Wartime doctor’s battlefields on tourist circuit

Themed “Along the currents of Dang Thuy Tram’s diary”, the tour takes tourists through tranquil scenery in central Vietnam to picturesque Liet Son lake which is dotted with beautiful islets.

After boating o­n the lake and savouring the magnificence of nature, tourists reach an imposing forest o­nce housing the Duc Pho hospital which treated wounded North Vietnamese – the Viet Cong, or VC as they were known – soldiers.

A cane and rubber sandals are necessary to explore the forest. There is the occasional food stall selling dry provisions and water and tourists can see terraced fields and stilt houses in a small village inhabited mostly by the Hre ethnic minority.

Tram was in charge of the infirmary until she was killed in action 35 years ago in o­ne of the fiercest battlefields in the American War.

The story of the heroic young doctor burst into the limelight recently after two of her diaries, which had been taken from the battlefield and kept by an American soldier for more than 35 years, were returned to her family.

The publication of her diaries in 2005 was a poignant event which moved the hearts of millions both in Vietnam and abroad.