Wednesday, I took a
tour to the Cao Dai Temple and the Cu Chi tunnels. It was quite a contrast to go to the temple in the morning
and then the tunnels in the afternoon, but they do that due to proximity of
each other. The Cao Dai temple is
the main religious center for Caodaism.
Caodaism combines elements from many of the world's main
religions, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam,
Judaism, Taoism, as well as Geniism.
It is the third largest religion in Vietnam after Buddhism and Catholicism.
We were able to be there for the
noon mass.
After lunch, we headed to the Cu Chi
tunnels. When we first got there, we watched a short film that showed footage
from before the war. Showing how fertile the land was and displaying the rubber
trees and fruit trees they had in abundance; stating that they were a peaceful
community living a tranquil life –UNTIL the Americans arrived. The film
introduced us to some of the Vietnamese heroes of the war who were honored for
the number of Americans they killed; showing schoolgirls in combat. After the film, we walked around the
area viewing some of the tunnels, hospital, kitchen, and their special traps
made for the Americans. They had close to 10 different traps with spikes that
injured different parts of the body.
We then had the opportunity to walk thru a model of one of the tunnels.
They had to remake one because most people would not fit thru the original
ones. It was quite the experience! It was very small. I could hardly fit by
crouching, you really need to crawl. It was very hot and really unnerving. I
think what bothered me the most was that I didn’t know how far the exit was. By
the time, I got out my heart was pounding so fast and I was soaked with sweat. A
lot of the guys in our group had to turn back because they couldn’t fit.
I think the tour guide and a lot of the
people in my group felt sorry for me because it was so one-sided. I was the
only American in our group. The
tour guide explained to me that a lot of the younger generation does not hold
anything against the Americans. He told me that his mother died in the war when
he was about three and he has severe burn marks on his arms from a fire at the
time. His father brought him South where he was raised but knows nothing about
where he was born because his father won’t talk about it. Also another effect from the war
that I witnessed was earlier that day, we stopped by a Handicrafts workshop and
store that employed and trained handicap people. A lot of them had deformed
arms, legs, or feet. And you could tell by their age that they are all most
likely babies from whom’s mother was effected by Agent Orange while she was
pregnant. It was not a day to be
proud to be an American.
Overall, it was a good trip and I met some
really nice people; three girls from the Philippines who were celebrating two
of their birthdays and a couple from Slovakia. It was funny because the girls from the Philippines kept
wanting me to be in their pictures.
I statistic that I learned today was that
the population of HCMC is 10 million and there are 5 million motorbikes on the
road. I am still astounded by how many people they can get on a bike or the
amount of things they strap to the bike. I also found out why children don’t
have to wear helmets. Once you turn 14, you are required by law to wear a
helmet. But mainly because the man who owns the helmet company is very powerful
and has been able to get that law passed. They said if you are under 14 the
helmet is too heavy for children to wear and could cause damage. Needless, to
say, what would happen if the child hits their head on the ground! Also, a
comment was made that if children had to wear helmets then they couldn’t all
fit on the bike. Sometimes I even
see small children standing in between adults on the seat or in front of the
driver as they whiz by.
