Here are links to pictures from Thailand and Vietnam:

Thailand Pictures:
http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3603214002/a=13256752_13256752/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Vietnam Pictures:
http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3648290002/a=13256752_13256752/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

In any comprehensive (not limited to a specific time or region) history course that I have ever taken, there has never been time to properly discuss the Vietnam War.  No matter what pace the course took or how well we actually stayed on track with the syllabus, it always seemed like at the end we were running out of time to discuss more recent events (aka anything after the Civil Rights Movement).  I was foolish enough to pass up the chance to take a course at Meredith on the Politics of the Vietnam War and so for most of my life, the Vietnam War has seemed to be very hazy to me - a time in recent history that I couldn't quite grasp.  I knew Vietnam was somewhere that I wanted to go if I ever had the chance - of course, I wanted to learn about the culture and people but I also wanted to learn more about one of the most explosive (please pardon the unintended pun) times in American history.  I have had many opportunities to learn about the war while in this country and I have been glad for the numerous museums and sites that have been available for me to explore.  

The museum that makes the biggest impression and that can only be described as intense is the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City.  This museum was formerly known as the Museum of American War Crimes until Bill Clinton visited Vietnam during his presidency and began to try to better the relationship between the two countries. The Vietnamese people decided that if the country was indeed going to try to be more open to American tourism, a name change might be a good idea. There is no doubt that the information in the museum is presented in a way that makes the US look really bad - that is not to say that the US doesn't have many things for which it needs to be held accountable for that took place during the war - but to say that Vietnam was completely right in everything they did would also be a falsehood.  There is a fantastic exhibition highlighting many of the key photographers (from a variety of countries) of the war - it shows the pictures they took (many of the iconic images that we have all seen on tv and in books) and then also explains what happened to them.  Unfortunately, many of these talented (and brave) photographers were killed on the job - but without their efforts, the visual record of the war would certainly have been incomplete.  I also liked the exhibit on the world supporting Vietnam during the war.  Basically, it was a huge display of photographs from numerous countries that showed the various demonstrations and protests against the war.  I knew the war was unpopular in the US but to see all the various people from different countries all carrying signs in their native language with pleas to stop the fighting was very powerful.  The display also mentioned a few people who took more drastic actions including burning themselves to protest the war.  While I certainly wouldn't encourage/want anyone to ever take this particular action, I do have to admire the commitment and passion that caused people to act in this manner. 

The displays that are most powerful in the museum deal with the subject of Agent Orange.  It is one thing to know what Agent Orange is and to know that it is a harmful chemical that was used during the war by the Americans but it is another to see the pictures that show the effects of Agent Orange on people.  Both American veterans as well as Vietnamese citizens are pictured - the images are sobering to say the least.  So many Vietnamese citizens, particularly children, have had to deal with the after-effects of this chemical - they did not fight in the war and many were not even alive during the war.  To say that it is an unfair situation is an gross understatement.  I was most impressed by a letter that a young Vietnamese woman, Tran Thi Hoan, who has been affected by Agent Orange since birth wrote to President Obama asking for funding for Vietnamese citizens suffering from the effects of Agent Orange.  I have posted a copy of her letter here: http://langhuunghi.vn/?web4vn=chitiettin&id=63&lang=1.  I would recommend this museum to anyone who visits Vietnam - remember to recognize the bias for what it is but it is certainly a place that will impact you. 

I was also fortunate enough to be able to visit 2 of the unique places that the Vietnamese Army used during their efforts against the Americans.  Outside of Ho Chi Minh, I was able to visit the Cu Chi tunnels and outside of Hue (in the DMZ), the Vinh Moc tunnels.  These tunnels were used as places to hide, eat, strategize, sleep, and live during the years of the Vietnam War.  The tunnels have been widened a bit to make it more accommodating for tourists (and our McDonald's bellies as one of our tour guides so lovingly called them - curiously enough, there are no McDonald's in Vietnam, one of the only countries I have seen without them!) but they are still a tight squeeze.  I do have to say that the Vinh Moc tunnels are quite spacious in comparison with the Cu Chi tunnels.  If you suffer from claustrophobia, neither are recommended.  Anyway, I did not spend long in these tunnels - as tourists we are led in and out and that was fine with me.  I think any longer would have started to make me go mad so I can't imagine how a group of people (up to 200 at some times) lived in these areas.  The tunnels were cramped, dark, and damp but yet life persisted for years in those spaces.  In some cases, children were even conceived and born in these tunnels.  We were also able to see some of the traps that the Vietnamese came up with in order to ensnare the American enemy.  While short on supplies (the Vietnamese often used scraps of American weaponery to make their own), the Vietnamese were certainly not short on ingenuity.  While not an exact replica of the way life was during the war, these 2 areas at least gave me some insight into what life was like for a percentage of the Vietnamese population. 

I was a bit nervous before coming to Vietnam because I did not know how I would be treated as an American.  I knew it was a perfectly safe place to travel but there is a difference between a place being safe and a place being welcoming.  I need not have feared because all the Vietnamese that I had the chance to meet were very friendly and seemed very happy that I was visiting their country.  While I don't think any of them will ever forget the effect the war had on the country, none of them seem to hold any ill will towards American visitors.  Vietnam is certainly not the most developed or prosperous country in Asia and probably will never hold that title. But Vietnam has a strong spirit and seems to have recovered quite well in the last 30 years. 

The traffic in the big cities is the one thing that is slightly terrifying - while there is a lot of traffic in places like India, you somehow don't feel as though your life is in danger when you set out on the street.  In Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi (whichever one you visit first will feel the most terrifying), you begin to think you may not ever cross the street again.  Whatever is on the side of the road you are on will do just fine.  But then you realize that you have to cross the street - it is unavoidable.  The trick is to move slowly but not to ever stop - all the motorcycles and bikes will weave around you.  But if you wait for the traffic to stop completely in order to cross, you will never see anything in Vietnam except that particular street corner.  Motorbikes are the common way to get around Vietnam - there are many men who are "taxis" and take passengers on the back of their bike.  I knew this would be something I would eventually do while in Vietnam but the prospect of getting on the back of a motorcycle was quite scary.  Eventually, I did get on a motorcycle in Dalat - an area in the Central Highlands that I highly recommend.  The scenery is amazing and the weather is a fantastic change of pace (cooler!) than the rest of Vietnam.  I took a tour with the Easy Riders - a group of Vietnamese men who give tours to passengers on the back of their bikes - if ever in this area, definitely go with these guys.  They are fun, informative, very safe and you will get to see Vietnam in a way unlike other tours.   While I'm certain that I don't ever want to drive or own a motorcycle, I can understand the appeal of this mode of transportation.  It is a fun way to travel and gives you a different perspective on your surroundings than a car, bus, or train does.  After having a good experience in Dalat, I decided that the motorbike was indeed a safe way to travel and used a few other times to get around Hanoi.  In the span of  2 weeks, I went from being afraid to cross the street due to the bikes to not having any fear to getting on the back of one.  And I can honestly say that I made this decision on my own accord - not due to the effects of rice or snake wine which I did try while in Vietnam.  Both wines have extraordinarily high alcohol contents and almost taste like pure ethanol.  In case of a fuel shortage, I think all the motorcycle drivers should just fill their bikes with this stuff and they will be able to drive with no problem!