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The rest of the world sleeps on hard beds, as we've discovered on our previous trips, and Vietnam is no exception. The hard beds are great for your back, but not your hips, shoulders, or # of hours of sleep. I'm wide awake at 4:45 without an alarm clock, so I try to catch up on some blogging while the girls sleep...another 45 minutes and I can get some sunrise photos. I wake the girls to start getting ready for the day as I leave for the roof. I get a couple inquisitive looks from the staff setting up breakfast as I enter the breakfast area 30 minutes before it opens...if they only knew how totally opposite of an early riser I am. A couple of great sunrise photos and I'm flying back down the stairs to get Heather to come get breakfast, its at least 20 degrees cooler than it was the morning before, we need to eat before the sun really breaks the horizon and turns the breakfast area into a hot box again...you'd think the hotel would have invested in some fans some time in the last 87 years!
After breakfast I haggle with the front desk to arrange a late checkout, the receptionist seems a little put off by my last minute request but I end up with a "ok, special for you, 2pm check out, ok?"
We're off to the Chu Chi Tunnels today; our guide, Hua, meets us promptly at 8am in the front lobby, but we're delayed 5 minutes because all the lady staff members of the hotel want to pinch Maclaren's cheeks and talk about how cute she is. Off we go, at a crawl through HCMC rush hour traffic. Its about 60km to the tunnels but its a solid 1.5 hour drive. Along the way, the guide asks us if we are interested in stopping at a factory where they make lacquerware...I thought the whole purpose in hiring a guide rather than just a tuk tuk or taxi was to avoid unscheduled visits? Oh well, it might be interesting, lets go. Good call; it does turn out to be interesting, its a 5 minute walk through the factory where you can see each process of the lacquerware creation, all done by hand and most of the employees are handicap or disabled persons. There is very little begging in the streets in Vietnam because the government supports factories like this to specifically employee people with disabilities...and they are exceptionally talented artists! Of course the tour ends with a visit to the high pressure show room (and high priced). We found 1 piece that we really loved but it was part of a set of 4 and they would not split the set apart and weren't willing to make a good enough deal for me to buy the whole set, so we left empty handed.
On to Chu Chi (pronounced Co-Chi). The tunnel system is estimated at 200km in total length and is at least 3 layers deep, up to 30 feet down. All dug by hand, starting in the 1940's and culminating during the Vietnam war. As many as 16,000 people are estimated to have worked and lived in the tunnels in addition to the VC using them for guerrilla warfare. In case you were wondering, its HOT in Vietnam, especially in the jungle. The tour takes you straight through the jungle from one entrance to another, to a underground hospital, workshop, kitchen, meeting rooms, dining rooms, etc. The only place to shoot a gun in Vietnam is at Chu Chi, they have everything from AK47's to M14's to M60's. Shells are about $2 each with a minimum order of 10 shells, which is pretty darn cheap for a M60 shell, but the catch is; all the weapons AND ammunition is from the Vietnam War...40 year old ammunition just doesn't sound like a good idea, so no Rambo recreations for me. The tunnels were originally about 18" diameter (far to small for me to even wiggle through, but they have enlarged several sections to the size of a tight crouch that you are enter. They have 30, 60, and 100' routes to take. While its not scary, it is pitch black, HOT, stale air, and 30' was more than enough for Heather and I to decide that we wanted nothing to do with the 100' run. The tunnel is basically the end of the tour with a short hike back through the jungle, overall it was quite an experience.
Back to the hotel with our hair on fire, we have 30 minutes to shower and load up to get to the airport for check-in. We get a $10 taxi in lieu of the $45 mercedes ride from the hotel, check in with some of the nicest airline employees we have ever dealt with; they tell Heather that she looks like Megan Fox (ok, I've heard that before) and that I remind them of Brad Pitt (now I know they are just lying to me). Vietnamese security is a breeze especially compared to the hell of Chinese airport security. We end up at the gate with over an hour to spare, so plenty of time for lunch. My girls may be adventurous to come to foreign countries with me, but they draw the line at the food, so its Burger King for them and Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) for me.
The plane is brand new but the air conditioning sucks! Its about 99 degrees, sunny, and 80% humidity when we land in Cambodia...and there are locals wearing jackets and sweaters (light colored skin is a sign of wealth so they pay the price in sweat). Getting our Visas to Cambodia back in the States saves us 30 minutes of getting them at arrival like 95% of the other people on our airplane, we fly through immigration and are sitting in an air conditioned car with our luggage before the first person doing 'visa on arrival' hit the immigration officer.
Arrival at the hotel, we are greeted by 4 smiling, bowing Cambodians (Heather is going to love this place, it'll remind her of Thailand). Its been a long, hot, hectic day so we opt for a nap, which turns into a 9:30 room service dinner in our room, but the food is fantastic! A quick packup for the morning, we leave at 5:30am for sunrise at Tra Prohm.
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