Bound for Vietnam

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Nothing can prepare you for Ho Chi Minh city in my opinion! I am nuts about travel research before going on holidays and knew Ho Chi Minh was known for it's motorbikes, but jumping in our cab at the airport we were gobsmacked at the bikes riding inches away. Hundreds of them! As I write this the beeping noises are still stuck in my head. Ho Chi Minh traffic is CRAZY! I dreaded the idea of crossing a road.

We spent the day resting and then went out to book a tour for CuChi the next day. We were dreading the first intersection and sure enough, the moment came pretty quickly. Just as we were about to cross, a local told us to follow him. With hearts beating out of our chest and quiet prayers to above, we followed him and weaved in and out of bikes flying past us. Once we crossed, he demanded payment. We hadn't asked for his help and were annoyed he expected this but BJ gave him something small and he was pretty annoyed. He kept following us for about 10 minutes before we finally lost him. It was awkward and I was torn between my steadfast opinion that we didn't owe him money and my gratitude for his help. Having just come from Malaysia and Thailand, the number of scams and people asking for money just really got to me by this point and I was on the defensive immediately by now! Later we found ourselves caught outside in a storm and bunking down in a rotunda with 15 strangers until it passed.

The next morning we started our group tour for Cu Chi. Our driver was so knowledgable and he had stories you wouldn't believe. He was a child victim of the war and forced out of Vietnam and basically forgotten about by the government. He told us of terrible conditions and it was so shocking to hear but he did spend much of his time with an American doctor at one point and it was years before he returned. Luckily with good English, he was was able to make a life for himself in Vietnam.

The tunnels were an eye-opener for sure. The soldiers were so clever in their ability to build a tunnel system and living conditions to keep them safe and fight during the war. Two things stick in my mind from this experience - the trap door that spins once stepped on, and forces victims on to spikes, and the tunnel system from the kitchen which trapped and moistened smoke before it could billow out. Over 30 meters away from the kitchen, smoke would rise slightly from the ground and dissipate quickly, before it could alert others to their wherabouts. Very clever indeed!

We had an amazing dinner that night next to our hotel - totally in love with Vietnamese food!

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Photos

Tunnel System
A model of the tunnel system