Danang Marble Mountain Panorama South China Sea and Beach

Danang Marble Mountain Cave #2 P7229054
Originally uploaded by Pen Araneae

There are many caves inside the Marble Mountain. This particular one is named Xuan Kong Cave (roughly means deep and empty in the Bhuddist tradition) as shown in the gold characters painted on the rock on the right. From here there is a narrow passage lined with jagged marble rocks. One has to be on all four to climbed through the passage onto the top of Marble Mountain. It was challenging but not treacherous. The view from the top however is breathtaking. The deep blue South China Sea and the long white beach are in full view. In the distance lies the Cham Islands. The beach however is mostly empty. The tour guide said the locals do not like to be on the beach, too hot. So the beach is waiting for tourists the number of which will no doubt increase when facilities are better developed. Danang, it is such a perfect place for beach holiday.

It is hard to imagine now Danang was a major US military base four decades ago. According to the tour guide Marble Mountain was a Vietcong hideout. From here the American military facilities were within easy reach. The lady tour guide was full of pride when she said on one day 19 US helicopters were shot down by woman Vietcong from the caves of Marble Mountain. I checked the Internet and found a similar story. There were indeed 19 helicopters destroyed by Vietcong one October day in 1965 in the nearby US helicopter base. I wonder if the tour guide story is a different but true story or is a variation of the story here put up by US veterans: http://www.3rdmarines.net/Vietnam_Attack_on_mag_16.htm

Hue Vietnam's Ancient Capital

Hue view from Imperial Hotel P7249215
Originally uploaded by Pen Araneae

Hue has been on a backseat of my mind since 1968. That year Hue appeared on the headlines of world-wide media reports. At the height of the Vietnam War and without much warning signs the Vietcong lauched the Tet Offensive across South Vietnam. In Hue, they captured the Citadel and the Imperial Palace. Fierce close-quarter battles raged for weeks before the Vietcong withdrew after incurring heavy casulty. However, as the saying go they lost the battle but won the war. It was a turning point for the War. Prior to the Tet Offensive the American military had been telling people that they were winning after amassing half a million troops in South Vietnam and world's biggest armada of the world's most modern and destructive weaponry except the atomic bomb. Tet proved them wrong.

I visited Hue because I wanted to see the heritage sites of this ancient capital and traces of the Vietnam War. However, there were few signs of the War to be found. I saw what could be bullet holes along some walls deep inside the Palace. But nothing suggest the extensive damages. Forty years have erased memory and cleansed the remnants of destruction. Instead I saw much reconstructions going on. The Vietnamese are rebuilding the destroyed parts of the Palace. They are welcoming tourists from around the world, including the Americans.