Sunday, 7 January 2007 - to Huế

Up at 4am this morning in readiness to be picked up and taken to the airport at 4:45, all arranged by Thom.  4:45 arrived, and there was no taxi. By 5am, we began to panic.  Eventually, when the taxi did turn up, the driver couldn't speak English.  With flying arm gestures, we managed to get him to understand (maybe) where we needed to go.  To cut a long story short, we did get there in time, driving at 70 kph, which is very unusual in Vietnam.

A one-hour flight to Huế. Despite the short distance, we were served a little bun, yoghurt and water. Yoghurt was quite nice!  Arrived in Huế to find it raining.  Fortunately, our driver, arranged by Green Bamboo, was there to meet us, and we were off to our first stop for the day: the DMT (Demilitarised Zone).  The drive out was miserable - raining, cold, and we couldn't see a thing.

The DMZ was set up by the Geneva Accord of 1954 and was meant to keep the communist North and republican South Vietnam apart until elections, intended to unite the country, were held in 1956.  The demarcation line was the 17th parallel and ran through the Ben Hai River with a 5 km no-man's land on each side.  The elections never eventuated, and the DMZ became one of the most heavily bombed and contested regions during the Vietnam War. The bridge across the river has been reconstructed after the original was destroyed during the war.  As it was still raining, there was not a lot to see.  A quick jump out of the van to take some photos, and then we were on to the Vinh Moc Tunnels,

The Vinh Moc Tunnels are one of Vietnam’s most extraordinary wartime sites — a fully functioning underground village built by civilians after the Vinh Moc village was destroyed by relentless U.S. bombing.  A 2‑kilometre network of 50 hand‑dug tunnels was created between 1965–1967 by the villagers. Unlike the Củ Chi tunnels further south — which were primarily military — Vinh Moc was civilian, housing around 60 families and 300 people, with 17 children born underground.  

The tunnels include: Family chambers — small carved rooms not much bigger than a single bed, each for one family; kitchens and food storage; wells; a maternity ward; meeting halls and first‑aid stations.  Three levels were dug at 12 m, 15 m, and 23 m deep, with 13 entrances, including 7 opening to the sea for ventilation and escape. At night, the villagers would surface to fish, farm, and supply goods and equipment to the North Vietnamese base on Cồn Cỏ Island, 27 km offshore.  When you look at the ingenuity of these people, it is little wonder that the 'American' War was unwinnable.  On the way back to Hue, we stopped off for lunch at a roadside cafe - fried rice for me and nothing for Jill.  We're both suffering a little from Hanoi belly, Jill more so than me; hopefully things improve.

It was still raining when we got to the Vin Da Hotel.  After the tiny room and bathroom at the Wing Hotel, this room is huge.  We had no desire to go walking in the rain, so Jill had a bath (not much hot water), and we both had a nap.  Well, actually I had a good sleep.  I didn't sleep well last night, probably worried that we wouldn't wake up at 4 am, I guess.

Still raining at tea time, so we had tea in the resturant down stairs.  Jill and Jennie had soup, Richard pork, and I had squid.  We shared rice, french fries and Nem (Vietnamese Spring Rolls) - all quite satisfactory.