All of her guides said the kids should be in school.
Ginger then treated us to a wonderfully colorful slide show of her trip with emphasis on the cultural and natural history of the two countries.
- 1/9/07 – First iPhone was introduced and priced between $499 and $599
- 1/11/73 – American League established the designated hitter rule
- 1/12/71 – All in the Family television show debut
- 1/13/70 Comic of Mickey Mouse debut
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