DMZ Vietnam

In 1993 there were very few options for travelers however they did offer a tour of the DMZ. When I read the reviews today on Trip Advisor it makes me laugh to see the things people find unacceptable. This was a very rough tour and we thought it was wonderful. The bits and pieces of information on this post are memories out of my journal from 1993.

 As the events of today unfolded I became more bewitched by this country than I could ever have thought possible. At 5:30 we piled onto to our old and rustic bus and headed out of the city of Hue. The desolate landscape we had traveled through on the train ride from Hanoi to Hue turned out to be the "Terror Road" as called by the South Vietnamese. This area was called the 17th Parrallel also known and the DMZ.

Hien Lnong Bridge - Ben Hai River 

This was the Boarder between North & South Vietnam. You can see our tour bus right up on the bridge with everyone piled out. I of course had to run down the road to get this shot.... Hoping they would wait for me.

This is the original Bridge right next to the new bridge above.

 Vinh Moc Tunnels

As we approached the Vinh Moc Tunnels about 10 villages came out to great us, but of course not without their bottles of Coke to sell us. 

The Local guide then took us to the entrance of the Tunnel ( seen here below)

The tunnels took 18 months to build and the people here lived underground from 1966 till 1972. Only 17 children where born during this time as many of the young men were away fighting. 

The tunnels where as wide as my shoulders and you had to crouch down to get in. After 10m it did get a bit bigger and a bit less claustrophobic. There was a meeting room that held 150 people, this was no bigger than a bus. With only the 10 of us on the tour it felt crowded. As we went deeper into the tunnel system our guide pointed out a drilling bomb that had collapsed to tunnel. After all our ohhs and ahha she told us it had not exploded. Lets just say she didn't have to ask us to move on twice.

We came out at a bottom entrance and the fresh air was a relief. We had only been in there for 20 minutes or so but I was relieved to be out in the fresh air and sun light. Imaging living in the tunnels for 6 years.....

17th Parallel

The mountain in the background here was an R&R base for the American Soldiers during the war, they were helicoptered to the top. All the field in front here used to be dense Jungle. This is the result of the Chemical Warfare even 20 years later

Khe Sanh

As we headed into the hills the evidence of Chemical Warfare was everywhere. Where there was forest now there is desolate landscape. This continues right across the 17th Parallel until we only a few km from the boarder of Loas and right into the heart of the Hill Tribes.

As it started to rain we reached Khe Sanh combat base and with mud thick on my boots I felt for the first time that with every element to be considered the soldiers must have gone through a living hell.

A man from the hill tribe came walking toward us with a pick and shovel resting on his shoulder. He had a plastic sheet in one hand and when he opened it up there were some same item covered in mud. I bought the Zippo lighter from him, but it did not have anything clever inscribed on it. It is just rusty and old with all the hall makes of war. This is a very special piece of Vietnam I still have. We also found some pieces of shrapnel just lying in the mud. I wounder how much things have changed there now?

LOAS HILL TRIBE WOMAN

Oh No.....What do you mean broken?

Heading back to Dong Ha we were greeted by many a small kid running into the street to wave and grin as we drove past. But the most charming of all was a little boy who gave up the grip of his pants to give us a wave but kept a firm grip of the fishing pole over the other shoulder.

When you have an old car you find your always pushing it, but when push comes to shove and I mean the gear box, something has to give. We where now stranded between nowhere and nowhere, with the sun setting and the mossies pouring in. 10 strong minder travelers and a lot of different opinions. Hmmm interesting.... we lost two to a local bus and then out of nowhere, as you remember that's where we where stranded came a mini bus. Need less to say we where all shocked and relieved. This lovely villager took us all back to Hue ( at extra cost of course we where happy to pay, but I have to say other weren't) but we got back in one piece and slept in our own beds. What an awesom adventure.

When things go wrong don't complain just think of the great story you'll have when you get home!

We are going back to Vietnam this year, nearly 20 years later. Should be interesting....