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Demilitarised zone

by Jessica Goulburn | 05 Dec 2013

Even if you’re not a history buff, the Demilitarised Zone and the 17th parallel in Vietnam are must-see destinations.

With a long and daunting history, the Demilitarised Zone is an area in central Vietnam that includes the 17th Parallel, the imaginary line, that fiercely divided the country in two during the Vietnam War. Commonly known as the DMZ, the area was supposed to be ‘no-man’s land’; no fighting was meant to take place, no bombs were meant to be thrown and no lives were meant to be taken in that area.

Yet, the DMZ was one of the most devastated areas.

When travelling to Vietnam, the DMZ was a definite notch on my itinerary.

Picked up bright and early in Hue, we drove for a few hours, listening to a history talk on the bus. We stopped on the highway at a lookout point overlooking the Rock Pile, an important USA Army and Marine base accessed only by helicopter. There are quite a few mountains around so it may be hard to distinguish which one is the Rock Pile, however just ask your guide, they’ll be sure to point it out.

Moving on from the Rock Pile, as we drove along the highway, it was difficult to imagine exactly what had happened along the road we were following – the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

There were trees lining the highway and cars driving past us every moment. Thirty years ago, the road we were travelling on was deserted apart from soldiers moving in the bushes.

After travelling along the highway for a while we arrived at Khe Sanh Military Base. We thought that something, any kind of reminder, would be there. Instead, there are recreated bunkers and a museum amoung the ruins of American helicopters and planes.

Although there were some artefacts there, it was extremely difficult to imagine exactly what had happened. It all looked and sounded so peaceful; as clichéd as it sounds, the sun was shining and the birds were chirping away. The only reminder of war was the empty field behind the museum that has been so destroyed that nothing will ever grow there.

It’s worth walking around and trying to get a sense of the place. While it’s impossible to ever fully understand the action, the vast space does help a little bit and the recreated bunkers do give you some understanding of the conditions soldiers lived in.

As the rain began to fall, we drove along the Ben Ha River, which crossed through the border between north and south. The bridge over the river became the infamous 17th Parallel.

During the Vietnam War, the southern part of the bridge was painted a different colour to the northern part. Now, it is joined, with a solitary Vietnamese flag watching over it.

The end of the day saw us wandering through the intricate Vinh Moc tunnel complex. Able to stand up in the tunnels, wax statues were erected in various rooms to give visitors a feel for how the Vietnamese lived underground. We walked through 500 metres of tunnels, flowing out onto the South China Sea, passing a maternity room, a meeting room and several bedrooms, as well as a bomb shelter should the need arise.

As I exited the tunnel on the way back to the bus I was met by a man mumbling under his breath, pacing back and forth and shaking. He lived in the area during the war and was affected by Agent Orange. He brought reality home, reminding me where I was and why I wanted to understand.

The drive back to the hotel was surreal, passing field after field – empty. There are vast stretches of land in the DMZ that are bare. Nothing will ever grow. A grim reminder of the devastation that engulfed no-man’s land.