Foreign flavours, the Mekong Delta NarBUG ride and the War Remnants Museum

There are some things you just don’t expect when you purchase an ice cream overseas. One assumes all the regular flavours enjoyed in one country are likely those enjoyed in another – not the case. On leaving the Cuchi Tunnels yesterday we were feeling the heat and decided it was time for an ice cream. There were a yellow one, a green one and two purples available and we assumed this would mean lemon, maybe lime and perhaps mixed berry or something close. Aidan was the unlucky sap who had the yellow one and at once nearly spat it out and passed it to Mom who then tasted it and quickly passed it onto me with a rather horrid sour look on her face. The look had nothing to do with any tartiness but rather the abhorrent flavour itself. It tasted for all intents and purposes like onion – not bad with a burger or in a salad – terrible as ice cream. Jen and I (and probably Aidan) couldn’t help but taste the oniony ice cream for the rest of the day as it seemed to cause some disquiet along the digestive track and we kept belching it back every now and then. Another oddity noticed on the way back from Cuchi was an older gent riding his moped desperately trying to balance a mossie coil (alight) on his head – seems he really didn’t want the mossies attacking him while he drove to wherever he was going.

A good nights sleep without the intrusion of a our youngest and most sleep depriving of our children left us refreshed and ready for our planned trip to the Mekong Delta for a bike ride and sight-see. It took us about an hour or so to arrive at the tourist ferry terminal to take us across the Mekong to a Coconut Candy factory and the start of our cycling adventure. It was a busy thoroughfare with dredging boats collecting sand and then depositing it on massive floats to be pushed by tugs onwards to Saigon for the building trade. Flotillas of fishing boats lay in port, apparently waiting out the month due to seasonal rough conditions. We passed through the four small islands in the vicinity named for various animals which symbolize different virtues of greatest importance to the Vietnamese, namely the Tortoise (longevity), the Unicorn (luck and happiness?), the Dragon (power) and the Phoenix (prosperity). One island was decorated with what looked like a strange amusement park associated with the hotel located there. Our guide explained that the area was previously owned or run by a coconut religious cult which had been banned by the government – the cult leader was said to preach that his followers and self should survive only off of coconuts – I think he may have been a little coconut himself – perhaps where the term ‘nuts’ originated in reference to crazy people. Once landed we briefly toured the candy factory, tasted the wares which were absolutely delectable, enjoyed a quick nip of cobra distilled rice liquor (tasted like grain alcohol – nothing special really) and then met our team of cycling guides. The kids had to double or ‘dickie’ (the Oz version) with Jen, Tri, and I which was a novel and in retrospect, rather dodgy proposition. We went quite well although the numerous bumps encountered en route did give rise to some ‘ouches’ from our passengers. We developed some more cycling warning calls, adeptly crying out “motorbike back” or “moped carrying chickens back”. Our technical skills and anxiety was tested on a larger roadway with transport vehicles commonly veering into our path in order to pass slower moving vehicles on the other side. All was going well and near completion when Jen’s precious cargo (Piper) decided to put her foot too close to the turning wheel, inadvertently jamming her poor little heal between the back fork and spokes. I was in the process of stopping for the ice cream man and when I turned around could see something had happened to Piper fifty meters back. Our guide was in a bit of a panic, not used to injuries to pretty little blonde girls on his trips – I’m sure he was thinking he was about to lose his job. With much ado some cotton wool was thrown at me and when our guide returned I sent him off again for some simple band-aids and sticking plaster. Piper’s wound was more of a graze than anything but covered her entire heal with some bruising around her ankle. A few lollies, a good clean with our drinking water and we dressed it up as best we could with some sterile gauze gleaned from some shop up the road. Feeling very sorry for herself we eventually managed to get her to our next stop, a small snack bar with traditional singers, some honey-infused jasmine tea and copious tropical fruits which seemed to lift her spirits. To make it back to our drop off point we hired a lift on a moped and did the Vietnamese double (or triple I guess) with Piper clinging to me like a koala bear. The traumatic experience zapped her energy and once back to the mainland she crashed like a 20 kg bag of rice.

Travelling with a local guide and driver has some immense benefits as they know where the off-track hidden tourist refuges and restaurants lie. For lunch we ended up at a little oasis restaurant tucked away off the main road – veritably hidden from the common passer by. I think its speciality is the Elephant Ear fish – a fresh water fish apparently found only in the Mekong Delta. They brought it to the table in an elaborate fashion with the fish fully cooked yet held upright by some reinforced shallots on a bed of fresh raw vegetables and lettuce. Our server then prepared it for us and wrapped it in rice paper with assorted ‘greenage’ for us to enjoy. Like most foods here in 'Nam, the wraps came with a dip – fish sauce with roasted sesame seeds. Tri explained that with most foods the Vietnamese try to incorporate a bit of Yin and Yang, thereby attributing the food with some sort of mystical balance. The Elephant Ear fish being fresh water and fish sauce derived from salt water was reflective of this unity and balance.

Back into Saigon, we made our way to the War Remnants Museum – a monument and incredibly vivid and graphic depiction of the conflict that ravaged this country for 17 years. Not being a Vietnam War Scholar, I had much to learn and my sponge was ready to soak it all up. The ‘war’ essentially began in the 1950’s after the Geneva Treaty had been signed and Vietnam’s colonizer, France, had agreed to leave the country and allow it to work towards democratically ruling itself. The US were secretly unhappy by all this as it was in this juncture of history that communistic paranoia ran rampant within the US’s governing and military establishment. In conjunction with the South Vietnamese government, the US essentially led a secret war, militarizing and providing both troops and equipment to the Republic of South Vietnam to combat the North communistic regime. Eisenhower was the first to break the Geneva Treaty in this regard and his predecessor, JFK continued the ‘secret war’, not wishing to escalate the insurgency – a decision that likely contributed to his assassination. Once out of power, LBJ took the reigns and in 1965 started the overt Vietnam War. By 1973, the US had started to realize they were fighting a losing battle and began their retreat, culminating in the eventual taking of the Reunification Palace on April 30th, 1975 by the North Vietcong and the end of the war. During the war over 3 million Vietnamese lost their lives with approximately 2 million suffering significant injuries. In contrast, the US lost 58,000 lives with 300,000 injured. It cost the US twice the amount of their involvement in the Second World War – some 64 billion dollars and left a legacy of suffering to Vietnam. The museum was essentially a collection of photographic depictions of the war and included incredibly gruesome photos of US atrocities of war. The ramifications of Agent Orange on the populace were also displayed, with images and stories of children/adults born to parents exposed to its toxins during the war. It was nauseatingly brutal to see, leaving Jen and I aghast and nearly sick to our stomachs in reverence of the immense harm and trauma perpetrated to these incredibly jovial and peaceful people. It was a strong argument for peace and reminder of the incredible cruelty and evil that war brings. In retrospect, the war here was simply an exorbitant waste of resources and humanity almost beyond comprehension. On a good note, the reference of Khe San by Cold Chisel finally twigged – although I’m still not sure why the song has used this town in the northern part of South Vietnam for their song title – I thought the song was about the last train out of Sydney?

Full of remorse and exhausted from the experience we sauntered back to our van and had a short trip back to the hotel to prepare ourselves for dinner and an early night. Tri had recommended a restaurant called the Temple, just a couple blocks from where we ate last night. As usual we didn’t know what to expect and upon accidentally stumbling upon it, found it incredibly appealing, with bare brick walls and elaborate Asian décor. The food was exquisite and if we were to stay in Saigon for long would easily make it one of our favourite dining venues but alas we have to move on. Tomorrow we fly to Siem Reap in Cambodia to take in the wonders of Angkor Wat – should be absolutely enlightening.