08 Dec. 2011: LEAVING THE DMZ BEHIND #5 of 5

A couple hours of the ClaustrophoBus rolled by after dawn this morning. Looked like a poorer area of small rice paddies, bus cargo transfers and strong coffee we both craved. You even get your own mini-dripper that sits on your glass! Lots of statues of Ho Chi Minh, the crafty general who lead the communists over the French and then the Americans. Trains speed by flocks of white ducks, their wings clipped so they can't fly from their paddies.

We wound up in one of the main travellers' alleys of hotels and eating places. Room 526 of the Binh Duong Hotel. 400 sq. ft. from the French colonial era. High ceilings, tile floors, ac, cable tv with a few English channels, fridge, 2 beds, full bath, 2 balconies, an internet computer ready to be used, wifi for our netbook, etc., etc. $12 per night, no taxes and no tipping!

The neighbourhood is also interesting. Catholic church among the godless "communists". Noisy rowdy schoolkids. And another French remnant --- a yummy patisserie with warm baguettes and coconut muffins and more.

Speaking of Ho Chi Minh, our bus passed the Demilitarized Zone in the night. That line marked the battles between "North" and "South" Vietnam in the American War of the '60's and into the '70's. There are tours of the DMZ, with captured tanks and aircraft. The hand-dug tunnels that both protected and encouraged the Viet Cong to liberate the south from the occupying forces. And lots of diaries, paraphenelia, and even rubble left as bombed. History of events in my lifetime is fascinating to me, and the Vietnam War all comes back as I pass DaNang, Haiphong Harbour, Hanoi, the DMZ, and now Hue. What futility.