Good Morning, Vietnam! (Sorry)
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
November 7
The Cu Chi tunnels are about 40 miles from Saigon (only the government calls the city Ho Chi Minh City, everyone else calls it the historical name of Saigon). The tour starts with a Communist propaganda film inside a building followed by walking into the jungle and visiting the tunnels. The original entrance to the tunnels has been made bigger (from 60 cm. by 80 cm to 80 cm by 120 cm) so tourists can get in. What I found to be most interesting was the traps around the tunnels, which were made of either bamboo or metal. There were many different types including one meant for soldier’s feet, a door trap and one that would hit them in the sides. The ideas was not to necessarily kill the intruder but to mame them so badly that when they would go back to their platoon and tell stories of the tunnels, so no one else would want to go.
The incense-filled Jade Emperor Pagoda mixes Buddhism and Confucianism I was a bit worried as I could not really stand. However, by the time night rolled around and we went out it was good enough. There are some good bars to go to and they don’t have a closing time. The ones we went to were largely tourist bars, which are mostly tourists and local girls who are “working.”
November 13
I stayed in Nha Trang today. I had planned to go yesterday but with my toe that was not possible. My toe is very bruised but I can walk on it, however, my backpack feels really heavy now. I was fortunate to leave tonight, as yesterday there was a typhoon near Hoi An and a couple of cars were swept away and people died. The worst thing happened on our trip was that a rock was thrown through one of the windows, near where I was sitting. They were going to get another bus, which would have taken a couple hours, but we convinced them to just continue on. Some of the group decided to stray in Nha Trang for a little longer, which is unfortunate because it was a good group. With an all-nighter last night I should be tired enough to sleep on the overnight bus to Hoi An.
