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Published: January 31st 2011
Today was our first day in Ho Chi Minh City. We arrived last night and started right in first thing this morning. Our first stop was the Cu Chi tunnels. The tunnels were used as the revolutionary base of the Zone Party Committee and the High Command of Sai Gon in the 1960’s through 1975. The tunnels stretched over 200km and had a 60km path to Cambodia completely underground. They were actually made up of three levels each further underground and in total 16,000 people lived in them.
We were surprised to see how small they were knowing that the size had been increased and they were cemented to accommodate tourist. We first took a hike through the woods and you would never know that the tunnels were there. We took a tour of the interesting traps that were used against the enemy and then headed for the tunnels. First we crawled into the secret basement cover which was actually pretty cool. I wasn’t sure if we would fit but after watching someone else go first we thought that if they fit surely we would. I didn’t want the lid over me but Jason did close himself in. He
was completely invisible under the leaves. Next we went to see the tunnels that we could crawl through. I didn’t make it far into the first one before heading back out but did manage to go completely through another one. I was determined to do it. Jason had no problem (show off).
In the background we kept hearing shooting. There is a range where you can buy bullets and shoot actual war time guns. Not for us though. We watched the propaganda film and then were on our way.
Back in Ho Chi Minh City we had our first Vietnamese meal for lunch. It was delicious and has been described to us as a combination of Thai and Chinese food. Not as spicy as Thai and not as oily as Chinese. All we know is that it was very good and we can venture into the Vietnamese restaurants in China now.
In the afternoon we went on a walking tour of Ho Chi Minh City to see several of the historic landmarks. Built in the late 19th and early 20th century, the buildings were influenced from the time of the French occupation. The Notre
Dame Cathedral is a red brick edifice with twin spires based on the original construction from Paris. Across the street is the Central Post Office designed by the French architect Gustav Eiffel before he became famous for the Eiffel Tower. The last building was the former Presidential Palace, the headquarters of the Saigon Government during the American War (as it is known here in Vietnam). The palace was renamed Reunification Palace and is still used for some official events but the government is housed in City Hall. It was here that tanks crashed through the gates and ended the war in April 1975.
We enjoyed our lunch so much that Jason looked up on Trip Advisor to find the best Vietnamese restaurant in the city. Hoa Tuc was only a five minute walk from our hotel so we had another great meal and the prices were very reasonable. We took the long way back to the hotel to look at the lights that had been put up for the Lunar New Year and then were in for the night.
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