01.07.09 – Hoi An, Vietnam

“River in Hoi An” (1/09)

Hoi An is where it’s at in Vietnam! A World Heritage site, this small city of about 100,000 is great. It was the key Vietnamese trading port for traders from Japan, China, and sometimes Europe from the 1500s to the 1700s.

Hoi An’s Old Quarter is wonderful—kind of like the French Quarter in New Orleans, minus the drunks and vomit. Last night we had a great meal at a restaurant Phu recommended, Morning Glory. Excellent sea bass. Vietnam has wonderful coffee, here called “stewed coffee.” It comes in a little metal pot that sits on top of the cup, dripping very strong coffee into the cup at your table. We had a mung bean profiterole for dessert. Two drinks each, two appetizers, two main courses, and two desserts. The bill was a jillion dong, but only $29 US.

This morning we went on a walking tour through the Old Quarter of Hoi An. First we went to a place where a variety of items are produced. We saw silk worms in action. I had never stopped to think that they are caterpillars that become moths. It is their cocoons that yield silk. As at the places at which we stopped between Hanoi and Ha Long, the art work is done by people working long hours, essentially copying photos, etc. The embroidered art works here were of much higher quality than those in the north. They will tailor dresses, suits, etc. for you at low prices and deliver them to your hotel the next morning—or that night: “We work 24 hours a day.”

There are many interesting sights in the Old Quarter, including the Japanese Covered Bridge. It’s all very picturesque, and I think I got some good photos.

We thought we were on the cutting edge of this new “in” place. Then we found out that the Miss Universe Pageant was held here last year.

We learned that Hoi An floods every November and people have to move to the second floors of buildings—more shades of New Orleans.

The drive to My Lai is a long one along Highway 1, which runs the length of the country along the coast. (The highway is not in very good condition, especially the bridges.) On this trip we passed through what I would judge to be the “real Vietnam.” There were far more people in traditional Vietnamese dress. Most people in the countryside ride bicycles. In the countryside, there are still many propaganda billboards depicting happy workers, peasants and soldiers and presenting (I assume) messages on how well the revolution is going. In fact the revolution is over and the counterrevolution has prevailed.

Finally reaching My Lai, we found that its location is not at all what either George or I had imagined. It’s not out in the middle of nowhere. The village, which is actually named Son My (My Lai 4 is a part of the village), is only a short distance off Highway 1, and it’s very near the South China Sea. Most of the men of the village were off fishing on the morning of March 16, 1968, when Lt. William Calley and Charlie Company arrived. It is only a 10 minute helicopter ride from the Chu Lai American base.

When we arrived at My Lai, two Vietnamese girls who were visiting there asked George to take a photo of them with their camera. They made peace signs. That was an image I couldn’t resist: Vietnamese girls making the peace sign to Americans at My Lai, so I asked them to let me take a similar picture.

We had an excellent guide through the site of the massacre—a woman whose first name is Huong and who speaks English with a combination of Vietnamese and Australian accents.

Only about 15,000 people per year visit the My Lai site, only 500 of them foreigners of all nationalities. Phu told us we are the first two Americans he has ever taken to My Lai. It appears that we are among a quite small number of Americans who have been there, which is sad in itself.

Phu told us his wife is a Communist and he is not. His father-in-law is the provincial head of the Party. Phu and his now wife lived together for two years before they married. The meeting between their fathers—the Communist official and the former high ranking doctor in South Vietnam was a tense one.

Back in town in the evening, we visited a temple and had dinner again at Morning Glory.

Tomorrow the City Formerly Known as Saigon.

— RSM