|
|
 |
| |
|
| |
 Photo
essay:
Vietnam Bicycle Tour: Imperial Roots (Central)
|
| |
|
Tam Ky - Quang Ngai (65-90km, 41-56mi)
Point of interest: Chu Lai Base (US), Buddhist Temples, My
Lai village (24km sidetrip) |
|
| |
|
High school girls bicycling from
school. Many are wearing masks. We were told that this is for vanity
-- they don't want the sun on their skin. Another logical explanation
would be to reduce breathing pollutions. The patterns did exactly fit
either explanations; mask were worn when there wasn't any sun and when the air
seem as clean as it could be. |
|
| |
|
Pagodas, temple and monasteries are
pretty regular sights. Periodically we would stop and pay our respects to
Buddha. |
|
| |
|
Alters at temples are varied but
always quite ornate and colorful. |
 |
| |
 |
Following picturesque, no-traffic,
back road we passed a number of rural hamlets, villages and small towns.
The primary agriculture is rice, but there is other economic activity like
shrimp farming and fishing. |
|
| |
|
About 15km from Quang Ngai is the
village of Son My, better known to the world as My Lai, the site of the most publicized American atrocity of the
Vietnam-American War. |
 |
| |
 |
During the war the Viet Cong
punished peasants they thought were cooperating with the Americans and the
Americans punished peasants they thought were cooperating with the Viet Cong.
The peasants probably prayed to live and tend their fields in peace. |
 |
| |
|
Today the visible scars of the My
Lai massacre are few. There is also no indication that there is lingering
wounds under the surface. |
 |
| |
 |
The government has built a monument
at Son My with a museum, memorial sculpture and a re-creation of parts of Son My
village and plaques commemorating events and deaths in the village. |
 |
| |
 |
Nearby the Madison Quakers
(Wisconsin, USA) have been given land to build a Peace Park. During one
visit, we were invited to help plant a tree in the park. The Madison
Quakers are also involved in other development and healing programs in Vietnam. |
|
| |
 |
Two-wheeled vehicles are used to
carry all kinds of loads in Vietnam. The cargo on the right is a coffin. |
 |
| |
|
Near My Lai is a river. It was
a little spooky to think that at one time the tranquility of the river was
regularly disrupted by the trespass of gun boats. |
 |
| |
 |
It is said that history is written
by the victors. A variation of this in Vietnam is the frequency of Viet
Cong monuments and cemetery along the major roads of the southern half of the
country. Nothing is ever said about where the Army of Vietnam soldiers are
buried or honored, if at all. |
|
| |
|
| |
 |
|
    |
|
|
 |
 Please
contact us if you would like to be added to
Ibike's mailing list or have questions, comments, corrections or criticism. (Also, please let us know how you learned about us and
found this site.) Privacy policy.
IBF Homepage
Ibike Programs
Ibike Schedule
Search
"Hosted by
DreamHost - earth friendly web hosting"
Created by David Mozer
Copyright ©1993-2022 Ibike LLC. All rights reserved.
|
