I did pick up a few trinkets & things for folks other than myself. Ha ha. Part of the cultural experience I suppose. Had to get a new North Face bag ($6) to carry it all though. (=
After an hour of vigorous bartering, we pulled back & re-grouped out front by the statue that looked like Ghengis Khan with a dove, contracting a taxi to take us to the War Rembrance Museum.
Ok. Like I was saying earlier, I was expecting to find “bad guy” status spread out a little more evenly among three other recipients.
1) China has threatened to scoop Vietnam and it’s neighbors (Laos and Cambodia) into it’s firm grip for over a millennium. I have read of Vietnamese efforts, fighting tooth & nail to keep that from happening, favoring almost any fate over inclusion into China.
2) France conquered & colonized Vietnam for 95 years. Originally looking for a back door into China to draw more wealth for themselves & compete with the British, the French ruled this land for a lot longer than any Americans. Any colonial experience probably doesn’t feel good on the receiving end.
3) Japan occupied Vietnam for 4 years during WW II. I’ve read that they were “welcomed” by the people at the time (France was already crushed by late 1941, and couldn’t hold on to Colonial territories). However, I have yet to read of any Asian population who enjoyed the Japanese occupation period. (Korea, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines…) perhaps Vietnam was different.
But no. Yesterday’s hints at America’s “bad guy” status at the Reunification (President’s) Palace was but an appetizer compared to the entrée of the War Remembrance Museum (= ahh, good times.
If you didn’t know better, you might visit a place like this & never know that the Vietnamese battled anyone but the Americans. I’ve got no problem accepting that America has perpetrated some ugly things over the years in the name of ‘national interest’,,, I’d just like to spread the wealth a little.
Captured tanks, helicopters, airplanes and howitzers were artfully arranged in front to show visitors what their Vietnamese brothers were put up against. “U.S.” written prominently across the side.
After an hour of vigorous bartering, we pulled back & re-grouped out front by the statue that looked like Ghengis Khan with a dove, contracting a taxi to take us to the War Rembrance Museum.
Ok. Like I was saying earlier, I was expecting to find “bad guy” status spread out a little more evenly among three other recipients.
1) China has threatened to scoop Vietnam and it’s neighbors (Laos and Cambodia) into it’s firm grip for over a millennium. I have read of Vietnamese efforts, fighting tooth & nail to keep that from happening, favoring almost any fate over inclusion into China.
2) France conquered & colonized Vietnam for 95 years. Originally looking for a back door into China to draw more wealth for themselves & compete with the British, the French ruled this land for a lot longer than any Americans. Any colonial experience probably doesn’t feel good on the receiving end.
3) Japan occupied Vietnam for 4 years during WW II. I’ve read that they were “welcomed” by the people at the time (France was already crushed by late 1941, and couldn’t hold on to Colonial territories). However, I have yet to read of any Asian population who enjoyed the Japanese occupation period. (Korea, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines…) perhaps Vietnam was different.
But no. Yesterday’s hints at America’s “bad guy” status at the Reunification (President’s) Palace was but an appetizer compared to the entrée of the War Remembrance Museum (= ahh, good times.
If you didn’t know better, you might visit a place like this & never know that the Vietnamese battled anyone but the Americans. I’ve got no problem accepting that America has perpetrated some ugly things over the years in the name of ‘national interest’,,, I’d just like to spread the wealth a little.
Captured tanks, helicopters, airplanes and howitzers were artfully arranged in front to show visitors what their Vietnamese brothers were put up against. “U.S.” written prominently across the side.
posted by jonathan adventures at 10:54 AM
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