After our stay in Hanoi and day trip to Halong Bay (see last post), we travelled onto Hue (Vietnam Airlines). Â We stayed in Hue for a few nights. Â Below are some photos of our visit to the historic palace with a private guide.
Getting off track (while on track!) a bit here…
I’m writing this as we travel from Canberra – Sydney via train…almost to the end of our 4 hour journey. Â We’re hoping that in the not too distant future it will be a fast train…a Spanish company say they can use the existing tracks and the ACT/NSW Government can have a “free 1 year trial”! Â Sounds like a great idea but knowing how “negotiations” go with our local governments we’re not getting our hopes up at this stage! Â Mostly in Sydney to have more spinal scans + see my specialist again so it’s good to have great travel memories to take my mind off anxieties + think about places we can go when I’m well enough. Â So back to that now…
The history of Vietnam both ancient and modern is, like we all know, both joyous and tragic – even affecting our own generation in a huge way.
In Australia, many of us have relatives who served in the Vietnam War (known in today’s Vietnam as “the American War”). Â In 1972, Tony at 19 years of age was next in line for the conscription ballot but due to a change of Government from the Conservatives to Labor, under newly elected Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, conscription was abolished. Â Not long after that, Australia’s involvement in the war ended – after many, many years of public protest here, similar to what happened in the USA. Â For many returning soldiers both in Vietnam, Australia and USA as well as civilian Vietnamese victims of war, it was just the start of very different struggles of course. Â We have heard a lot about these struggles relating to our own Veterans and their families – even just recently on our National commemoration – ANZAC Day (25th April) + at our Australian War Memorial.
By going to Vietnam we hoped to hear more of the Vietnamese perspective – the struggles of the Vietnamese people – as I’d only learnt a little from Vietnamese immigrants, mostly in parent/teacher interviews during my teaching career as well as what we all saw on TV…consequences of napalm bombing and other terrible atrocities of war.
When I return home from our trip to Sydney this weekend, I’ll refer to journals and note some of the place names and major historic events relating to these photos…
3 Photos above: Â after Hue…travelling South via car – on the border of North and South Vietnam
Photos below: Â significant sites in the Vietnam War…more detail to come later in the week as it’s 10.30 pm here and tomorrow we’ll be sightseeing around Sydney followed by dinner with family