Loved the sleeper bus from Mui Ne to Saigon. Wish we have that kind of seating on airplanes, that would be good enough for me without paying extra for business class.
As of Mar 14, we have 6 days in Ho Chi Minh City before going home. We have a few commitments, like visiting friends and relatives, (and big time shopping for Le?) but the rest is our free time!
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| Entrance into the tunnel |
On Sat. we decided to see the Củ Chi Tunnels. There were reasons we put off visiting these two places (+WRM) during our last three trips until now:
- we had many more interesting places to see on the list
- didn't like to see anything or know more about VN war
- would not be able to avoid tourists in these two places (we were right ;)
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| A ventilation hole |
It took 1hr+ to get to Cu Chi on a tour bus. Yes, we gave in and went on the TOUR with another 37 tourists! (can't afford a private tour) The young guide on the bus ran through the war history and how/when/why the tunnels were created...
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| Tire rubber shoes maker |
The place was packed with tourists, 500 to 1000 daily with an entrance fee of $3US/person. We walked through a designated route to see a weapons gallery, different jungle traps, ventilation holes, places where the soldiers made hand grenades from unexploded US bombs,,,rubber shoes from tires, US tanks...We were also brave enough to crawl through a very narrow and dark tunnel to experience what it was like for VN soldiers doing it daily. Most tourists whose bodies were too big or were claustrophobic could not participate. I was gasping for air after 10 minutes down there! And the darkness...no wonder I loved my iPhone more than my husband. I had an instant flashlight! A truly heroic and anti-American war documentary video ended the tour.
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| Path to school |
On the way back from Cu Chi, we got off the bus at the War Remnants Museum. To be honest, myself and my family was still there during the war but we lived in Saigon so we didn't have to endure what people in other regions Vietnam had to endure! Seeing the evidence, pictures and reading the stories made us cry: the guillotine machine from French colonialists, the cages, the agent orange children with birth defects, their bravery, endurance of suffering, agony from their losses, zest for life..The Children of War exhibit touched me the most! We then knew why we kept putting off this visit until now.
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| Individual hiding cave |
Well, we didn't know that we would be held up in the museum longer by a downpour rain! When the rain kinda stopped, we walked another 3km to Ben Thanh market for lunch, then bought 2 rain coats to walk back to the hotel as the rain was pouring again.
Walking under the rain bought back my childhood memories as VN has 6-month of rainy season.
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