THE FIRST BRITISH PEOPLE TO WALK UP HAMBURGER HILL IN VIETNAM

Well that was what we were told anyway.

Last year I fulfilled one of my bucket list ambitions by backpacking from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Hanoi in Vietnam - accompanied by my girlfriend Naomi Holwill. I have long been interested in the 20th century history of Vietnam - from the rise of Ho Chi Minh after the post-war Japanese retreat from the country and the return of French rule to the gradual American involvement in Indochina politics and, of course, the outbreak (unofficially) of fullscale war.

After the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, America left their self-created puppet state of South Vietnam. Inevitably - despite President Ford's failed last ditch attempt to gain financing for the re-introduction of American military - Saigon fell to the North on April 30th 1975. Even today, visiting Reunification Palace in Saigon is a moving experience - a site of liberation and the conclusion of a conflict which should never have been and, ultimately, achieved nothing outside of mass devastation, a body count (on both sides) which totalled seven figures and the relentless bombing of Laos and Cambodia. The latter of these may, depending on which history book you care to engage with, have led to the rise of the Khmer Rouge.

The below picture has become iconic and the helicopter pad remains on Reunification Palace: a reminder of a time when Vietnam was at the centre of world attention and the combat seemed neverending.

In visiting Vietnam there were certain sites that I wanted to get to - no matter how tricky they proved. I was determined to see My Lai, where Sargeant William Calley (now, despicably, a free man living in Atlanta and running a jewelery business) infamously ordered his soldiers to fire upon an unarmed village, rape the women and massacre the children. This may sound like 'dark tourism' and perhaps it is - I am not about to philosophise about what drives so many us to see places of genocide, from Auschwitz to Choeung Ek and so forth. All I can say is that I wanted to develop a greater image of what My Lai looks like and, although the recreated village that has been propped up in the area is surprisingly tacky, I have no regrets about going (well, except when some high school children came rushing in and thought the museum of bloody pictures was a laugh riot - the sole black spot of my entire Vietnam experience).

As an aside, cameras should be banned from these places.

The amount of tourists who think nothing of posing, with big 'holiday' grins, in front of areas where people were slaughtered is embarassing. It is bad enough when men in shorts and women in short skirts think this is suitable apparel for visiting Buddhist temples (or, in Malaysia, mosques) but pictures of your foreign mug in massacre sites is just ridiculous. I took one snap at My Lai - of the monument which was erected to honour the dead. I've posted it below. Exactly why some visitors feel the need to stand in front of this with a smile on their face is puzzling - what exactly are you celebrating with such an image?

For those who wish to visit the site the best place to be based is Hoi-An - a gorgeous town with nary a corporate logo in sight. Sheer heaven on earth. Tours can be organised via Viet Vision (http://www.vietvisiontravel.com/) and take about three hours there and back by car (with a sidetrip to the temples of Mỹ Sơn).

Anyway, moving on - I was also interested in visitng Hamburger Hill.

Put aside the rather rubbish movie of the same name from 1987 because the Battle of Hamburger Hill was so much more than this: it was a turning point in the war. The Tet Offensive of January 1968 had disorientated the US - even when, at the end of a raging fight with the North, Uncle Sam had still come out on top (the Tet Offensive, incidentally, is the fight which is documented in the latter half of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket). Nevertheless, due to the clear evidence that the North was not about to back down, it was the beginning of the end for the US involvement in Vietnam and led to a number of quick-fix mini-battles which were designed to claim a large count of enemy bodies in the name of 'victory'. One such instance was Hamburger Hill (real title: Ap Bia Mountain) - so called because the mass amount of dead bodies looked like meat strewn across the muddy landscape.

The Battle for Hamburger Hill raged between May 10th - 20th 1969. The Americans actually succeeded in capturing the hill from the North Vietnamese army - but at the cost of 72 brave infantrymen and over 350 wounded. On the Viet Cong side, an equally brave 675 (reported) were killed.

And for what?

Only 16 days later the hill was abandoned because it was considered of such little importance. A grand waste of lives on both sides - and an indication to the American public, and the world, that this was a war being fought with a wayward sense of longterm achievement.

Hamburger Hill is located near the Loation border. A part of the country which is still thick with landmines. To get there seemed unlikely until I finally discovered a young history scholar online called Mr. Vu who specialises in trips to the former DMZ and areas of interest across central Vietnam (his web site is here: Mr. Vu Tours). Despite the fact myself and Naomi were travelling across Vietnam during their New Year celebrations (which caused no problems at all despite some online forums stating that everything would be closed!), Mr. Vu agreed to pick us up and take us to Hamburger Hill.

The place to be for this trip is the Emperial City of Huế: the site of the Tet Offensive and still a place which shows evidence of the conflict which once made it one of the most dangerous places in the world (see below):

That said, Huế (pronounced "Whay") is every bit as safe as any other part of Vietnam (i.e. very safe) and - as with everywhere else we visited - English is widely spoken, making you feel all the while like a dumb foreigner. Although not as picturesque as Saigon, Hoi-An or the utterly stunning city of Hanoi - there are still some fantastic things to see in Huế, including the Purple Forbidden City (below):

Three days, however, is probably plenty - and so I strongly advise taking one or more of Mr. Vue's tours - especially since he informed us that, yes, we were the first British people to ask for a tour of Hamburger Hill (I know we're Scottish and he knew this too - but I wanted to make sure that we were not just the first Scots but Brits as well!). He mentioned that very few people at all bother with this tour - it seems that many young people who visit Vietnam today do so as a sidetrip from the party hub/ beach resorts of Thailand or as part of a wider jog around Southeast Asia. Very few, we were told, engage with the immediate history of the nation - and this is an enormous shame because, even if your knowledge of the Vietnam War is minimal, the drive to the Laotian border and Hamburger Hill is absolutely stunning:

With beautiful countryside and mountains, this is one of the most spectacular trips I have ever taken. With a time of about two hours from Huế, Hamburger Hill itself is not an especially gruelling car ride. Moreover, the hill was paved in 2009 which means that, as long as you are in fit shape, it is an easy jaunt to the top. That said, below is a small selection of just some of the stairs you will be expected to hike up (Mr. Vue is at the top) - so make sure you know just what your limitations are!

On the way up a reminder of the hill's past is evident in the impact wraught by bombs:

Hamburger Hill proved to be a peaceful hike - and upon reaching the top a new plaque has been erected. Mr. Vue explained that this was because returning American infantrymen, who survived the battle, have began to return to Vietnam and revisit the location. He told of one story where three ex-army men wanted to spend the night at the top of the hill: something that was unfortunately not possible because of the sensistive location near the Laotian border. I have included a picture of the plaque below:

On the way down, Mr. Vue and one of his colleagues - who was the gent that erected the new steps himself and also joined us on the trek - told me about a cave which was used by the Viet Cong. I was asked if I wanted to visit and I agreed: although none of us could have expected to find yet another remnant of the war past - a small piece of material from a Viet Cong outfit. Of course, this was put back where we found it.

Hamburger Hill is an incredible place to visit. The wildlife has never recovered from this area so it is remarkably quiet - moreso than any large woodland should be. In itself this lends a haunting atmosphere to somewhere that is already ominous. The scenery is, as expected, amazing - especially from the top. Furthermore, Mr. Vu is a well educated historian himself and he can provide you with answers to any questions you may have. I was honoured when he praised my knowledge of the war - and I would love to, one day, return to Vietnam and see even more of the country. Aside from being full of friendly, hospitable people - it is also a progressive and industrious nation, moving forward but rightly proud of their fierce independence: something that we should never forget how hard they fought for.

In closing, here are some more pictures - which rounds off my first ever piece of travel writing!