Foreign Flavors

No trip would be complete without sampling the local cuisine. That is half of holiday fun! And along with the familiar, there are certain to be foreign flavors worth sampling.

Being the stepchild of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, I had low expectations for Cambodian cuisine. Bland, rice-based imitations of the Thai's flavorful food was what I expected. Boy was I surprised. Amok and glassnoodle salad were favorites of mine in Cambodia. Using lemongrass, coconut milk, chili, and cilantro, these Khmer cuisines tantalized my taste buds and were favorites of mine on the trip. Pineapples and coconuts were a plenty and used for drinks, flavoring, served whole, or as a garnish. As for the more "local" snacks, fried spiders and and silk worms (tasting of nuts and milk) were offered to us along the way.

In Vietnam Pho Bo was an obvious expectation. But for breakfast?? As I soon found out, this noodle and beef soup is not served for dinner, only for the lighter meals of the day. More appropriate for the evening meal were the pancakes (yep, not a breakfast item here). These flour or egg based wrappings (you choose) were more like mini, deep fried tacos than the doughy sweetness of their American counterparts.

For those wanting a continental breakfast rather than traditional Vietnamese soup, there is a culinary surprise for you...the best baguettes I've ever had! Served with butter or jam, the Vietnamese have the French to thank for this addition to their culinary repertoire. Served alongside a glass of iced coffee sweetened with condensed milk (the typical serving method), it is a breakfast both Westerners and Easterners can enjoy.

War Remnants Museum

This particular topic is emotionally charged to say the least. What I write below are only my perceptions from a post-Vietnam generation perspective. As my parents suggest, people growing up and living through the Vietnam War may have different perspectives than my own. And I welcome comments to this regard!

I should have braced myself for the grand entrance into a communist nation, not to mention a nation that doesn't exactly call Americans friends. Perhaps it's because the Cold War is over and the communist era has taken a backburner to other international issues, I expected Saigon to be alive with all modern conveniences, industry-ready, and tourist friendly. After all, they are opening a Hard Rock Cafe–Saigon this month!

Though modern in many ways, this former South Vietnam stronghold seems to exude sadness. Few smiles are seen on the street; billboards display the hammer and sickle conspicuously alongside Vietnam's flag; and Saigon's main attraction (the Reunification Palace) stands as a daily reminder of communist presence (now reality) in Saigon. But what I saw on the streets did not prepare me for what I saw in the War Remnants Museum.

Formerly know as the Museum of American War Crimes (need I say more), its galleries bear names such as "Aggression War Crimes" and "Historical Truths" gallery (hmmm...can history really be considered "true"?). Within the walls of this museum were photos, captions, stories, and accounts of the atrocities committed by American soldiers during the American–Vietnam War.

True, there are always two sides to every story. But what disturbed me most wasn't what I saw. After all, American soldiers don't have the best reputation for playing fair during wartime. Rather, it was what I didn't see that upset me. There was no mention of South Vietnam as its own sovereign country. There was no mention of civil war. There was no mention of the fact North Vietnam killed their Southern counterparts, too. There was only mention of "liberating" the South from the hands of "the aggressor." It's as if the roots of the war were erased, South Vietnam never existed, and the reality for South Vietnamese was that of complete oppression by the United States.

The artifacts and exhibits themselves I found troubling as well. Captions for many photos created a picture of torturous, violent American soldiers injuring and killing innocent Vietnamese soldiers. At the risk of sounding pithy, this was war, people would die, and it wasn't just the Vietnamese who were dying. Also, many of the photos on display could be left open for interpretation. And with unattributed captions, could we really be so sure that the child was "begging the American soldier to not kill her father."

In content as well as presentation, the museum focused on grains of truth turning them into generalizations and reality. It amplified the actions of the "oppressor" while almost erasing North Vietnam's own participation in wartime activity. It didn't record history, it created history...a history that generations of Vietnamese will now come to know, learn, and believe.

Life Begins

Traversing the Cambodia–Vietnam border is like crossing from the United States into Mexico. The differences slap you in the face! Not expecting to see much contrast (after all, we were traveling by boat and how much can you really from a riverbank), it became immediately apparent just how different these two neighboring countries are.

Except for borders distinguished by mountains and oceans, I've always thought of territorial lines as a bit arbitrary. A random line drawn by someone a long time ago to distinguish what is mine from what is yours. But as you leave Cambodia and enter Vietnam, the river seems to know it's entering a whole new world. The wide-set banks quickly contract; the unchanging landscape becomes a smorgasbord of chaotic vegetation; and the desolate banks become centers of activity. I found myself wondering if we were on the same river!

Where life along the Mekong in Cambodia saw little activity, the lively banks of Vietnam are a testament to its expansive population (85 million to Cambodia's meager 15 million). Stilted houses sprinkle the Mekong all the way to Chau Doc. Rickety wooden boats with palm leaf canopies transport people and products down, up, and across the river. Those using less traditional methods of transport depend on river ferries to get them and their motorbikes from one side to the other. Even the rice fields come right up to the Mekong's waters.

With few expectations of what life and livelihood is like in Vietnam, traversing the border by boat gives you a taste for what is in store.