Day Fifteen - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

We were surprised to find the tour guide for our trip to Cu Chi arrived 15 minutes early, so we grabbed some bread and cheese from the kitchen to eat on the bus. There were approximately 20 people in our tour group (mostly European), which was lead by a young Vietnamese man with a moderate grasp on the English language (he knew enough to be a tour guide, but often mixed words or employed peculiar phrases).

The ride to Cu Chi was about an hour and a half, with a pit stop after 45 minutes at a handcraft workshop under the ruse of a "bathroom break" when, of course, it was a ploy to get us to buy lacquered ash trays or vases or mother of pearl wall hangings. The workshop employs disabled workers, many the victims of Agent Orange.

Another 45 minutes on the bus until we reached Cu Chi. We were first hustled into a low hut where we watched an introductory video about Cu Chi and guerrilla warfare. Recently shot and edited with filters to appear as an old documentary, the propaganda-like video was full of Vietnam flag-waving pride. The narrator, in broken English, highlights the bravest of Cu Chi's residents and their heroic efforts against the enemy. (The video embedded below is not our own--we found this copy on YouTube)



Our guide hustled us off along a path to show us tiny hiding spaces (too big for most Westerners in the group) and a variety of booby traps. There were several places along the path where mannequins dressed in rebel attire were posed on hammocks or cooking or, in one case, animatronic VC demonstrated the creation of weapons.





All this war talk makes most visitors hungry for some action, so they have set up a machine gun range on premises. We shot off 30 rounds, Chris on an M60, and Lily on an AK-47.



The tunnels themselves extended over 100 km and were 30 meters underground in some places, but the portion open to tourists is only 3 meters below ground and is 30, 70, or 150 meters long (depending on how adventurous you're feeling). The tunnels have been widened to accommodate Westerners, but are still a very tight fit, requiring a squat walk for the entire length and a belly crawl at one point. The heat and humidity is intense, but Chris pushed through the entire 150 meters, while (the sometimes claustrophobic) Lily walked comfortably above ground and waited at the exit.




The bus ride back to Ho Chi Minh City was an hour and a half, despite only being 40 km away. They dropped us off at the tour office rather than our hotel, and we were unprepared for the sudden dump of rain.



We had lunch at a street vendor. Chris had pork and rice and Lily got tofu and meatballs....we think. This was followed by the most magical mango shake on earth, also prepared at a street vendor. (New York hot dog vendors have NOTHING on southeast Asia). We had a long walk before going back at the hotel, where we showered, changed into dry clothing and had a rest.

For dinner we went to a chain restaurant called Wrap and Roll that serves mostly spring rolls. We had a hot pot and some spring rolls but were moderately unimpressed (the snail spring rolls we had bought from a street vendor for 25 cents earlier in the day were better). A walk through a nearby park introduced us to the sport of Jianzi, which is a mix between badminton and hackey sack.

We hit a series of cafes in the evening. At one we ordered a pina colada, hoping for the best. After all, they sell coconuts and fresh pineapple on EVERY street corner, so this drink is going to rock, right? Not so much. Oh well. Serves us right for not ordering something distinctly Vietnamese!