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Published: April 10th 2008
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We arrived back in Saigon from Mui Ne late in the afternoon and checked into the same hotel we had stayed in for the last few visits to the city. Getting our suitcases that they had been holding while we have been off travelling around we got some clean clothes on and headed out into the madness for a spot of shopping and something to eat and for a change we decided to try some KFC since the last time we ate any junk food we were in New Zealand. After munching our way through a couple of bits of what we hope was chicken we couldn’t stop thinking why do people eat this crap and with the nice fresh food we have been eating over the last few weeks this made it taste like S@%T!! All greased up, we went and booked our tour to the Cu Chi tunnels which we had planned on going to see last time we were in the city but with my eye we decided to give it a miss so this time we are really looking forward to seeing the tunnels that they used during the war.
All booked up we hit the shops
looking for some North Face winter coats and bits and bobs we had wanted to get after checking out the shops last time. With the North Face coats we wanted it seems funny to come to such a warm country and buy winter coats but I had read that they are made out here and they are a fraction of the cost of what we would pay in London. After finding a shop that sold some pretty good fake ones we asked around and got told of a shop that only sells these coats so off we went and after some hard bargaining we walked out with 2 GORE TEX zip out fleece lined coats, the exact make of the ones we had looked at buying in London at £147 each!!Since we have been back in London we have worn them in the pissing rain and blowing wind and they keep us dry as a bone and after going back to the shop in London and checking the difference in quality we can say that we got the bargain of the trip because the two coats are the same quality as the ones in London and we only paid the
grand total of £45 for the pair of them HAPPY DAYS!!! After our shopping trip we decided to go for a nice meal of Vietnamese and while sitting outside one of the many street sellers comes up to me with the biggest Zippo lighter I’ve ever seen and, Yeap you guessed it much to Barbs dislike I am now the owner of the world’s biggest Zippo lighter!!! We enjoyed a few laughs with the sellers and had a nice meal then headed back to the hotel for an early night as we had to be on the bus for the tunnels at 7.30am the next day.
Up and off to the meeting point for the 3 hr bus ride out of Saigon to Cu Chi were the tunnels are we were told some very interesting facts about Saigon and the surrounding area by our tour guide for the day Mr Son. It is amazing how fast this country and especially Ho Chi Minh City as it’s called now has developed over the last 20 years, looking out the window of the bus it was hard to imagine that this country was one of ten most poorest on the planet 15
years ago and now with all the glass Skyscrapers mixed in with the old falling down buildings it looks odd!! We arrived at the tunnels and were shown a short video on the area and the tunnels that were under our feet. The Americans really didn’t have a clue what they were up against when they decided to build their base on top of this network of tunnels which span over 200 kilometres including sleeping areas and kitchens and even a field hospital. We got shown all the traps and different tricks they used to fool the Americans. It was unreal to see the massive craters that the bombs from B52 planes left behind after bombing raids over the area. Then after an hour or so it was our turn to go down into the tunnels which I wasn’t that keen on and Barbs had told me that there was no way in the world she was going down into the tunnels even before we got there!! But since we had come this far we decided stuff it and in we went, it was as hot as hell with no room to stand up, you could only walk crouched over
and in places it was pitch black but after the 50 metres we finally got out and we are so glad we went in because now we know how it feels to be a giant worm!! One thing’s for sure if I had to fight in that war I wouldn’t of lasted very long as the heat and the amazing tactics of the Vietnamese sure made it hard going. BUGGER THAT!!!.
Back after our trip to the tunnels we decided to enjoy a couple of beers in the bar down the road from our hotel and as it was our last night of our trip before staying in Singapore for one night before flying on to London. While sitting there all of a sudden who should appear but Brendon and Leah who were the couple that we had spent time with on the beach in Mui Ne. It was cool to catch up with them again as we hadn’t exchanged emails or anything. So we had a few beers and all decided that cocktails of any description were a no go as last time we nearly killed ourselves getting home. So we finished up and said our goodbyes and Barbs
and I went and bought some art that we had been looking at yesterday, with a belly full of beer and a nice meal we went back to the hotel and packed for our departure the next day.
All packed and ready for our flight later in the day I went and got my head shaved by some madman with a cut throat razor and Barbs went shopping to add to our ever growing overweight luggage problem. Getting to the airport around 2pm we got let off with our overweight luggage and went through passport control where all of a sudden we realised that we have overstayed by one day. Thinking that this shouldn’t be too much of a problem we were told to wait here while our passport man went and seen his supervisor. OOOOHHH NOOOOO!!! After all the trouble we had getting in here 6 weeks ago we couldn’t believe that now we are getting grief trying to leave the place but rules are rules and when it comes to visas and passports we of all people should know better. Thankfully our passport man was in a good mood and he told us this one time we are
free to go!!!PHEW..
So that was our trip through Southeast Asia and we both would like to say that it has been the best trip that we have ever done, the people are so friendly, the food is out of this world and most of all it has been so cheap!! To all the people that we have meet, we hope that the rest of your travels have been safe and we will keep in contact for sure. We hope that everyone has enjoyed our blogs and if anyone is considering doing the same sort of tour through the region we would be happy to give you any advice..ENJOY!!!
Last of all, after 2 weeks in New Zealand’s summer then 6 weeks in the sun and heat in Asia we nearly died when we walked out of Heathrow in London and its F@@KING SNOWING!!!
Thanks for reading.
Shayne & Barbara.
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