The Vietnam War (called the American War by the Vietnamese) is a fact of life; it happened, it was very nasty on both sides and can’t be denied, but we were surprised how little evidence remains of the war after only 39 years and how little obvious impact it now makes on Vietnamese life.
Museums and relics do exist of course but we saw no major war memorials and unless tourists actually seek out war sites it would be easy for the war to pass by unnoticed or as just a part of Vietnam’s historical past.
We didn’t have to, but almost out of respect to the past, we did visit 3 war sites around Ho Chi Minh CIty; the Cu Chi Tunnels system, the Palace of Reconciliation and most chilling of all, the War Remnants Museum.
Rules for visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels:
The Palace of Reconciliation:
The War Remnants Museum (not recommended for the squeamish):
We learned a lot more about the war and it’s after-effects, the extreme, obscene violence on both sides, the legacy of Agent Orange and the ongoing challenge of clearance of UXOs (unexploded ordnance, with over 40,000 people killed since the end of the war and 75% of all UXOs still to be cleared).
It affected us quite deeply at the time, particularly the American member of our group, but ultimately it didn’t adversely affect our enjoyment of the country or Vietnamese people. These days Vietnam is predominately a young persons country with nearly 40% of the Vietnamese population born since end of the war and so they have little recollection of it.
We learned that birth defects and after effects of Agent Orange are still ongoing, and probably will be for generations, but the unfortunate individuals are cared for by the state and are not seen in public.
The take over in 1975 of South Vietnam by the communists was a very difficult period and major impositions were made on the population (eg confiscation of all private property, houses, cash, gold etc) but since then a stable but socialist government has resulted in a relatively safe and peaceful, industrious, thriving country. There were almost no beggars on the streets and most people seemed happy with their lives.
We did experience some evidence of communist control and ongoing problems. The telecommunications system is wide spread and very efficient but Facebook is frequently shut down to protect government interests, and there are many large office blocks, factories and housing developments half built and abandoned due to lack of funds. And we learned that government opposition will not be tolerated (and quickly terminated) and locals have to be very careful what they say about their government on social media.
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