Day 48 - day 4 in Saigon: I get a bike box and visit the War Remnants Museum - Trial by fire: new bike, first tour, first time in Asia

December 12, 2024

Day 48 - day 4 in Saigon: I get a bike box and visit the War Remnants Museum

I had a good sleep-in until 7. Winston sent a message that he got home to Birmingham, Alabama after more than 24 hours of travel.

I had a good sleep in and a slow start to the day that included a bowl of noodles, a fine coffee at a very nice cafe, The Blue Lemon, and a visit to a fruit stall, all in the lane behind the hotel.

The race to the top - wires versus plants.

Person wearing the same blue shirt juggling fruit while taking a photo into a mirror.

I then ventured out to get a bike box and was helped by a young fellow, Bui, who speaks excellent English and was keen to read about our ride. I picked up a banh mi and a steamed bun on the ride back and that was the moring gone.

Vendor of the day - a banh mi and steamed buns merchant.

The big bank notes, polymer of course. 100,000 Dong is about A$6.

Some dirty 500 and 1000 riel notes that were contaminating a pocket. 1000 riel is about A$0.40.

I spent the afternoon at the War Remnants Museum. It's a confronting place that holds little back. Images of children born with the most appalling defects, due to dioxins, are difficult viewing. It's a couple of km from where I am staying.

It's rather obvious when you arrive. The grounds have a substantial display of American weaponry, from bulldozers to flame throwers to fighter jets.

Evidence of the French; they transported them to different places.

Hoang Le Kha, one of the last individuals executed by guillotine under the Diem regime in 1960.

Some of the outstanding galleries are those documenting the resistance to the War, including stories from anti-war badges. I knew about protests on campuses in Australia and America. But I was unaware of the massive opposition in places like India and various African countries. Likewise, I did not realise the extent of opposition within the US military, both serving and veterans. There were numerous newspapers with anti-war stories distributed among troops.

The gallery on war crimes is excellent and goes back to first principles.

But America's conduct was hardly surprising given the attitudes of those at the top - President's, of course, but also the military.

Well, they did bomb them back to the Stone Age.

And they did much more. Take the My Lai massacre and Thanh Phong as examples.

The My Lai massacre, documented by an American photographer, saw the massacre of over 500 villagers, mainly women, children and elderly. The villages are in a beautiful place just near Quang Ngai. Cora and I visited the site in 2002. William Calley was largely responsible. He ended up serving three years of house arrest. Mai Lai is famous also for American servicemen saving a small number of civilians by threatening to turn their guns on those responsible. Calley died this year.

Incredible - William Calley and Charles Manson on the same front page.

Bob Kerrey led a unit that killed at least 13 women and children. He later became a Senator and a university leader.

A member of Kerrey's SEAL team, Gerhard Klann, disputed Kerrey's version of events. He claimed that the team rounded up the women and children from hooches (shelters) and decided to "kill them and get out of there" in case they alerted enemy soldiers. He said Kerrey gave the order to fire. This version was corroborate by a Vietnamese witness.

Then there was napalm and one of the famous photographs from the War.

And when that wasn't enough, the USA turned to chemical defoliants that had the most horrific effects both on the environment and the people.

A young fellow in a defoliated mangrove forest on his family's land. His life has been devastated by the effects of chemicals.

One thing that perhaps they didn't count on was that this stuff affects people using it; protective clothing would be uncomfortable in this climate. It also affects later generations.

By now it was closing time. I hadn't got anywhere near the photographic exhibition on the next floor. That's an outing for tomorrow. I went for a beer and then to the street market thinking that nothing was learnt from Vietnam and probably never will be. Ask the Palestinians. It was good to walk.

Today's ride: 9 km (6 miles)
Total: 2,707 km (1,681 miles)

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