Hello everyone,

How are you all? Hope your well.

After a nice relaxing time in Hoi An and some well deserved shopping we had to move on unfortunately!! I could have stayed for at least another week, especially with the pool. After our last nightmare bus journey, we decided to fly to Ho Chi Minh city, as it would have been 22 hours on a bus which didnt fill either of us with much joy. We were on the plane for an hour and 15 minutes - much better than a full day on a bus, dont you think!!

Ho Chi Minh City also known as Saigon is in South Vietnam. It has a population of 10 million, there are 3 million motorbikes, 1 million bikes and only 300 000 cars - Its madness. However neither of us thought it was as bad as Hanoi. We were told that it only costs $400 to buy a motorbike and that is what everyone saves up for. The guys cant get a girlfriend without having a motorbike-apparently. The people were very friendly and it generally had a nicer feel to it than Hanoi did.

The day after we arrived we arranged to go on a tour to visit the war tunnels at Cu Chi which is 65km from Ho Chi Minh City. The tunnels were used in the Vietnam war. We were driven in a mini bus which passed a great deal of countryside which meant we got to see working paddy fields, working buffalo's and the general day to day life of the Vietnamese. We visited a factory where handicapped people were making pictures with foil and eggs shells. They were making vases and typical souvenirs, all very clever.

When we got to the tunnels we watched a brief video about how they were used and then a guide who fought in the Vietnam war talked to us about them. There are two tunnels in Vietnam which stretch from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City. At the tunnels there is a cross section of the underground tunnels so we could put into perspective how they were used, and the size of them. Its amazing to think that people (mainly soldiers, but also civilians) stayed and hid in the tunnels for so long throughout the war. The first tunnel was built in 1948 and the second in 1954, however they were not used until 1962 and the final use was in 1975: the end of the Vietnam war. Some of the soldiers stayed in the bunkers that were built in the tunnels and there were 3-5 per bunker and its amazing to think that they all fit in to the tiny space. 16 000 people used the tunnels, mainly soldiers but also some civilians, including 100 women. Some women gave birth in the tunnels and one of the children that was born inside now works at the centre - Not that they had midwives but I wouldn't have fancied delivering a baby in one of the tunnels!!

When the Vietnamese built the tunnels they built them above the river level so that they didnt flood. They also had cooking quarters down the tunnels and they had a vent to release smoke outside the tunnel so as it created a fog like effect and the Americans and French then couldn't see the ground! very clever. During the war we were told that 500 000 tones of bombs were dropped just on Cu Chi (Carlene, all these facts are from my memory not the book this time - are you impressed?? hehe).

Our guide showed us the entrance to one of the tunnels and asked if anyone wanted to get inside, so I did!! It was SO small, I thought I wasn't going to be able to get back out - and would be stuck there forever (Oh no poor me!!) and Claire wanted to put the lid back on it - that's not very nice is it?. When I was inside it I took a picture with my camera and then I stupidly asked if anyone else wanted me to take a picture for them, in the end I think I took about 10 more pictures. There you Mum and Dad, I did it.

One of the other tunnels had been widened three times its normal size for tourists to see inside and crawl through so they could have an idea of what it was like. Claire and I both went down the tunnel. When you see the pictures just remember that they have been made bigger so imagine the actual size of the tunnel the soldiers had to crawl through, and live in!! Unbelievable.

The next part of the tour was gun firing which wasn't included in the package. But I wanted to have a go and Claire wanted to fire one bullet, so we did. The gun we used was an AK47 (not that I know a thing about guns!!). It was great fun but, we found it really painful as the gun pulls back into your shoulder and the noise is deafening.

Both Claire and I said that this was probably one of the best trips we had been on. We learnt so much about the history of Vietnam and it now seems to make a lot more sense. Going in the tunnels was excellent and gave us an insight into what it must have been like inside them - horrific.

In the afternoon we got the driver to drop us at the Vietnam War Museum. Here they have models of army tanks, American fighter planes and war memorabilia. It is full of the history of the war from the Vietnam side and from the American side (controversial). They have photos on display that were taken in the war with captions underneath them saying that the photographer had then been killed! It was very graphic, but definitely opened our eyes to the conflict between Vietnam and America. We also thought that this could explain why in Northern Vietnam some of the people are not overly welcoming to Westerners.

The other part of the museum was very graphic and disturbing. They had an exhibition about 'Agent Orange' which is a substance that was released when the American bombs went off. The substance caused severe illnesses, physical handicaps and fatalities. There were pictures of burned bodies and children with limbs missing. The most tragic and horrific exhibit on display was of two babies bodies (preserved) showing disabilities and the fact that they were incompatible with life. Sorry if its described in too much detail but there isn't many ways of writing something like that. We went away feeling extremely helpless and numb.

On our way back from the museum we needed to lighten our mood so we got a ride back to our hotel in a cyclo, which is a bike with a seat on the front (see photos) and the pair of us had to sit in one seat, we were a sight!!!

So, we have now finished our time in Vietnam. We both loved it. More so the south. We are now clued up (ish) on the history of Vietnam.

Next, on to Cambodia.

Take care everyone. Missing you lots.

Keep the messages coming please!!

Lots of Love

Carly and Claire
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