The Mekong

The Mekong brings life to the Vietnamese. As a geography student, I had learnt that this river is the main source of hope for the country. As the main source of transportation, it prospered trade and related activities. The silt  that flows out from the river to its banks allows rich soil to emerge and promises good padi harvests annually. The cereal is reaped about 3 times a year and feed the millions of people around the valley. It is also a main export.

People plough along the river each day to catch fish for protein and abodes are established for the fishermen. At times, the wooden boats becomes a little shop selling local cuisines, drinks and even home appliances.

Truly, Vietnam is indebted to the Mekong which flows down from the mountains of Tibet.

As such, tourists are invited to take a closer look at the Mekong and a day trip along it will surely be part of the itinerary.

So, with the typical Viet hats on, we must have looked like one of the locals.

At the end of the ride, we were told to pay. So, if you do not want to do that, do not take the offer of the hat. But, helping the locals in their livelihood is only a gesture of grace. So give.

 Along the short ride on a small tributary, we saw the nipah and its fruits.

They say the nipah fruit tastes like coconut; not too sure but dad says its often added to the ABC drink (ice kacang)

The sampan ride along the Mekong was a rocky one with rain water splashing everywhere. But the veteran manning it was not disturbed a bit. So we reckon we must be in safe hands.

On one of the islands off the Mekong we saw fruit orchards like the ones back home. It was fruits everywhere and city children should have a feel of them.

That's the pomelo family which grow freely and wildly on the rich silty soil.

I always see the longan fruit in the local market but this was the first time I saw the the fruit hanging from a tree.

The dragon fruit was abundantly found here. Red and crimson, this fruit has a good source of fibre and vitamin C. Papayas and pineapples are common too.

They use the silt and clay to make pots for sale.

The islanders are friends to bees too. The queen bee is well looked after to produce the honey that was served to us in drinks. The bees are harmless, so we were told but no one attempted to touch them.

This singer has a sharp tone and her melancholic voice added to the classic old looking band. She entertained us well so we tipped them again. Life here is slow and for rest but only for a while after which you would long for the normal routine again. 

 Coconut trees sway here and there. Their fruits provide many uses; appliances, brooms, sticks, toys, oil, ointment, and of course candies too.

The cottage industry of candy making is to enrich the livelihood of the locals and the tourists bought much to bring home. We were given a chance to pack them too. It was mere fun for the day.

 A side tour brought us to the egg shell industry.

Form egg shells, beautiful portraits are created and sold; not cheaply though.

The handiwork was made by the handicap and professional creations were seen.

These are two of the many that were created and sold. We bought a piece. 

Guess which one did dad pick? It cost us RM340.00. 

With the Mekong ride, we also ended the short trip here.

Simple, free and easy.

The Cu Chi Experience

The Guerrilla Warfare 

Resistance soldiers were named the Vietcong.

They went underground as they could not fight with the more sophisticated war weapons of the richer nation. But their homemade tricks were just as effective if not better. The local fighters knew their soil well and like ants, moved around with confidence and precision. Akira or locally known as Ut, the tourist guide gave us a very comprehensive guide around a typical war zone in the early years after the second world war.

Akira with information from a map related the extent of the war zone.

I asked dad what were they fighting about and for? He chided me for ignorance and explained that they wanted the Americans to leave them alone for their fight for communism. The sorrows seen in the war museum were the recorded episodes and we were at Cu Chi to see hands on.

While their enemies attacked from above, the locals defended from below. The tunnels were excavated for the Vietcong to move and attack. Such was the deftness of the guerrilla soldiers. When driven to a corner, they have to find a solution and what better way than to play the hide and seek game? Muscles and weapons alone were not enough. Strategy is the game.

Notice the Mekong River on the left? It was the life saving factor providing water and food and even transport for the soldiers. No wonder the Mekong is known as the mother of life to the Vietnamese. Almost every activity of survival revolves around it.

In a well represented format, the military workshop was shown to keen observers on how local guerrilla fighters picked up remnants of war weapons and turned them into cohesive ammunition, bomb, spike, rifle, spear and you name it.

The tourists were given an explanation and it was informative. We were amazed at the versatility and adaptability of the soldiers. On top of that, one would assume that they did not have sufficient funds for anything new but turning the old recyclables to new devices. Recycling was at its height here.

 It is not surprising that they won out of grit and long suffering. 

They only knew they want to be left alone.

Next, it was the jungle trail. Imagine us treading on the grounds when there was once upon a time fierce actions. Hanging in my imagination was the number of dead people killed and buried here, both locals and foreigners. It was spooky!

 Yes, that was the hiding place of the scrawny fighters during the fight. Perhaps the smallness was a strategy to prevent the bigger opponents to have access to the underground hiding place.

A demonstration on an entry exercise was given to us.

Jump in.

Raise the cover.

Before going in, make sure effort is made not to disclose the spot.

There, it should look like that when the soldier had entered.

No trace for suspicion.

Of course, were invited to emulate his footsteps.

Some took the challenge and the taller one said he could hardly have his legs comfortably placed inside. So, it was truly created for the local smaller men.

 Akira reiterated that from the little hideouts, soldiers would come out to bigger trenches and shoot ! The trenches were many km long.

The enemy must have a tough time tracing their whereabouts.

Primitive and yet sophisticated are the two adjectives that I would use on the tactics used in defense.

Akira seemed apologetic at the cruel traps created along jungle trails to catch the unaware ones. He kept repeating that the traps were meant to hurt and not kill. But if you see them in greater details and how they function, we can conclude that many could have died when caught in them. The sharp bars incapacitated the victims and some were meant to poke at the different parts of the body very sharply. But he finally conceded that all was done in the name of self defense. So, you see, in a war everyone dies. 

Below are gruesome representations of the traps and are self labelled and I am afraid I am not able to explain the workings. Al I know is that when you are caught by anyone of them you will be badly hurt or die.

What trap can this be ?



Imagine yourself being rolled...

Catch you like a fish. Helpless.

When you are caught in this chair, you may be folded up.

I suppose the spokes on the device are meant to hurt one seriously?

 The door trap ; it catches you as you advance into it.

Ingenious, weren't they?

As we strolled further, we saw mannequins of the then soldiers.

Female fighters mostly wore black because they come to the jungle to help in the night while they look after the young in the day time. The male ones wore green as they fought in the day and green was a good camouflage, 

The competent Vietcong went to even greater details making sandles to mislead their enemies of their movements. They wore in such a manner that the footsteps would lead the enemy to trace them in opposite directions. Clever.

The little vents in the grounds act as little chimneys for the cooking done underground. I forgot what they did further to divert it...

This is an air vent to allow oxygen in. To distract the trained dogs from detecting the smell of local Vietcong, the soldiers took the enemy's uniform and smeared their scent over them. Even the trained dogs could be misled. 

So, solutions for challenges seen and unseen.

Our final challenge was to enter the Cu Chi tunnel and experience the plight of the resistance fighters.

Before the invitation, signboards were disseminated to those who had health problems to avoid the attempt. Those suffering from asthma, high blood and heart problems were cautiously warned.

 To the adventurous, this was a one time experience.

You go in and do not know when will be the next trip here.

To go or not to go?

Yes, we went. It is narrow, low, dark and claustrophobic. Truly not for the faint -hearted. We were informed that we could exit at several points, the nearest being the 15 meter one. We came out after 30 meters. It was enough and we were glad to be given the experience. 

The Vietcong soldiers are truly long sufferers. They survive under the hardest conditions. That has given them the grit to become such a great emerging economy today. I am amazed at their awesome attitude.

To further be associated with their great fight, we were treated to a tapioca cuisine. This was their staple food in the jungle days. Roots that grew freely and abundantly to sustain their hunger. The carbohydrate gave them energy and stamina to fight their cause.

The Cu Chi tunnel experience will be etched in my memory for a long while to come. Jungle trails and guerrilla warfare seemed strange but has been the story of the Vietnamese. They fight, sail and strive to survive. Truly a group to admire.