Route: Hue-DMZ (Quang Tri Province)-Hue
--1st Stop: Reunification Express, Long Hung Church along Highway 9--
Mr Trung was late for about 15 mins. We did not know there's another grp (a couple) joining us as well. (We were charged for private tour pricing..so by right they shld have inform us, or charge us at a lower rate.) Most of the DMZ historical sites are along Highway 9. So what's DMZ?
Vietnam's Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, is the area around the former border between North and South Vietnam. Historically it was a narrow band of terrain extending from the Laos border to the coast, five km on either side of the Ben Hai River, roughly on the 17th parallel north latitude.
The area saw heavy fighting in the war, and ruins of old American military bases still exist. (from Wikitravel)
An altar set up as a memorial.
North-South Railway, a.k.a Reunification Express. This is my first time crossing a railway track!
We crossed to the other side of Highway 9 & visited the ruin of Long Hung Church. There's nothing much left, except for the bombs & bullets marks left on the ceilings & walls.
--2nd Stop: Ben Hai River--
Ben Hai river is a river in central Vietnam which became an important landmark in the partition of the country into a northern and a southern zone along the 17th parallel by the Geneva Accords of 1954. (from Wikipedia)--3rd Stop: Vinh Moc Tunnels--
The highlight of the trip was Vinh Moc Tunnels. Their "cousin" Cu Chi in HCMC is meant for battle, while Vinh Moc was the home of many families during the war.
This hole was dug to provide ventilation.
There were a few below ground level "roads" which people can walk or cycle through.
This is one of the exits of the tunnel.
There's a small museum in the complex and we got to see how the construction of the tunnels and the daily life underground through photos.
A map of the tunnel entrances, exits, and the "rooms" inside.
I bet we have not seen enough of all these bomb shells....
That's Mr Trung & the entrance to the tunnels. I must applaud for HM as she managed to curb her fears and enter the tunnel. However, KH & I "suffered" inside as HM took the torchlight and "ran" for her life while we walked in complete darkness. Haha!
We need more touchlights!
This is a family room, and there are a few others. Imagine a family gotta stay in such a small place for yrs! My goodness!
I think this is the nursery room. There were about 17 babies born in the tunnels.There were other rooms and places like toilets, but it was too difficult to take pics in the dark, and we cld not stop for too long since it's a one way traffic (cld not obstruct other ppl behind us). Anyway, the tunnel was quite muddy at some parts and my shirt, bag and shoes were covered by mud! Damn!!!! I had enough of cleaning...:(
We left the tunnels and had a break with this good sea view.
The sea waves were really huge...Don't ever try to swim!--4th Stop: Hien Luong Bridge--
A flag tower across the museum.
This is the museum near Hien Luong Bridge.
Map of the DMZ & 17th Parallel.
Hien Luong bridge is just right in front of us.
Hien Luong Bridge crosses the Ben Hai River at the middle of the DMZ and marks the former border between North and South Vietnam from 1954 to 1972. When the North Vietnamese Army captured Dong Ha town in the 1972 Easter Offensive and pushed the border to the Thach han river in Quang Tri town, some 20 miles further south. During the partition of Vietnam, the bridge was painted with the two different colors. There is a monument on the north side. (from Wikitravel)
A statue of a mother & child. If I rmbed correctly, the mother was waiting to reunite with her child....--5th Stop: Truong Son Cemetery--
Located on Highway 15.
A national cemetery which contains the graves of North Viet soldiers killed in the DMZ & on the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Across the road, we saw a rusty tank hidden in the bush.--6th Stop: Lunch--
Our simple lunch with soup and fried fish.
Plus pork..--7th Stop: Orchid Hotel--
Finally, we returned to Orchid and we were surprised to see the stuffs on our beds.
Butterfly~~~
Such a cute piggy~!--8th Stop: TA-KE Japanese Restaurant--
Time for dinner. We decided to visit Take again, after thinking hard for what to eat. Lolz! Actually it's not near our hotel, but the good food worthed my 10 mins of walking...
There's lots of flooding in Hue today, and we gotta walk in the water!! Luckily we wore slippers.
We finally reached the restaurant and I ordered Vietnamese coffee w/ milk. Actually the coffee was damn little, maybe it's because they used the dripping method. Anyway, the coffee tasted really rich & good~
Super tasty assorted maki!
My grilled fish. The salt was too salty for my liking.
HM's Tempura Noodle soup.
KH was not feeling well today, so she cld only have some porridge.
My Yakitori (chicken wings).
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