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MeznG. In the air, on the road, river or sea again
It's a 90 minute drive from MyTho to Saigon. We say our farewells to Rosie and the crew and are taken by bus to Ho Chi Minh City.
Our hotel is in a great position within walking distance to plenty of shops and restaurants. By 11am we are checked into our rooms and we have made plans with the help of Tinh to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels at 12.30 today. Just enough time to have a quick look around and some lunch before we meet with the other 5 people and our guide Mr Sun.
The drive to the tunnels is not long in distance less than 70k I think but it will take around 90 minutes with traffic and the road condition. The drive itself is part of the adventure with dodging and weaving that goes on. The scenery of the roadside shops and business providing endless entertainment. Everything and anything is carried on bikes. Goldfish in plastic bags, pot plants, mattresses and furniture.
As we get out of the city there are roadside stops where you can get a drink and have a rest in a hammock as there are rows of them strung between trees and posts.
We see a stall selling live rats and plenty of fresh meat and vegetables. The rats are caught in the rice fields by the Cambodians and brought over the border to sell to the Vietnamese.
At the tunnels we are guided by Mr Sun and firstly we sit to watch a short film. Very interesting to be on the anti American side of the story. I'm a bit naive when it comes to understanding the purpose of the war but am gaining a bit of an understanding by piecing together what our guides are or are not telling us. The tunnels are a network of floors and alleys and branches more than 250km long with places for dining, cooking, living and sleeping as well as meeting, weapon making etc. it really was an underground village. Much work is being done here to preserve the tunnels and improve the area for the tourist and the Vietnamese. The traps they deployed and the land mines they laid made it so difficult to negotiate the forest. A horrible place to be. I'm glad we got to see this and we even had the chance to go down into one of the tunnels and it was unbearable hot and stuffy and cramped. This one they have made 30% bigger to cater for the tourist.
After a couple of hours we are back in our van for the very exciting drive back. It's unbelievable the number of motorbikes on the road. Both sides. The road rules are simple, there aren't any! It takes a while to get back but there is never a dull moment and we often broke into spontaneous applause when our driver managed to get us through. A great afternoon.
A nice soak in the bath is very welcome before we venture out again for dinner. We head to the night market and after a walk around we settle for a place in the market that is jam packed with local people. Choosing what to have is a challenge and will be a mystery when it arrives. We were not prepared to see quite so many things with and without legs in our noodle dishes. There are many baby octopus which are just too tough and yucky and a lot of worm looking things. I'm sure it was a sight for the locals as we went through and picked out all the creepy little morsels. Warm beer and interesting food, not our best effort so we head back to the hotel and have a cold beer and cocktail at the rooftop Saigon Saigon bar before falling into our big comfy bed.
Our hotel is in a great position within walking distance to plenty of shops and restaurants. By 11am we are checked into our rooms and we have made plans with the help of Tinh to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels at 12.30 today. Just enough time to have a quick look around and some lunch before we meet with the other 5 people and our guide Mr Sun.
The drive to the tunnels is not long in distance less than 70k I think but it will take around 90 minutes with traffic and the road condition. The drive itself is part of the adventure with dodging and weaving that goes on. The scenery of the roadside shops and business providing endless entertainment. Everything and anything is carried on bikes. Goldfish in plastic bags, pot plants, mattresses and furniture.
As we get out of the city there are roadside stops where you can get a drink and have a rest in a hammock as there are rows of them strung between trees and posts.
We see a stall selling live rats and plenty of fresh meat and vegetables. The rats are caught in the rice fields by the Cambodians and brought over the border to sell to the Vietnamese.
At the tunnels we are guided by Mr Sun and firstly we sit to watch a short film. Very interesting to be on the anti American side of the story. I'm a bit naive when it comes to understanding the purpose of the war but am gaining a bit of an understanding by piecing together what our guides are or are not telling us. The tunnels are a network of floors and alleys and branches more than 250km long with places for dining, cooking, living and sleeping as well as meeting, weapon making etc. it really was an underground village. Much work is being done here to preserve the tunnels and improve the area for the tourist and the Vietnamese. The traps they deployed and the land mines they laid made it so difficult to negotiate the forest. A horrible place to be. I'm glad we got to see this and we even had the chance to go down into one of the tunnels and it was unbearable hot and stuffy and cramped. This one they have made 30% bigger to cater for the tourist.
After a couple of hours we are back in our van for the very exciting drive back. It's unbelievable the number of motorbikes on the road. Both sides. The road rules are simple, there aren't any! It takes a while to get back but there is never a dull moment and we often broke into spontaneous applause when our driver managed to get us through. A great afternoon.
A nice soak in the bath is very welcome before we venture out again for dinner. We head to the night market and after a walk around we settle for a place in the market that is jam packed with local people. Choosing what to have is a challenge and will be a mystery when it arrives. We were not prepared to see quite so many things with and without legs in our noodle dishes. There are many baby octopus which are just too tough and yucky and a lot of worm looking things. I'm sure it was a sight for the locals as we went through and picked out all the creepy little morsels. Warm beer and interesting food, not our best effort so we head back to the hotel and have a cold beer and cocktail at the rooftop Saigon Saigon bar before falling into our big comfy bed.
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