Cu Chi Tunnels, Cao Dai... etc. etc.

Friday, we took a field trip to the Fine Arts Museum in HCMC, followed by a trip to the Tu Do gallery (a private gallery in the city which collects amazing modern and historical art pieces.) The Fine Arts Museum was housed in a beautiful, French-inspired mansion in the city, with three floors of art to view and a statue garden. The second floor of the museum in particular had beautiful war-inspired art from woodcut to sculpture and paintings. The war-era art was beautiful but also distinctly propagandistic, conveying the strength of the Vietnamese soldiers or the brutality of the enemy ones. I loved looking at the media representations of these war times.

Yesterday, our group visited the Cu Chi tunnels and a Cao Dai temple. I had never heard of Cao Diasm before but found it to be so unique. The basic structure of the religion involves influences from most world religions, from Christianity and Daoism to Confucianism and Buddhism (and Victor Hugo is one of their saints.. I love this religion already.) When we arrived at the temple, I was blown away by its construction. The temple was extravagant and simple at the same time, relying on simple architectural structure on the outside to be juxtaposed with gorgeous arches and painted columns on the inside. The ceremony itself was incredible to watch. Each Cao Dai practitioner entered the temple according to rank, although everyone shared a seat on the floor as the meditation began. Once again, this idea of hierarchical rank in the context of social equity came in to play. The music throughout the ceremony was what struck me the most, however. I have always thought that Asian-inspired music was distinctly beautiful, but the sounds of this choir against the instruments and the acoustics of the giant indoor temple created such a feeling that I forgot I was one of a hundred tourist viewers in the top gallery and instead focused on capturing this feeling in my photos.

Our next stop yesterday was the Cu Chi tunnels, an extensive network of underground tunnels in the Cu Chi province that Viet Cong used to infiltrate American base camps during the war. After watching a movie about the formation of the tunnels, we explored the tunnel area, seeing bomb craters left over from the extensive bombing of Cu Chi, and seeing the first-hand brilliance of the guerilla warfare tactics during the war. I could not believe the amount of dedication that it took to create this tunnel network. We were invited to try out the tunnel system, however, the small space was a little too much for me so I opted out. They have even expanded the tunnels for American tourists to fit inside of them, but they are still so small. I could not image having been down there for weeks at a time like some Vietnamese soldiers who were stationed there.

One of the most striking moments of the Cu Chi tunnels actually had to do with the firing range that they have there. Tourists are invited to buy rounds of ammunition and try out some of the period weaponry, such as AK-47s and M60s. Everyone in the group was really excited to try it out and we bought bullets and headed down to the range. Before we began, Professor Jones wanted to show us what a small-scale firefight would have sounded like during the war. He and another student each quickly fired off 5 rounds of ammunition at the targets, and the sound was absolutely deafening. I could not believe that even with only two guns what the cacophony of a firefight sounded like. Hearing this continued to remind me of how confusing and detached war must be for a soldier. If we could barely hear ourselves think over two guns firing, I can’t imagine what a full-scale battle would sound or feel like to a soldier trying to receive orders, stay alert, and stay alive.

I am still loving Vietnam... This place is one of the most incredible places I have ever been. The people are friendly, the landscape is beautiful, and I feel as if I'm a part of something that is so distinctly special. I also LOVE the group that I am with. It is such an interesting mix of people who are not afraid to try anything new... including the food. No one has gotten too sick yet, (knock on wood...) I will upload pictures later on from this trip! Much love to everyone!