Saigon...an early morning stroll

On the last day of our Vietnam trip I was up early as a lark. Too early for the morning breakfast,
I decided to take a solo morning walk around the vicinity of our hotel. It's always interesting to explore sections of a city at different times of a day.
There I was before the city dwellers had stirred from their previous night's slumber.
I attracted some curious stares from some early birds as I looked at how a city slowly awakens.

Most shops were not opened for business yet. That would come later. The streets seemed empty
of the usual dense traffic. I was able to cross the road and streets without any problem. What I saw and felt reminded me very much of what Singapore used to be maybe 3 decades or more ago. There's an old world charm still alive in the city of Saigon where the humdrum of daily living carries on as the city struggles towards modernisation.


Here you see a tall building, still under construction as a future hotel.
This hotel should come with all the modern facilities and comfort as we know it today.
But the neighbourhood and surrounding vicinity will not enjoy the same degree of re-making...yet.
It will require a lot more foreign capital and investments to transform the existing infrastructure.
In this connection, Singapore has played a major part in helping Vietnam to get into the global grid.

As I continued walking the paved sidewalks along the streets, I was hoping to see some street pedlars of food,

of souvenirs or just about anything. But it was not to be. Either I was too early or another reason

prevailed. Asking around, I discovered that the local authorities in their planning, had ensured that such neighbourhoods where there is a large concentration of upscale hotels should be free from hawkers and street pedlars..most of whom are illegal.

Sounded like S'pore when our Hawkers and Markets Dept went on constant raids and ambushes

to catch our own illegal hawkers. I'm certain many of us older ones have witnessed countless episodes of such incidents in the past.


After my leisurely wandering, I returned to the hotel for a quick breakfast before hitting

the streets again...this time headed for the local Market place.

By then, traffic had picked up somewhat as you can see.

Today, helmets for all motorcyclists and pillion riders are compulsory.

But I noticed most of the helmets being used are shaped like a hat.

They are not the stringent types we are using in S'pore.

Vietnam...some Fruits and Plants around Saigon

Looking at the condition of the fruits and plants encountered during my recent Vietnam trip, it would appear that the once war-torn land has recovered somewhat sufficiently. At the market place, there were all kinds of local vegetables and fruits that not only looked healthy but tasted
excellent. I bought some for eating and tasting. They were better than those I get from our own NTUC fairprice supermarkets...perhaps, because they are freshier.
Many of our local plants in S'pore can also be found growing in Vietnam.
But the texture and taste of the fruits may be slightly different.
Below are some of the fruits and plants we saw or tasted.

This red jambu tree reminded me very much of the ones in my
old kampong of Siang Lim Park.

These are Jackfruits or "nangka" as we call them locally.
They are bigger than the "chempedak" ( Jack's cousin) but
are less aromatic.

D2 just could not resist pulling a branch of the Buah Cherry tree.

My fellow seniors will recall how as kids we use to love this tree to no end.

The cherries are so easy to pluck and nice to eat. If you like climbing trees, this tree is

easy except on rainy days when it is wet and the bark becomes slippery.

The "V" joints of carefully chosen branches can be made into very flexible catapults.

The Buah Cherry Tree

Bamboo is very common and plentiful in Vietnam

Plants found in typical mangrove swamp

This is similar to our local "atap-chee". That sweet translucent fruit-seed

that can be found in ice-kachang and chendol.

Know what plant this is? Anyone?

Vietnamese mint plant.

Vietnamese Mint plant.

These fruits were so attractive and I could not resist buying some

for tasting. They were very, very good! But I was told to avoid the durians.

They sold the fruits by weight. Vietnamese lychees are as good as

those from China. I can confirm this! Great texture and very sweet and juicy.

One thumb up...very good. Two thumbs up mean ...excellent!

Beyond my expectation both in quality and taste and price.

Vietnam...How to survive the chaotic traffic!

If you are a first time visitor to Ho Chi Minh City ( Saigon ), one of the most striking thing to hit you is the sheer mass and volume of traffic on the road. That was the 1st thing that struck me. Now, Unk Dicko has been to more than 500 cities around the world and still counting. Most big cities have as much traffic as Saigon but they are better controlled and perhaps more regulated.
In some big cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Jakarta and Bangkok, if you want to cross the street...it might be wiser to use pedestrain crossings at identified locations.
So too in most of the European cities.
However, in Saigon it is not necessary to use a "zebra crossing" as most motorists do not really stop for pedestrains. In fact, it may be highly dangerous if you simply expect ALL motorists to treat you like the rarest diamond on earth!
So how on earth do you cross a street without being turned into pizza?

[ Me on " Ah Sup's bike before we explored the city ]

To answer that question and this is really good advice...When in Rome,Do as the Romans Do.
So how do the local Saigonese cross the road? Observe and learn and you'll survive just
like them.
You are at the curb of a road. The traffic seems really thick and chaotic. You look right, then left and then right again, then left again..and you see a 50/50 chance, without much further thought
DASH or RUN across the dizzy stream of unending traffic. Next thing you hear... BONG! BANG!
And you become history.

[ It was early morning on Sunday. Traffic starting to pick up ]

The local method of crossing a road:

Survey the road. Pick the less congested part preferably where the traffic is coming

from only ONE side or direction.

Be brave! Watch traffic carefully.

Get ready for the right moment.

Spot a GAP in the line of traffic and WALK VERY SLOWLY into the traffic,

moving towards the middle of the road.

Somehow as I have observed, all the motorbikes will know how to go around and avoid you.

But if you start running...you may not be coming home.

Two things worth noting in this photo.

This is the kind of cross junction you should Never attempt to cross at.s

Why? The traffic comes at you from more than 4 directions. It will be beyond you.

Look closely at all the overhead electric cables. They are so heavy and overloaded they have

begun to sag.

I wonder if any of my visitors can recall when was the last time we saw this in S'pore?

As Ah Sup rode his bike carefully with me as his pillion, I was doing something I should

by right not be doing...shooting the scene with my digital camera. One handed shooting!

My other hand gripped the side support bar.

First time I've ever tried doing this. If I didn't do it, I can't bring you these scenes.

All these pictures were shot on the move.

Look closely, the different streams of traffic actually at "cross-path" to one another,

with no traffic lights to regulate the stop or flow. They just merge into each other gently

as though all those behind the wheel or bike have telepathic understanding of each others'

way.

Incredible but true!

The flow of traffic in Saigon, despite the sheer volume, takes place every day..like a

highly rehearsed ritual. Everyone moves, everything moves even in opposite directions or

at cross-directions without the need to stop SUDDENLY. It's almost like an art form.

It's mechanised ballet.


Any rider or driver from Singapore will face immense problems if they hope to

ride or drive here.

I personally would not reccomend it.

That's why, although Unk Dicko is a very safe and reliable driver and rider since the 60's

[ 100% accident free record ! ] and I am still doing both daily, for Saigon I thought it wiser

not to tempt fate.

We went through different sections of the city. Fortunately, the roads

originally built with French help when Vietnam was a French Colony, were

generally wide with sidewalks( pavements) for pedestrains.

The slight white top of Ah Sup's helmet can be seen in this picture.


Was I at any time afraid while we rode through and around the city?

Let me say here loudly and clearly.

Not once throughout our entire trip did I notice anyone SPEEDING on the road!

Not a car, lorry, van or motorbike !!!

(Back home in S'pore...without FAIL, everyday you and I

will see more than one SPEEDING moron behind a bike or vehicle on our roads.

Why do they do it? Are the penalties not severe enough? I have no answer. You tell me. )

This is another REAL eye-opener for me.

I did ask Ah Sup at the end of our ride about my observation.

His reply?

The police is VERY STRICT about anyone caught SPEEDING.

Suspended License or Revoked License can be expected.

Practically everyone old enough has a motorbike license. It is the cheapest, fastest and most

practical form of transport for moving around or to conduct your business, etc.
Without this license, with no MRT, few buses, few taxis, little money...it is almost like a

death sentence without a bike.

Fearsome Vietcong Booby Traps !

Just to re-focus, we were still at the Cu Chi Tunnel Complex and some of us

had just finished trying out the M16 rifle at the shooting range. I'm glad that we actually had

the chance to have that experience over in Vietnam, right in the heart of Vietcong country.

As I see it, the country so devastated by death and destruction caused by war is steadily regaining

its footing and balance, albeit slowly.

While, I was crawling in the tunnel, I could not capture any snapshots of the inside. The space was just too cramped within.

I managed to locate this wartime picture ( below ) showing a US soldier inside a similar tunnel.

Notice it was so cramped that he had to sit on his M16 rifle, the barrel jutting out from under his

leg.

Some of these troops who went on 'search and destroy' missions of these hidden tunnels were

nick-named "Tunnel Rats" by their comrades.


Did he make it out alive? Many were bobby-trapped inside.

NVA picture showing young VC girls laying booby traps for

their enemy.


A victim of a Vietcong booby trap lay seriously injured,

attended to by his platoon medic and comrades.

Most of the Vietcong booby traps were originally used for

ensnaring animals of the jungle. Bamboo especially was very strong

as stakes and pointed spears and was plentiful in the jungle.

Even young boys and girls were taught how to make simple yet

effective traps.

Where metal is available, some parts of the trap may be made from it.

All the traps were cleverly camouflaged by a deceptive cover which was

similar to the debris on the footpath or grassy slope. One wrong footstep

was all it took and the Law of Gravity always did the rest. Many of the victims

were seriously incapacitated for life, if they survived. Most did not.

And it is just too gruesome to show pictures of such victims on a blog!

This particular trap is most vicious. If an enemy walks into

it, either one or both his legs would be trapped in the middle of

this spiked clamp. Look how long each spike is. The damage and

pain the victim suffers is unimaginable.

Many of the traps are laced with poison on the spikes.

They also put human waste on it so that the victim's wounds

would be contaminated.




Most of the booby traps are hidden in the footpaths

and jungle trails, on grassy embankments and near the

base of trees where tired soldiers tend to take a rest or

take cover under enemy fire.

But some traps catch the unsuspecting victim from above.

This is one of them. It is set off by a hidden tripwire on the ground.

When a soldier's foot accidentally touch the wire, the delicate "catch"

is released and the trap is activated in seconds.

Two heavy spiked trestle come towards each other from opposite direction

catching the poor victim in the middle ( sandwiched ).

Something quite similar to what I have just described was featured in the Vietnam period

war movie "The Green Berets", released in 1968, starring hugely popular American movie

hero JOHN WAYNE and David Janssen.

Unk Dicko have seen practically all the movies about the Vietnam War, including this one.,

some together with D2.

When I was doing this blogpost, I asked D2 if she could still remember the movie we saw

back then around 1969... she forgot most of the synopsis but said she still can recall vividly

the booby trapped scene. It was sheer horror!

Scenes like those and others were deliberately scripted into the movie as the reasons behind making that movie were political. Back in the US, the Anti-War Movement and Protest were growing louder by the day...led by not only civil, social and human rights leaders but by an increasing band of celebrities like Jane Fonda and company.

So the Pro-war faction which was staunchly anti-communist made a decision to produce a film

about the ongoing conflict in Vietnam. They hope it would show the American people why

they need to be engaged in Vietnam.
John Wayne was fiercely patriotic, completely anti-communist and agreed to be the producer

of the film.

The film enjoyed quite some success when it was released.

But there were many contentious issues which remained till this day.



After seeing all these deadly booby traps and all the reminders of the terrible war

that was fought right where we stood...everyone was lost in their own thoughts!
It is a sobering reminder to all of us in this present day that WAR should be avoided

at all cost.
Negotiations, Talks and where that fail allowing the United Nations
to use its approved Courts to arbitrate and decide....is the only alternative to WAR.

Just like our issue with M'sia over Pedra Branca.

Years of top-level meetings failed to resolve the issue.

And some dangerous politicians ( not S'poreans)

were making use of the lack of progress to "whack" their own leaders as useless, cowards,

scared of S'pore etc.

Some people advocate that you need war to have peace.

That is a Fallacy!

The price of Peace is not War, never had been.

Vietnam...inside a Vietcong tunnel.

Here are more snapshots of our visit to the unforgettable Cu Chi tunnels of Vietnam.
All pictures are from my digital camera.


This is another of the opening to the underground tunnels. Again, it is quite small
but sufficient to fit all the NVA or Vietcong soldiers. I have never seen any big size
VC soldier. Those that you may have remembered seeing were in Hollywood movies
where the film extras playing the parts of VC were mostly Hispanics, Latinos and even caucasians dubbed with lots of paint and make up. These were the few films produced
in the mid 60's onwards...including " The Green Berets" which starred John Wayne.
It was very difficult to find SE Asian people near the film production set.

Not all openings are for human entry and exit. Many served as air-vents for

fresh air to enter into the tunnels. Obviously they too were cleverly hidden from

the enemy. There were also outlet vents ( very tiny) for smoke from the underground

kitchens. These too were located very carefully so that the smoke will dissipate innocuously

into the jungle surroundings.


D2 about to enter the very dark tunnel. She did not have any flashlight with her,

neither did I. So, after we captured these shots, I went ahead first as Unk Dicko

has very good eyesight in the dark ( I'm a nocturnal creature remember...an Owl ! )

and she followed close behind.

Inside the tunnel it was pitched dark. Only at the beginning was there a dim light

to help you the first couple of crouches. Yes, just imagine, you stoop or crawl all the way

while traversing along the tunnel. A VC could only stand when he reaches a room with

standing space. That could be a long way off.

I was on all fours, hands and feet and at some points even my knees got into the act.

This was the exit for our tunnel. It looks large right? But this was remade in modern times

for the increasing number of visitors to this highly attractive tourist site.

Many of the visitors come from the West and some are really "huge" in size, even the ladies!

Richard the cameraman had "survived" the ordeal and therefore had reasons to smile.

But I'm not too certain if he managed any shots within, even with flash as the tunnel

is really very narrow and cramped, leaving very little elbow room.


Many of us don't really appreciate how fortunate we all were growing up, running around

open ground, going to work, to school, to the market or anywhere we like...with the health-giving

rays of sunlight lighting up our daily life.

We did not have to spend a single day of our life living in such tunnels as those we visited.

The tunnels, being cut off from the sun, were actually very dark, dank and clammy places

where all sorts of bacteria and virus, and other creepies and crawlies flourished.

It was no surprise that many of its inhabitants came down with all kinds of sickness and diseases.

A high percentage died from these illnesses.

As soon as I was out from the tunnel, I realised I was caked with mud, dust and some slime.

I saw a bamboo pole trickling with fresh water.

It was so refreshing just to be able to wash away the dust and grit.

It did occur to me whether the water is safe for washing our faces. I recalled the entire area

around this region was attacked not only with napalm bombs but with "Agent Orange".

Agent Orange a chemical poison was meant to decimate everything living...plants, trees, living creatures and turn that area into a dead desert. It's deadly effects were supposed to last for decades and more.
Somehow, Mother Nature has seen through all these evilness and has returned the land to

a more healthy glow today.

Otherwise I wouldn't be here washing my face!

See...my third finger was plastered up. Those who want to know why check out my earlier post

" Vietnam...Exploring by sampans ".

How Cu Chi Tunnels were hidden...a "live" demo.

After the presentation in the underground hall, we re-emerged into the open. Our 'Vietcong' guide walked us deeper into the environs of that place. Surrounded by what would once have been dense jungle, with thick foliage, shrubs and bushes...we stopped at a location when he
indicated. He then told us to look around carefully and see if any of us could discover any kind
of entrance to the tunnels. Such an opening must inevitably be on solid ground.
Everyone looked and stared at the surface around them...including me.
Nothing seemed out of place.
Even highly trained soldiers would find it near impossible to locate such well-camouflaged
hidden openings.
In fact, just near where our young 'Vietcong' friend stood, using his hands he pushed away
all the dead and rotting vegetation at a spot...and lo and behold, we saw the clear outline of
a rectangular shape.
It was actually the cover for the entrance. Lifting it out, we could see the opening and the darkness within.

He demonstrated to us how easy it was to get in by carefully lowering himself into the hole,
using his arms to support. Once his legs were on solid ground he could then stand and lift
the same well-disguised cover to place over the hole.
Note how slim he was. That's the general size of the typical Vietcong soldier.

After he replaced the cover from inside the hole, we on the outside could not tell the difference

in the surrounding.

However, for the purpose of capturing the spot for you my readers, I moved some of the

leaves away so you can still see the outline of the cover. Otherwise, no way!


Now that the demo was over, the inevitable challenge, " who will like to try?".

I looked around at my good friends and noted that many of them would never be accepted

by the Vietcong even if they had volunteered enthusiastically. This physical entry into a Vietcong

tunnel is a good test. Size counts!

As a Vietcong, your chances of survival depended on being able to locate the nearest hidden

entrance and to get in quickly, without causing a human traffic jam. Obviously there were others

all rushing to get in too when the alarm was sounded.

A few from our party, cheered on by their more rotund friends, decided to take the test.

Here's a brave one...a potential female VC basic recruit.
It did not surprise me that one of those who stepped forward was J, a former student of mine who was a very active and capable Girl Guide in her schooling days.

She was about to place the cover over her head and be totally concealed from within,

when a strong arm suddenly shot out to grab her firmly and advised her gently," ok, better

come out now".

This is a good friend of mine who has visited the tunnels previously and had some scary

tales to tell. Apparently, some visitors had been literally frightened by ghostly apparition

and

hauntings in the tunnels.

What did I experience?

The more appropriate question should be what's my assessment?

I went into the tunnels, not all did. We were advised to carry flashlights. Most did. I did not.

So, as I entered the tunnel...the first thing I realised is that one has to stoop very low, almost like

doing the 'duck walk' in a PE lesson...to move forward. That's because the height of the tunnel for "moving" is deliberately made to be low.

This was to deter the enemy and make it very difficult for him once he's inside.

So, the same sense of claustrophobia could be experienced once you are inside the very narrow

confines of the rugged tunnel.

That feeling is magnified and multiplied when you are faced with near total darkness within.

And the ground is also uneven again deliberately so.

I met nothing fearful while within and while 'feeling' my way forward was able to pass

some hints and warnings about obstacles to those struggling behind me.