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Well it's 14:16pm Monday afternoon and also my second blog post! It's been an amazing day- I'm stretching to say this may very well be one of the best days I'll have on the tour. Premature decision I know but I FINALLY got the chance to shoot a gun! It's a life long facination and dream come true.
It didn't start off so well mind... Me and Pip had to force ourselves up and out at 8:30 this morning- making a quick dash for breakfast and managing a brief introduction with the rest of the tour group who we were about to go on a trip with (minus a hungover Charlie). Everyone seems friendly. There's a mix of English (Londoners: Marisa and Charlotte), Scottish (Sara, Daniel, Rhona, Callum) and Australians (Marcus and Jason)- haven't caught anybody elses name yet...
Our wonder around lastnight led us to a closed Ben Thanh Market and a lively corner bar named Allez Boo where cocktails were buy one get one free. The discounted booze didn't sell it to me as I'm not a keen drinker, the music however, was too much my thing- I was dancing away before the strong taste of Rummy lime Mai Tai even hit my lips! A few strong cocktails later; including a vile tasting 'Sweet Lady' made up of Gin, Cherry Brandy, Triple Sec and even more lethal ingredients, It was safe to say me and Pippa were quite equally pissed! We got home at around 2am and went straight to bed.
So back to the highlight of the trip...
The opportunity to shoot a gun unexpectedly arose on our day tour of the Chu Chi Tunnels just outside of Saigon- (another place of recommendation on Kim's welcome letter.)
**Tara's Take on The Tunnels Themselves: "I got to go down into one where I can only decribe myself as squat-walking/crawling through rubble in the pitch black. It was hot, cramped, uncomfortable but rather insightful too. We learnt that the tiny sized tunnel I had squeezed through had actually been expanded and widened for tourism- Thank heavens they did that, I'm sure Pippa will appreciate the crouched bum shot she got of me because of it!" **
Our Journey to and from the Tunnels were provided by private mini bus and was about 40 minutes long. There was some cool views of Vietnamese countryside along the way along with some background information and in jokes of the war from local tour gudie and War Veteran Hai. He was a funny, excitible sort of guy who couldn't stop laughing and repeating himself but he radiated such warmth and friendliness we all instantly liked him. It's worth mentioning the top reoccuring bus story of Hai's life in war... A survivor of war and evidently a popular man with the Americans; Hai told us of his fellow Vietnamese friends who found the war impossible and would flee the country... Anyone who was on that bus that day knows that these friends of Hai's would 'never come back'! Hai's translation job with the Americans luckily came up trumps. He had imported fast food for dinner rather than the Tapioca wedges Viet Cong soldiers were getting at the tunnels- they tasted pretty awful!
Hai loaned me money to pay for my shooting experience after I had spent up all of mine on entry fees, bus fees, tour guide fees for Pippa and myself. With my weapon of choice (AK47), I bought myself ten bullets for me to play with. It has more than made my day that I got to shoot a gun. As has it that I also hit target a few times- I gave Pip a few rounds too. The power of the gun, cut her shoulder and made it bleed slightly but she enjoyed it just as much as I have!
- Back at our hotel now and leaving for our first ever night train at 6:30 tonight.
Nha Trang here we come!
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