He mentioned that we were lucky to have him as a guide as most of the guides that go to the Chu Chi Tunnels are students who can simply just give you a theory lesson. He kept mentioning about his first life and second life. His first life he talks about the war and mentions that there are still many nights that he needs to drink to fall asleep. His second life he prefers he says and that being a tour guide is more enjoyable. I can only imagine dodging bullets is not fun.
On the way we stop at a crafts factory where there are many disabled people mainly with disabilities in their legs. A lot of these people were affected in the war because of the Agent Orange that still affects 3 million people today. At this stop I struck up a conversation with Mr Bin. He is very likeable guy and like most vietnamese has a great heart and soft nature. I mention to him that I don't know what the reason for the war was and can he fill me in. We get back to the bus and tells us the whole story of the war. I also learn that Vietnam has some war or the other from 1860-1980.
After a while he mentions we can come back on the bus or we can pay a bit extra ( 7 US Dollars to be exact) to catch a boat back on the river to Saigon. He tells us we will pass the base at which he was stationed in the war and he will tell us where he was on the boat that was ambushed. He also says we can buy ice cold beers on the boat for 60p which for me was a good selling point. We did the return trip on the boat and really enjoyed it. As we passed the american base at which he was stationed he sings the american national anthem and makes the actions of lowering a flag. Mr Bin also tells us about the songs he sang in the war with the american soldiers. He starts to sing a couple of these songs now and again right throughout the day and every time asks us to sing a long with him. All in all he made the day thoroughly enjoyable. I just realised I forgot to mention why he ended up in the war. When he was young he immigrated to the US with his dad who was a doctor. He was training to be a Doctor in Vietnam but the US could use him as he could speak both Vietnamese and English. He was a lieutenant for the US Army at the age of 22. He also said one of the worst things for him in the war was that a lot of the soldiers were 18. Most of them were fighting a war and they didnt understand anything of vietnam and its people.
When we arrived back in Siagon we decided to go past the Ben Thuang market which is one of the bigger markets. Once again you can get all the fake branded clothing, watches etc. There are however other interesting things to buy. In the food hall their are frogs for sale. One woman even had a big bowl with water and fish which are alive. At least its fresh. After that we took a walk around the city as it was pouring with rain the previous day so we could see a little bit more of it. The hustle and bustle is like nothing I have ever experienced. What makes it so busy is the amount of motorbikes. Bangkok has more cars and tuk tuks than bikes where as bikes out number cars in Ho Chi Min City. The vehicles in the city are mainly buses and taxis. What is interesting though if you look at the bikes and the people riding them carefully is that you can almost see the class of the person based on what type of bike they ride. Vespas are a lot less common than hondas or yamahas. Also the attire of the vespas riders seems more swanky. Thats my analysis or basically just having to much time on my hands. We going snorkling now so I have to cut this one short.
Cheers
Jeremy
