Soldier going into Fox hole

As the solider lifts the small hidden cover off the ground, it reveals a small square sized hole, barely big enough to fit a man. Slowly and calmly, he puts both feet into the deep dark hole. Lifting up his hands towards the sky and holding his rifle above his head, he forms a pencil dive and disappears into the earth. Lastly, his hand reaches up and replaces the man hole cover, completely covering himself and disappearing into the fox hole.

The tunnel is pitch black. There is no lighting, no air conditioning and not enough room to stand. As the solider drops to his arms and legs, he reaches into his pocket and whips out a wax candle. Lighting it, it provides some faint illumination in the underground tunnel. The height of the tunnel is approximately 1.3 metres tall, easy for a small child to stand but forces men to walk hunched over. The width of the tunnel provides no comfort either as it is 60 centimeters wide. He begins to walk like a monkey, bent over with his hands by his side, knees slightly bent.

The tunnels are several metres underground, resulting in stifling heat, as sweat drips down his forehead and back. It is uncomfortable, and as he continues to walk and tire, he will begin to crawl.

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Cu Chi Tunnel

These tunnels provide protection and safety for the Viet Cong soldiers. It is here that they sleep, eat, fight, live and die. It is estimated that of the 15,000 people living in the tunnels, only 5,000 people survived at the end of the war time.

Stretching for 200km in the Cu Chi area, are a system of complex tunnels. Intersections, booby traps and multiple levels are present. In order to provide food for thousands of people and remain undetected, the Viet Cong thought of innovative ways to hide the smoke from the cooking, Smoke chambers were pockets in the tunnels which allowed smoke to fill one chamber and then pass to another, slowly filtering to the surface. By cooking in the very early hours morning, any traces of smoke would be disguised by the midst.

Booby traps were placed throughout the tunnels to prevent the enemy from following them. One of these was a pit created which had sharp spikes protruding from the sides and floor. There were also grenades and bombs hidden in the tunnels with trip wires. The tunnels were an extremely dangerous place.

Booby trap

Everything was done in the power to kill the Viet Cong. Bombs were dropped causing massive craters in the Cu Chi area, some 25 metres in diameter and 5 metres deep. Soldiers were sent into the tunnels to fight. Chemical warfare, fire, grenades was used to flush them out. Bulldozers were sent in to raze the ground. German sheperds were brought in to find the underground warriors. The water was poisoned. But still the North Vietnamese refused to surrender. One has to admire the persistence, tenacity and their will to survive given these impossible conditions.

The Cu Chi tunnels is heavily visited by tourists to Saigon. Busloads of tourists arrive each day, as people eagerly wish to crawl in the tunnels. As you walk deeper into the Cu Chi area, there are loud echoing gun shots from deep in the forest. What is very disturbing is that tourists are offered the chance to fire machine guns and rifles at a shooting range. There is even a price per bullet. The tourists lineup to shell out money to empty a few bullets and relive the war experience.

However, it seems that very little has been learnt by the Cu Chi tunnel experience.Is not the point of visiting this war zone to reflect on what happened? 10,000 North Vietnamese died and countless number of allied troops, and South Vietnamese perished at the hands of each other. The gruesome nature at which both sides died are also evident as well as the effect of Agent Orange at the War Remnants museum.

Bullet prices

For some the war never happened. For others, the war never ended. Post traumatic stress syndrome continues to exist in ex-soldiers today. Memories and nightmares continue to haunt them. The sound of gunfire and bombs constantly going off at night. The fear of being attacked.. The South Vietnamese soldiers were also put into re-education camps, to bring them into the Communist fold.

In 1973, after much political pressure abroad and in their home country, American troops were pulled out of Vietnam. The Americans supported the South Vietnamese Republic as they did not want to see a Communist government in power. It is very similar to the situation in Korea.

Consequently in 1976, the North Vietnamese conquered South Vietnam with a dramatic takeover of the Palace in Saigon. Tanks rolled through the front gate and a solider raced to the roof to plant the flag of North Vietnam.

In 1994, a visit by Bill Clinton resulted in a historic moment that changed Vietnam. Bill Clinton decided to lift the US trade embargo. This meant that Vietnam could now trade with US. The country did not change overnight, but slowly the economy opened up and capitalist ideals began to develop and American companies began to move in. Prior to 1995, there were no internet, computers, and television. Over the last 14 years, the country has been transformed.

I’m out like 26,000 dong a bullet,

Matthew.

Saigon Nightlife

The warm night forces many tourists to retreat to the noisy bars and cafes in Le Loi St in the Pham Ngu Lao district. Motorbikes whiz past the befuddled tourist as they attempt to cross the two metre wide road strip. A lady walks past pushing a trolley with a weighing machine, a coin operated machine commonly found in a shopping centre or a local chemist. Hoping that the tourist will want to see how much they weigh, but no one takes up her offer.

A street performer, a boy no older than eleven, dressed in red shorts and t-shirt stops abruptly in front of the café. He shouts “Oi Oi” to catch the attention of the customers. Lighting two sticks, he slowly lifts up the flaming metal skewers for dramatic effect. Bringing the skewer closer and closer to his mouth, he extinguishes it by closing his mouth around the burning stick. A small fee is necessary to collect for his street performance, as the tourists half heartedly reach into their pockets and give him a few thousand dong.

Upstairs in the Refinery, locals and expatriates gather together to listen to the latest tunes spun by an English DJ from his iMac laptop and Denton turntables. American hip hop music fills the air, as a group of local Vietnamese girls take a long drag of their Café Crème cigarettes in one hand and drink cans of Saigon beer in the other. Wearing headbands, jeans, cardigans, and colourful dresses they look no different to American or Australian women. Overpriced alcohol continues to flow at the bar as people mingle on the dancefloor. Suddenly, a noticeably large group of young American English teachers overtake the area.

Inside a cafe on De Tham St, Pham Ngo Lau district

Over at Apocalypse Now, affectionately known as “Apo” by the locals, is a popular nightspot. At the doors stand several security guards and a dozen more inside. It has the appearance of a sleazy bar/nightclub, with eye gouging alcohol prices. By midnight the place is overflowing with expats, local women prostitutes and openly gay men. The entire club is overcrowded, barely enough room to even stand on the dancefloor. As the club goers attempt to dance, it is a sea of people that sways and compresses as more people enter the room. A group of rowdy Australian men hug each other, bumping all in their wake. It would not surprise many to see a fight or riot break out given how many people are in such a small space.

I’m out like carting weigh machines,

Matthew

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The Mekong Delta is by far the biggest river I have ever seen. It is simply massive. It is most likely is the biggest river in the world! At the start of the River near Cai Be, it stretches as far as the eye can see. I had to swivel my head around to see it from side to side.

The river is quite fertile, as Mekong people farm the land and water to make a living. Growing diverse crops from jackfruit, coconuts, mangoes, rambutans, longans and rice. There were so many longans growing along one part of the river, it was like being in an endless fruitshop and you could just each up and pick what you wanted. Crops float in the water effortlessly, stretching many metres onto the river.

The river is also home to many types of sea animals from fish, crabs, lobsters, shrimps, clams. Some locals have fish nets underneath their houses, which are brimming full of fish. Animals are also farmed on the land  as well.

Vietnam is the world’s 3rd largest exporter of rice, after India and Thailand. The total production of rice is 3.5 million tonnes. The Vietnamese also harvest the rice differently, collecting the broken rice. The rice is high in quality as it is grown at the last part of the Mekong Delta. Though if you do eat it, Vietnamese rice taste different – the rice isn’t sticky, but rather loose (i.e. broken rice!).

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Cai Be market, is a floating market where boats trade in fruit and vegetables. There are boats about 5 – 7 metres in length, made of wood, quite rudimentary vechicles. One wonders how they made it so far along the Mekong Delta using these crafts. About 30 – 40 boats were floating in Cai Be, selling goods from coconuts, pumpkin, sweet potato, and firefood.

A bamboo cane stands on the roof of each boat, with a piece of the vessel’s cargo spiked into it. It indicates what each boat is selling, much like a flag on a boat.

The minimum purchase is 10 kilos as this is the wholesale fruit and vegetable market. No tourist takes up the tour guide’s offer to buy fruit and vegetable, even a few pieces.

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Heading upstream, is the coconut village. A farm solely dedicated to growing, harvesting and making products from coconut. Everything from coconut milk, candy, bread, and even the shell is used. It was believed that coconut village’s early inhabitants thought that coconuts had fertility power and also had a religion based on coconuts.

We were shown how coconut candy was being produced. Then we were funnelled from store to store. It felt like the biggest sales pitch ever!

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The smaller rivers lead to farms with a diverse range of fruit. Most of the locals live on houseboats, so they can rise with the tide. These are like ramshackle joints, and you can see markings on the bank to witness how high the tide rises. There is no point building a house on the banks, as it can flood quite easily. Unless you have $100,000 USD to splash out.

The boats are so crucial to their way of life. Ask how many people are living in their families, and they will add an extra member for their boat.  As the Mekong people consider their boats as a member of their family.

In the 17th Century, the river was full of crocodiles. To ward them off, many of the boats have two eyes painted on the front. However in the 19th century, many of these creatures disappeared. Yet the boats retained the eyes. It was something passed down from generation to generation, this culture of painting eyes on the boat. Now, they serve a different purpose, to symbolically help the boat see. The locals also believe in the boat fairy, and they sacrifice foods (fruit or meat) to bring them luck.

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The Mekong Delta gives so much life and produce to Vietnam, and the rest of the world. One wonders two questions. Firstly, how much do these locals recieve for their produce. Looking at how poorly they live, one would assume very little. Secondly, what is being done to sustain the river to preserve it for future generations? A river so vital and important to the world, producing more rice than Korea and Japan combined.

When I look back on the trip, it truly was an amazing place.  Heading back into the city, the roads were flooded. Not from the Mekong Delta but from heavy torrential rains. The water crept up to the shop fronts and was up to halfway on the bike tires. Locals were struggling to drive through it on their motorbikes.

I’m out like the Mekong Delta,

Matt.

Pham Ngoc Lau is one street full of cafes, restaurants, bars, hostels and travel vendors. During the day it looks totally different – more of the shops were open than the previous night, there are more people walking around. We actually didn’t recognise it at first glance.

On the way to the Reunification Palace, we made a pit stop at  Ben Thanh Market. Its sprawling market place, selling everything from meat, fresh produce, clothes and silk. It also has a food court area. I don’t really like going there for shopping, and I’ve been there twice now. It’s really uncomfortable because the shop lanes are really narrow, and vendors like to grab you or stuff clothes in your face in the hope that you might be interested. I hate getting harrassed to shop.

Eventually we found some food, and settled down for a couple of drinks. We tried my favourite viet drink – Sinh Do Bo, which is an avocado shake. I’ve bought it many times in Bankstown as well as in Boston, USA! We also had Nuec Mia, which is a sugar cane juice, also very sweet and tasty. We ordered it with no ice, because of the local water in it.

We then found ourselves in front of the massive complex, which is the Reunification Palace. However on Sunday it is closed at lunch time. The Notre Dame Church was also nearby but also closed! We then chilled out at the GPO and this bar we found. This bar, I would call the equivalent of Cargo Bar in Sydney because it was pumping some really loud duff duff music in the front, had hostesses, a hip young crowd as well. It even had a water feature in the front!

The Reunification Palace was somewhat interesting but lacking in architecture. We found out that the South Vietnamese were using it to run their war efforts, but it was overthrown when two tanks rolled through the front lawn! A solider then went to the top of the building and planted their flag. I find it fascinating how there was a bomb shelter near this desk where the Commander worked from. It the event of bombing, he woudl escape through this door and go to the basement and continue working and co-ordinating. Seemed like everything was geared for war in this Palace and in Vietnam during this time (see the airport bomb shelters above!).

Walking back, we then stumbled across a outdoor soccer game. It was like half the size of a regular soccer field, in a 6 vs 6 format. We watched a couple of the games, and had a beer in the cafe overlooking it. It was very refreshing and I could really see that soccer was a global game.

At night, we went to this restaurant called Din Ky recommended by the hotel. It was in a upbeat area on a street called Nguyen Trai. It reminded me a bit of Mongkok in Hong Kong. Heaps of activity, lights, people buzzing past. We lived it up and orderd about 5 dishes. Sea bass fish, vermicelli with crab meat, fried rice in lotus leaf, spring rolls, clams and custard apple shakes! We somehow managed to finish it all and chilled out at the roof top of the Go 2 Bar.

I’m out like getting harrased in the market,

Matt

I’ve been in Saigon for about 2 days and 1 night. Life is hectic over here. With the motorbikes buzzing past constantly, people walking on the streets, the markets and the street hawkers. We’ve had a full on two days, even though we haven’t done everything we could in those two days if you know what I mean.

The flight was long from Sydney. We had to change in Darwin, and then we arrived in Saigon. When we were touching down you could see the lights of the city, which were very close to the airport. It was then that the excitement hit me, that I was entering a new city, a totally foreign place. There were the faint outlines of bunkers, half cyclindrial shape sheds which I understand were bomb shelters but are now used to store trucks and equipment.

We got to the hotel at about 11pm. After haggling at the airport with the taxi driver, we conceded this 50,000 dong fee for this mysterious ticket. I knew it was BS and kept arguing with him and also he refused to use the taxi meter. My #1 rule is to use the meter. But I was tired after it was only a few dollars, so I gave in and he was adamant about it (as was I). Anyway, the fixed fee proved to be accurate but the ticket fee was bogus as I later found out.

We then checked in, headed out to this area called Pham Ngoc Lau which feels like Kings Cross. After walking around we decided on this cafe with little plastic seats and had some spring rolls and a beer, and watch the traffic go past. It was Halloween, and the local kids were out in full force. There were facepainting, kids on motorbikes crusing up the street and even a guy with a complete grim reaper outfit! Then all of a sudden there was furious honking, and a motorcade of about 50 kids came past in Halloween gear and shouting. The streets were alive!

We were still starving and wanted some Pho. We had walked past this place called Pho Qunyh. It looked like a local joint on the corner with plenty of locals inside. It was nice and clean, so we went in and ordered “pho dac biet” (special pho). I have one word to describe it: AWESOME! Cost us about 40,000 dong ($2.50 AUS) with lots of noodles and meat.

Now it was around 12am and pretty tired after flying and out for 12hours. But it was a Saturday night in Saigon so we  hit up a club called Crazy Buffalo! It has two levels, with a club in the upper level. Very tiny inside, but it was jam packed. They were playing a lot of US Top 40 music like Akon and Black Eyed Peas. The locals knew the words (not sure if they understood it!) and had new phones like the Nokia Express. I’ve seen a few iphones around in Saigon too! The beers are very cheap in Saigon, about 12,000 ($0.75 AUD) in some cafes but in the club it was about $3.

And there you have it, my first night in Saigon!

I’m out like the Crazy Buffalo,

Matt.

Mankind has been destroying mother earth for centuries. Since time began, cavemen have cut down trees for firewood. The ocean has been trawled extensively for exotic seafood. Land has been razed for farming and cleared for high rises. We have drilled the earth for pools of oil, rivers of gold, and other precious commodities. Our endless search for more will eventually destroy the earth as we know it.

With the rise of tourism, mother earth’s fate has suddenly declined at an even faster rate.

I went on a snorkeling tour to the Hol Chan marine reserve in Belize. We motored to 3 different snorkeling sites. We snorkeled in the ocean, and we were told to keep our feet above the water. I soon realized why. Whilst in the water, our tour guide was kicking up sand sediment with each kick. With 30 tourists in the water around the boat and many more around the channel, we were causing untold damage to the pristine environment.

The captain of the boat then feed freshly speared fish to the nurse sharks so the sharks would encircle the boat and we could swim next to them. It was an incredible experience swimming above, alongside and near huge nurse sharks, deadly manta rays, turtles, snappers and other exotic fish. But you should never feed animals in the wild. Why else would the fish congregate around the boat? The fish were used to being fed daily and were now familiar with human contact.

Once you start feeding the animals, they lose that ability to hunt and fend for themselves. Eventually, the animals lose the instinct to survive. The amount of food in the wild controls the population in the animal kingdom. A scarcity of food means that the animal population cannot grow and is restricted in its size. Conversely, bountiful food allows animals to repopulate and thrive. Humans introduce new amounts of food as well as new types of food into the wild. By feeding the animals, we are changing the role of nature and causing irreversible destruction.

I learnt this lesson when I went on an eco-tour in Phuket. These things are obvious but they are not apparent until you see them with your own eyes. Our eco tour guides never feed the animals nor did they destroy the environment. Other guides would feed the monkeys with bananas and give them cans of coke to drink. The eco tour guides spent the time teaching us about the environment. The tour did cost slightly more but for me I was glad I went on it and it probably taught me one of the more valuable lessons in life.

As a tourist, we are drawn into two minds. Should I see Mother Nature, swim with the exotic fish, cuddle the cute koalas or do nothing? Many places like Caye Caulker in Belize and many countries exist mainly on tourism. Would a visit to Australia be the same without seeing a kangaroo or swimming in the Great Barrier Reef?

In the past year I’ve rode an elephant in the Chiangmai jungle in Thailand, swam in waterfalls, rode camels across the Sahara desert, snorkeled in underground caves in Mexico and sailed through islands in Vietnam. I’m confident that all these activities damaged the environment to some small extent. But as a tourist, I felt like I had to do these things, and I didn’t even think twice about it – I did them because they were fun.

Tourism, particularly environmental tourism needs to be tightly controlled, because we may be destroying things beyond repair. Future generations might not be able to appreciate these great wonders. Sometimes I think that we should just leave these animals alone, allowing them to live in their own world. But I also realize that for me, I would have never appreciated the beauty of the environment if I never saw them.

I have seen what mankind has done. In the Sahara desert, tire tracks criss-cross the sand dunes as tourists entertain their Lawrence of Arabia fantasies. I know, since I contributed to it by riding a quad bike! People also leave behind water bottles, wine casks, and other rubbish in the desert.

The availability of cheap air travel will be one of the deathknells for the environment. I took a flight instead of a train from Venice to Rome because it was only slightly more expensive. I have crossed the world on a series of cheap flights. In two months, I flew Venice to Rome, Rome to London, London to Morocco return, London to New York, New York to Cancun. Air travel was dirt cheap. In the process, these airplanes I have taken have pumped out several more kilotons of carbon dioxide.

I honestly believe that people are understanding that we need to protect the environment. It is important to practice sustainable methods of tourism. But a lot of tour operators think for themselves – they feed the sharks and the monkeys, destroy the sand dunes with 4 wheel drives and so on.

However, the responsibility is on both sides, on tour operators and tourists. Our duty as tourists should be to enquire about the practices of the tours and to understand the environmental impact, instead of shopping around for the best deal. It is time that we make a stand, as tourists. Because it is our earth too! If it damages the environment, we should seek a friendlier alternative or simply not do it.

The environment is extremely fragile, and it is necessary that we strike the right balance between showing off mother earth and preserving the environment. Hopefully, we do this before the monkeys take over*.

Hijo de la tierra (Son of the Earth),

Matt Ho.

*Or maybe they already have.

In preparation, I wanted to do a little research before I went. Normally, I would purchase a guidebook from the book store. The typical Lonely Planet or Rough Guides, etc…

However, I noticed a few years ago you can actually purchase chapters of Lonely Planet books that you require in electronic format. I’ve never been a big fan of electronic book purchases but I actually wanted to give it a try because:

1) I only needed the section on Saigon not the entire book on Vietnam

2) It was much cheaper to buy the sections that I needed

3) I’d be saving the world from another tree

4) Portable as I could have it in the cloud in email, google docs, and on my phone.

So I went ahead and bought 4 chapters on:

• Saigon
• Areas around Saigon
• Mekong Delta River
• History, culture, food of Vietnam

All up , it cost me about $19 AUD which is half of what the book would have cost me. Each chapter costs about $3-10, on average about $5.When you buy a few chapters there seems to be a bulk discount applied.

You receive a link to download a PDF version which you can download up to 5 times, in case your internet cuts out. You can also distribute it and put it onto any device. The Lonely Planet team trusts that you are not going to post it up online to give away (since you’ve shelled up the hard cash for it). However, I have been advised by my brother that it is possible to get off BitTorrent.

Pick and Mix Chapters

I tried porting it onto my Android phone, however the Android has poor PDF readers and some of which are online readers or you have to pay for like Docs2Go. So I’ve ditched that option and ended up printing it out. It will be handy for reading on the plane and also on the go.

Digital Travel Guides

I’ve got my digital marketing hat on now and I believe that this type of distribution is going to be the future. Buy chapters / sections that you need online. Pick and mix. Port it to a device or download straight to a device like iphone, any mobile device, Kindle , etc… and take it with you. No books required. You can already buy Lonely Planet guides for iphone – its about $15AUD.

Right now, the travel guides I’ve bought seem to be the actual guides resized to PDF one page versions. In the future, I assume its going to be a lot more organic with the ability to be updated constantly rather than a new edition every few years. I imagine it to be a more like WikiTravel or TripAdvisor which is updated by the users, with an editor overseeing it. The other advantage is that if your buying an online version, it is likely to be the latest version as well.

A word on Travel Guides

I like using travel guides but I’ve learnt to not overuse them.  I like them because it gives you a quick rundown of the place, good restaurants to check out, different accommodation options to suit your budget, advice on the surrounding attractions, a sense of the history of the place and more. Someone has already done a lot of the legwork for you.

However, whilst travelling in Kyoto, Japan I was talking to an American traveller about this. Sometimes you just need to ditch the travel guide and take the path less travelled. Because if you follow the travel guide, you’ll end up having the same experience as everyone else. It’s nice to discover a hole in the wall bar, or stumble across a restaurant or area which isn’t listed in a travel guide.  Put some adventure back into your travels – like how our parents or ancestors would have done before travel guides were around!

Now we’re armed to the teeth with travel guides, mobile GPS so we’ll never get lost, and everyone speaks English. At times, it is good to go somewhere and wander around and explore the place freely without turning to your Lonely Planet.

I’m out like travel guides,

Matt