Today’s speaker was Mel Cooke, who gave us a talk and video presentation of a holiday, entitled “The wonders of Vietnam”.
Vietnam is a very warm country, 25% larger than the UK, with a population of 96m compared with the UK’s 61m, and who’s people are mainly Buddhist, although approx. 10% are Christian.
The video, approximately 45 minutes in length, chronicled their trip from Hanoi in the north, to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) in the south, and, if nothing else, emphasised the sheer recklessness of the road system and traffic throughout the country. Scooters, motorbikes and Trishaws dominated the city roads, and made one think that it must be quicker to walk!
One fact which made the members laugh was that a packet of 10 condoms, for sale in hotel rooms, cost less than a packet of crisps!
One of the last excursions made on the trip was to Cu Chi tunnels, a system of tunnels built by the communist Vietcong during their war with the USA. Hatchways into the tunnels were very small, suggesting the warriors were tiny, and new ones had to be subsequently built when tourists wanted to have a tour of the site.