War Remnants Museum

There are some pretty disturbing images here, apologies – skip if you want to.

Today started off nicely – up early and took a moto to the UK Consolate, where I showed them my neatly wripped passport. I was told there was nothing they could do (expected) and they could give me a form to write for a new one to Kuala Lumpa but that was it. She questioned whether I had had any problems with it so far – I said no… But anyway, I guess I’ll just go on and hope that I can get into Laos and Thailand (and home) without too many issues – hopefully I can get a new one when I am back in Dublin.. hopefully (and yes, I will remember to transfer my NZ residency visa!)

So after that I headed on to the History Museum. Mainly becuase I got disorientated and thought I was heading towards the Reunification Palace.

The museum was interesting, though I kinda lost track of the invasions and uprisings. For pretty much the last 2000 years someone or other has been trying to take control of this country.. mostly without success! Even the Mongols got repelled 3 times.

This pic is of a mummified vietnamese woman that was discovered in Ho Chi Minh a few years ago (she’s 80 odd and was born in the 1800s I think it was)

There was a lovely water-puppet show though, that was worth seeing. Apparently it takes 3 years to learn the art of doing it.

After that I took a moto back to the reunification palace (but it was closed until 1pm) wandered about (again taking the wrong turning – walked a good km around the block!) before settling down over lunch to read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Mhairi very kindly swapped two of our old books for a $3 photocopy of the book.. and she’s not seen very much of me since to be honest!

Then we met up and went to the war remnants museum. It was, even more so I feel than the killing fields, a horrible exhibition of the utter futility and devasation of war. You *really* won’t understand until you come to this place and see for yourself. At one point (and you’ll see the pics if you want to) I was just standing in the room, and everywhere I looked it was just another picture of something horrible, something that shouldn’t ever be done to anyone. Some pics I didn’t take, mostly the ones of the burns (to they face, the eyes the body) – from phosphor and napalm.

We saw the deformities that a generation of children (Esp of VC fighters) were born with.

There was an exhibition (and tribute really) to the corageous photographers who tried to capture and bring back images of the war – so many of them died.

The two pics above are of a South Vietnamese soldier fleeing from his tank that the VC blew up with a mine. The second picture is a second explosion from another mine. There’s no third picture..

There were so many pictures which dealt with the torture that was performed on the enemy. I’m quite sure the VC did awful things too, but I guess you’d hope that our beackon of civilisation wouldn’t do things like dragging people behind their tank until they died – or looking quite the way this guy does picking up a bombed body.

Mind you, what with Guantanamo, and this practice of rendition? I think that’s what it’s called when you take someone away and hold them secretly in a country – and one that allows torture.. well, I wonder if we’ve learned from our mistakes. And it makes me kinda angry that it seems there’s so little we can do about it.

Sorry to ramble, it’s been a fairly shocking kinda day.

There was also a section on the propoganda, and the protests that went on around the world, and helped to bring about the end of the war. One of them showing that it was big military oriented corporations that were making billions from the war, and wanting it to continue (not that that happens any more of course… Iraq was never about the oil).

Sheesh, sorry, this is supposed to be a travelogue not a political diary!

Well, finally there’s a pic of me beside a tank. Big old things.

I would reccommed this museum very very highly if you ever make it to Ho Chi Minh. It made me feel like I ought to try and do something a little more useful – or devote some of my time to doing something good.. we’ll see.

Actually, on that note, mum and dad have been making wonderful progress in Uganda on the university. Even have students being taught at the moment. I know it’s pretty uncool to be super proud of your parents – but to build a university from scratch and have the first batch of students – all within 2 years.. well, maybe good things can be done.. (dad also takes a pretty good picture!) Can’t wait to see family again in a little under 2 months time.