Ho Chi Minh & Cu Chi Tunnels

---

If we thought Hanoi traffic was mental then this city takes it to another level. You take your life in your hands every time you cross the road. The basic rules of the road, as for the rest of Vietnam, seem to be he with the biggest vehicle and loudest horn has right of way at all times. Traffic lights are just a decoration to fit in with the rest of this neon city. Its a lot more westernized than Hanoi. But for us we think we prefered Hanoi. We stayed in Madame Cucs near the backpacker district which was fairly convenient and the staff were very helpful with sorting anything that was required.

We went to visit to Cu Chi tunnels about 2 hours outside the city. This was definately one of the highlights of Vietnam. If your even mildly clausterphobic then this is definalety not the place for you. The tunnels have now been widened to allow western size frames fit into them to experience some idea of what it was like for the vietnamese during the war. The original tunnels were approx 80cm high x 60cm wide. The trap doors to gain access to the tunnels were minute. We tried to squeeze into them and even this short arse was going nowhere. So we took the visitors entrance. Once inside you get to see the various command rooms, the kitchen, sleeping quarters and even a small hospital!! As sample of their staple diet was available to try. Lets just say I dont think any of us would last a day on this stuff never mind years. It was expalined to us as some form of tapioca. Luckily there was a exit formed to allow you to get out of each room without having to continue to the next. There was one long section of tunnel that you could try. The guide said it was 30m long. Well, in the pitch dark, swealtering heat and crawling on you hands and knees this seemed like 300m. I wouldnt like to be 6' 4" crawling through here ( and with no tabs). In total there are approx 250m of tunnels in this area. On leaving the tunnels they had exibits of different traps used in the area during the war. Ingenious ideas for making them but they looked awful painful for the trapped one.

Heike and Alex who we had meet earlier in Hoi An were stopping off in HCMC for a night on their way to Bangkok. They were saying in the same place as us so we went out to sample some of the night life in the city.

Overall I would say we enjoyed our short stay and it was worth coming here, even if it was just for the Tunnels alone, but the main attraction in the city itself are well within walking distance of each other an can be covered in a short space of time if your are on a tight timescale. Worth a mention in particular is the war reminants museum showing some graphic imagery of several conflicts in the country over the years. Well its goodbye to Vietnam for now, its been a hectic few weeks but we enjoyed every minute of it, lets hope it continues like this. Here comes Cambodia......................

---