Arriving in HCMC after a few days on the beach is like jumping into a cold pool on a hot summer day. It's certainly a shock to the system. Busy, noisy and chaotic are the first few adjectives that spring to mind and in no time we're dodging motorbikes and people peddling sunglasses again. We've got 2 days in this city and there's a lot to see, so we sign up to some tours..
City Tour: This quick afternoon tour starts at the Reunification Palace. We walk around feeling like we've just entered the Dharma Initiative. Everything looks like it was made and furnished in the 70's, which it was. They rebuilt the Palace after the American War and haven't changed anything since.
Next we visit the Post Office...uh, ok, but it's across the street from their Notre Dame Cathedral so that makes the trip worth while. The cathedral looks similar to its namesake in Paris, but on a much smaller scale.
After the tour, we're dropped off at the Ben Thanh Market, the biggest in the city (and the most touristy). Well that's our afternoon done, Rich goes crazy shopping for cheap clothes and other crap (Rich: yeah right!), when I finally pull him away from the market, it's almost dark.
Cu Chi Tunnels: Walking down into the dirt tunnel, we find it's deceptively wide. As you round the corner the outside light starts to fade and the tunnel begins to narrow. You can feel the humid heat pushing you back and as we get into a crouched position to walk further into the darkness, I hear Rich exclaim "F**k That!" And I turn around to see him heading back towards the tunnel entrance. Wimp. I forge my way on into the darkness.
To be fair, the tunnel experience is a little terrifying, with the lack of air, light, and space. Imagining what it would be like for a soldier squirming his way into the tunnels, not knowing what he'll find is a scary thought. Especially after we see the traps and weapons that we're used on the American intruders. But even more interesting, is the info we learn about the Viet Cong and how they dug the tunnels, lived in them and created this hidden underground world. No wonder the "American Devils" had so much trouble here. It's very interesting to hear the other side of the story and see how the American war caused so much destruction to this peaceful town of Cu Chi.
After our tunnel visit, we are dropped off at the War Remnants Museum which is 3 floors depicting the start to finish of the war. The war with France, immediately followed by the American War, caused chaos and upheavel and ruined a lot of lives.
We see pictures from jounalists who were on the ground during the fighting. They show soliders beating, burying and brutilizing the Vietnamese. There are photos of people affected by the chemical weapon Agent Orange that was dropped on their villages. We saw recent photos of people and children who are severly handicapped due to the ongoing affects of these chemicals that were dropped. The museum is a very sobering experience and a must-see if you vist HCMC.
To end our time in HCMC, we head back to the market and stock up on a few souvenirs. We slurp up as much veitmeanse food as we can and then say goodbye to Vietnam.
