Phu My, Vietnam

Vietnam has 97 Million people. 55 percent are Buddhist, 40 % Christian, but most people honor their ancestors regardless of religion. Sixty five percent live in the country, Vietnam is a major exporter of rice,  primarily from the Mekong delta. Yet 70% of the country is mountainous. In 1986, they began a market economy, which has taken off since the American embargo ended in the mid 90s, encouraging foreign investment. In 1999 Vietnam had the 142^nd largest economy, today it is 42^nd. Unemployment is only 1.5%, with an average salary of $800/mo. Most people have some sort of business besides their job.

Long Phuoc Tunnels

Most of the people used this port to tour Ho Chi Min City, Saigon. We already have done that tour on a previous trip, so we decided to visit locally. The area is known for farming cashews, peanuts, and black pepper. We visited the Long Phuoc Tunnels which are a kilometer in length used to hide the Vietnam National Liberation Army, the Viet Cong. We explored about 100 meters, a narrow tunnel in the clay soil. Not much to see except for the bats as we stopped through the tunnel. Nearby is the War Temple to commemorate the war dead from the Vietnam war and Cambodian War.

Long Tan Memorial

Our other major stop was the Long Tan Memorial, a 1966 battle of Australian troops. We laid flowers and lit incense sticks for these men. While this used to be jungle, today the memorial is in the middle of a banana plantation and rubber plantation. Nearby we saw the hill that the Australians defended, now sitting above a gravel pit. The former airstrip is now a highway. We finished off our tour visiting a market square and a supermarket.

Fruits at the Market

I would not recommend this tour, probably the most boring tour we've taken. Everywhere we went there were motorbikes, the common mode of transportation. There are 45 M motorbikes for 90 M people. They cost between $500 and $3000. Most people, especially women wore face masks because of the pollution.

Motorbike loaded with cargo