For the first time in the trip Tianne and I are both exhausted. Back in our Vietnam home base of Saigon and the Elios Hotel, we opted to have a lazy day. We slept in and spent some time catching up on blog posts and email.
After breakfast we visited a few travel agents to figure out our options for the MeKong Delta. We also made arrangements for a driver to pick us up at 12:30pm to take us to the Cu Chi Tunnels outside the city.
The tunnel network of Cu Chi became legendary during the 1960s for its role in facilitating the Viet Cong control of a large rural area only 30km from Saigon. At its height the tunnel system stretched from the South Vietnamese capital to the Cambodian border. In the district of Cu Chi alone there were more than 250 km of tunnels. The network included trap doors, living areas, storage facilities, weapon factories, field hospitals, command centres and kitchens.
The tunnels were built over a period of 25 years that began sometime in the late 1940s. They were the improvised response of a poorly equipped peasant army to its enemy's high-tech offensive.
The site we visited was largely a recreation of the tunnel systems to show how everything was setup, but it was still very interesting and informative.
We also scored very well in the tour guide department for a change. Our driver was a very nice man who comes from Tianne's hometown of Bien Hoa. Our Cu Chi guide, Truong, was hilarious and cracked jokes the entire time. For example, he showed us the booby traps and the tourist traps (spots where you can hit your head). If you ever have the opportunity to visit the site, be sure to ask for Guide #106.
We had dinner at a Gourmet Vietnamese restaurant in Saigon last night called Lemongrass. It was definitely more expensive, but we have found the food at the standard Vietnamese restaurants to be just as delicious.
One More Thing About Cu Chi Tunnels
I forgot to mention in my last post that Tianne and I also tried our hand at firing an AK-47 when we were at the Cu Chi Tunnels. We both sucked and missed the target by a wide margin.
Where in the World are Jody and Tianne?
We are heading into the MeKong Delta for two days (Monday and Tuesday) and We'll be back in Saigon sometime on Tuesday evening.
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