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Today is the first day of our field expedition to Vietnam, HCM city..jpg)
Students loading the gift of love which they had prepared for this trip. They had collected clothes, toys and story books for the children in Vietnam
We arrived safely in HCM at 1.45 p.m. local time.
After checking out of the airport, we visited the Reunification Palace.
Here are some interesting information of the palace from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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Reunification Palace (Vietnamese: Dinh Thong Nhat) formerly known as Independence Palace (Dinh Đoc Lap) built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a historic landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
It was designed by architect Ngo Viet Thu as the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War and the site of the official handover of power during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.
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(This is the President of South Vietnam's office.)
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It was then known as Independence Palace, and an NVA tank crashed through its gates, as recorded by Neil Davis.For additional information refere to this external website http://www.dinhdoclap.gov.vn/
A brief history on the fall of Vietnam.
NVA Tank crashing through the gates of the South Vietnam's Presidential Palace
( Information from ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon)
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), on 30 April 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam under Communist rule.
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PAVN forces under the command of the Senior General Van Tien Dung began their final attack on Saigon, which was commanded by General Nguyen Van Toan on 29 April, with a heavy artillery bombardment.
(Bed room of NguyenVan Toan at the basement of the palace.)
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(Map room where the South Vietnam Army planned the defence of South Vietnam.)
By the afternoon of the 30th, North Vietnamese troops had occupied the important points within the city and raised their flag over the Independence Palace. South Vietnam capitulated shortly after..jpg)
The city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
(This is a bust of Ho Chi Ming City)
The fall of the city was preceded by the evacuation of almost all the American civilian and military personnel in Saigon, along with tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians. The evacuation culminated in Operation Frequent Wind, which was the largest helicopter evacuation in history.[2] In addition to the flight of refugees, the end of the war, and institution of new rules by the Communists contributed to a decline in the population of the city.
South Vietnamese civilians scramble to board the last US helicopter leaving the country at the end of the Vietnam War.
Additional reading
1.http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/specials/saigon/surrender.html
Later we visited the Post Office.
The Post Office recalls European railway stations, particularly in the vaulted and glazed interior. Its "modern" skylight also recalls European buildings of the later nineteenth century (like Paris' Les Halles or Milan's Galleria)..jpg)
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The late 19th century cathedral has a neo-Romanesque facade with twin towers. A statue of the Virgin is located in the center front. (See below.).jpg)
This is a photo of the A team, studnets who have made a promise to do their best to get an A1 for Combined Humanities.
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3 comments:
hi, very happy to hear that. Wish all of you have a fun and fruitful journey with lots of bb.
names: Jia Yi, Shabnam, Jessica
class: 4A
about Cu Chi tunnel...
from what we have seen, the vietnamese are very strategic in their planning of building an underground base.This shows that quantity does not mean quality.For example, although the vietnamese are weaker than the Americans in terms of weaponry, body size, but they are the 1st and only local country to overthrow the American soldiers.
They know their territory (ie the forest) and their enemies(Americans) very well. They managed to notice the big difference between physique of Americans and Vietnamese soldiers, which is the body size.Thus they built tunnels that only suit the Vietnamese soldiers which American soldiers are unable to enter the tunnel.
After crawling through the tunnel, which is dark and stuffy, we realise the suffering that the vietnamese have gone through and the importance of survival, and how they value their lives. For example, the women have to give birth to their child underground, and even plough their fields in the nights, their children had to receive education in the tunnels too.
From this we can also apply our CARE values, to be committed to defend their own country, and stay focus.They have to care for each other during hard times, which can be seen as they build facilities for the women and children only.They are very excellent in creating strategies to defeat their enemies,like building many varieties of death traps, made from simple tools (ie iron nails, poison collected from snakes to smear on the iron nails).
Plus, the way they cook underground has impressed us, using special methods(ie they designed special airholes to allow the smoke to travel to another area which the Americans cannot easily spot). They also have thought about their own safety to prevent themselves from falling into the traps which they set up themselves.(ie thick-soled rubber shoes to prevent themselves from getting pierced by the iron nails)
In conclusion, it is still best not to be involved in war, although deterrence is still necessary.We should forge good and stable relationships with other countries through diplomacy. ^^
Name: Amanda Ong (18)
Class: 4Endeavour
Hi Mrs Ess, I will TRY to get an A1 for Combined humanities. :D
Vietnam's a really fun place to be in, except that the weather's a little too warm. (:
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