Caves, Seafood, and an Old Bridge

An old Christmas banner raggedly graces the facade of the church

Yesterday we took a day tour of the former De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) which marked the border between North and South Vietnam back during the war. As the border, this area received a lot of fighting, and Quang Tri still bears the scars of war. Some of our Hue partners joined us for this trip, and we hopped into a small bus and took off. We made numerous stops along the way before reaching the Vinh Moc tunnels. We stopped by the remnants of a bombed out church, a memorial maintained by the local people as a reminder. The place looked oddly peaceful for being the skeletal remains of a building. Next to it a strange cow with a hump on its back grazed, mooing loudly at us when we attempted to approach it.

Group photo on the old citadel wall

Several other stops included a tank located on top of a small incline by the road, and which we had to climb up to. We also dropped by the old Quang Tri citadel, which was a part of a network of citadels built up and down the coastline during the Nguyen dynasty. Today it is the site of a war memorial honoring those soldiers who died in the fighting around Quang Tri. A small museum displays a variety of photos of the battles, along with some displays of guns and other tools used by the soldiers. The memorial itself is very beautiful: a long paintbrush gracefully silhouettes against a clear blue sky. The paintbrush is a symbol of eternal memory, a record of all those who gave their life for their country.


Afterward the bus dropped us by the old foot bridge that people used to cross the border between North and South. It is a simple bridge made of wooden slats on metal, lit up by colorful flags waving proudly in the river breeze. Beside it was the metallic latticework of the newer bridge. Finally now in what used to be North Vietnam, we stopped by a seaside restaurant to lunch on seafood. The beach here was exceptionally beautiful, the water a clear, glassy green, lapping over tide pools and dark porous rock.

Our bellies full, we made our way to the Vinh Moc tunnels. These tunnels were the homes of soldiers during the war. A short trot down a path of green bamboo led us to a small museum with a map of the tunnels and entrance 3, through which we would be entering. The tunnels had been enlarged for tourists, but it was still a slight squeeze for most of us (thank goodness most of us girls were short!). It was dark except for the orange flicker of light bulbs that regularly dotted the pathway. Sometimes they would flicker and go out for several seconds, and we would be plunged into a pool of darkness. We were all relieved when we climbed up a long flight of stairs and back into daylight, lime-green bamboo beckoning to us in a friendly breeze.

We were able to relax after the tunnels at the beach. The water was slightly warm and cool, very salty, and the waves were strong. We bobbed up and down in the water, with the realization that this may be our last time at a Vietnamese beach.



When we left the beach it was around 5 PM. For our last stop of the day before returning home to Hue, we stopped at the La Vang church. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary appeared in this area in 1798 at a time when many were falling ill to a mysterious illness. She pointed the locals to a particular leaf which cured them. A giant statue of Mary and baby Jesus stands flocked by a tall grove of statuesque La Vang trees. Here we saw syncretism at work: Western Catholicism mixed with the incense offerings of Eastern religions.

After the church night had fallen, and we wound our way through the countryside back to Hue. And thus marked our last weekend trip in Vietnam.