I learned from Tim, English mate I met in Sapa mountains, about EasyRiders: motorbike drivers who take you around and guide you. But one needs to certify first they speak good English. So when I was in Hue I looked out for them. Funny enough, Damian and Ruth didn't know about this possibility and when I told them they where not very sure about it. The next day, they hired their own motorbike guides off the street.
So I asked someone at the hotel and he said he knew someone for me. He called thjis guy who arrived with the greatest confidence and widest smile. I also learned from my book guide that when hiring one this guys you should invite him to seat down and chat in order to test his English and his guiding information. Funny enough, as soon as he arrived and I started asking all this questions he was the one who invited me to seat down and show what he had on offer. The outcome was: I was only thinking of riding to the tunnels for one day, but after 20minutes conversation (or perhaps negotiation) he convinced me to go on a 3 day motorbike tour, through the tunnels, DMZ, Ho Chi Minh trail, My Son temples, 2 nights stay in different towns and drop off at Hoi An... It sounded perfect to me. A customised trip. Not cheap, but right up my street. I was quite curious now...
Quy his name is and he drives for Hue Riders. A little young man, my age! We arranged for the next day at 8am. After the most oily scrumbled egg ever (the oil consisting probabily 40% of the volume of the egg; enough to fill up a 20cl glass, copo de imperial) washed by a pure strong vietnamese coffee I was more then ready! Quy tight up the rucksack at the back of his Honda 125cc and off we went.
vietnamese style...
special clients at the petrol station: buffalos
students cycling everywhere along the way
First stop for a cigarette and a wee.
The Dimilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the centre of the country was stabilished by the Geneva Convention in 1954 as a neutral zone where no attacks should take place. But being such a strategical area in the war (for the transport of soldiers, goods and weapons from the south to the north) it was heavily attacked and bombed by the american when they broke the Treaty.
Smooth overtaking.
A truck overtaking another truck a few meters ahead, forcing us to move to the hard-shoulder.
It's something you get all the time and they are just so used to it that nobody complains.
The biggest and the heaviest have the right of way in Vietnam: easy!
Long Hung church, in Quang Tri town, 60km north of Hue, a relic of the 81 days and nights War where north Vietnamese held the American-South Vietnamese troops back in 1972. Quang Tri was heavily bombed by american B52 bombers and this church and a school are all it is left from the ancient town.
A catholic church, despite Buddhism religion in Vietnam.
Met a proud old war veteran who fought for North Vietnam.
With a huge smile...
Hard to comunicate with as he wouldn't speak any other language but vietnamese, I kept wondering what this man must have been through in his life...
He faced the French, Japanese, Americans... and still smiling...
He is 81. Respect!
Still in Quang Tri, time to visit a large monument in the old citadel (destroied by bombing) to pay tribute to the soldiers who died in battle in the area and never were found. It is like one big gravestone for all the missing ones.
There is a little museum with photograph exhibits showing the Vietnamese side of the battle. In the western world we are used to see the american side of the story and influenced to feel sorry for the americans.
But guess what? This people are human afterall. Yes! And their losses where far out greater then the americans'.
War veterans arriving to pay homage to their dead ones.
Against the american iTech shoes... old school hand made leather sandals!
waiting for the enemy
they kept proudly fitting, defending their home, regardless the wounds.
The sadest side of this War has to be the fact it turned people from the same country against each other. The american capitalists supported the south financially to fight the north.
Here, north troops (Vietcongs) capture country fellows from the south troops (wearing american gear).
Other shocking pictures on display would show vietnamese torturing other vietnamese to death.
War break. Sticky rice for everyone. Still smilling...
14 year old boy!
Smilling...
bombed school
cemetry along the road
rice fields
We kept ridding till we reach the beautiful and quiet coastline from Cua Viet beach to Cua Tung beach
All curious about pictures. Family picture.
Traditional fishing boats
13 year old boy trying to comunicate in little english, but better than his uncle's. No amazing stories, just a few words exchange.
Quy having a poo and reading the map.
Visit to the Vinh Moc tunnels
"Right after birth everyone has the right to live. It is the first right over all other rights. That right is preserved not only for human being but plants, grass, animals in the nature... as well. For these days, here and there in the world, human rights have been outspoken with so many beautiful voices and words but it seems they have forgotten the right of living, of existence is the basic and initial right in all human rights.
For a rather long period in the history, the vietnamese nation in general and Quang Tri in particular or specifically the people, the plants and the nature in Vinh Linh - 17th parallel did not have the right of existence. The invader announced to 'Make this land back to the Stone Age'. A destructive war was carried out for a goal: 'Bring the USA border to the 17th parallel'
Half a million tons of bombs where dropped in an area of 800km2. As a result, what is the fight of 70.000 people of Vinh Linh against half a million tons of bombs? Is that a fight to the american nation? A terrorist act against the american people? It is absolutely not. It is the fight for existence to request the right of living right in their homeland"
by Xuan Duc
We had been riding for 3 hours now, so had a quick break. Relaxing on a bomb crater over the tunnels.
Before and After.
Vinh Moc fishing village before and after B52 bombing.
"Vinh Linh people had to rely in the land by their hands, hoes and shovels. They dug the land to make numerous ditches for travelling, dig tunnels under the groung for living. They had to separate family members to live in different shelters, in different tunnels in order to avoid the extinction of a whole family. They had to move the old people to the north for nursing and let the children to be far from home for schooling. It is certain that the rest would stay in their land to build artillery emplacement, hold their guns to fire at the USA planes.
And then the legendary stories from underground came into being. The constructions of the twentieth century wonder were established 114 tunnels with the total lenght of 40km were dug by hand and hoe. A strange life existed under the ground for many years with the full meaning of normal living: birth, schooling, love and entertainment... The abnormal thing here was that the ground they walked on and the skies over their heads were 1,80m apart. It is possible to consider this construction as a world wonder today?
You and I, nobody of us live only in the past. However, we as human beings cannot and do not have the right to forget the past. The past is not only the valuable lesson for the present living but what had happened here might being taking place somewhere else in this world. For that reason the construction of Vinh Moc village in the tunnel is the typical one among 114 miraculous tunnels in Vinh Linh land. I is also the reason why you are here and we look at the history and think it over."
by Xuan Duc
Vietcong in action... No mercy!!!
As the enemy madly poured into this land heavy weapons, shelters on the surface of the land were unable to protect people, and local Party and people got a new dicision: going deep into their homeland.
By 1968, almost 70 villages of 15 communes in Vinh Linh got tunnels. They were not simply the shelter and fighting posts but became existence environments. The system of tunnels in Vinh Linh is in fact for village living underground: homes, meeting hall, health post, place for local authorities, schools, kindergartens, maternity, store house, kitchens, a well.
This system of tunnels had 3 floors: 1st at 8-10m deep, 2nd at 12-15m deep and 3rd (for cover during bombings) at 23m deep). Was built between 1966-68 digging 3.759.270m3 of soil.
Most tunnels had to savwe kerosene and fat for light. As a result there was shortage of light in the tunnel except for meeting, patients treatment and childbirth...
So after an introduction to the tunnels we submerged into them!
The average height of the tunnels is 1,6-1,9meters and with of 0,9 to 1,2meters.
Back pain for me at the end of the tour... thank you very much!
He fits perfectly!
Vietcong troops discussing war strategies...
At the time of our visit we were the only ones in the tunnel system. Quy knew like the palm of his hand! At some point I asked him to switch the light off. And for a few seconds we staied under in the pitch dark, just feeling the wind through... That is how they lived most of the time. No lights on! Was pretty creepy!
Maternity!!! Here were born 17 children in 4 years.
Comunal toillet
Water hole (well) to collect fresh water.
A special visitor! F**k knows what that is. But imagine living with these things 50 years ago, no light...
After the tunnels a ride through to get to the border...
This is it! The very disputed bridge and only link between North and South of Vietnam on Highway 1, used mainly by americans. Crossing Ben Hai river, the geografical border between North and South.
Here, the painting shows how familiy where split apart when south vietnamese men crossed the border to fight for the northern army, leaving their families behind.
Quy explained that after a few years in the north some men would not come back to south and would start new families in the north. And women in the south who lost their husbands for the war waited all their lifes (after the war was over) for their men to come back.
(For some men, the great chance and perfect excuse to get rid of their annoying wifes, I guess, ooops!)
The bridge was painted in different colours: the north troops would fully painted it red and the south troops would respond by painting it of blue over it, and vice versa. Eventually they painted it half half.
Moon surface like, after carpet bombing, on both side of the river.
Back on the road for one more brilliant overtaking. No biggie! One gets used to it anyway... I am so gonna miss this adrenaline rushes!
Deserved lunch time on a road side food place. Can't even call it restaurant. But the local food was D-licious! Or perhaps Miguelito was too hungry.
River gipsies! Aiiiiiieeee...
They live on this small boats, it's pretty amazing how they manage.
The government gives them land to live on and explore but they sell it and go back on the boats. Full families of 5 or 6 sharing one little space surrounded by water.
The safest spot for drying your clothes.
Villages and little villagers along the way
Like mushrooms! Pop from every corner.
Eventually we got to Khe Sanh, town where the Americans stabilished headquarters, to stay in this basic guesthouse.
Time for a hot shower and dinner at this busy local restaurant. Is was hard to find a table, but eventually we sqweezed in.
Beer on ice!
To save energy, specially in small towns fridges are rare. So the beer comes nice and warm. The solution: ice! They buy and keep ice in thermal containers every day.
You got to live by the local rules, right?
After a full day and a sore ass from about 7 hours on the bike both warriors had a pleasent relaxing dinner.
Quy is father of 2: a 5 year old girl and a new born boy. His mother lives with them and he is the main finnancial support of the household, reason why he can't really have holiday and works everyday. He drives all over the country and most of the time he is away from home. He is 31, born 4 months before me, and has a university degree in Managment.
Quy speaks really good english and is a very clever man with a big heart.
His uncle (father's brother) died in the american war whilst fighting for the south-vietnamese troops against his father in the North...
Mto bom Miguelito :)) Realmente em todas as guerras as perdas são sempre para os dois lados....o sistema de túneis é brilhante e a devastação como em tds as guerras foi demais :((
ReplyDeleteEles estão sempre de sorriso na cara :)) que bom. Ouve lá e dares folga ao Quy e conduzires tu um bocado?!?!?! LOL
BORA LÁ, Queremos´ver esse livro publicado.
ReplyDeleteTens matéria para isso e muito mais.
beijão grande, estamos cheios de saudades.