20231101 AAAA Trip - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Củ Chi Tunnels

2023 Alaska, Asia, Australia, Arabian Peninsula Trip 
Day 46/105 - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam Day 2
Củ Chi Tunnels, and War Remnants Museum

It was up and at 'em early for us today as our excursion, Cu Chi Tunnels & War Remnants Museum, met at 7:25 a.m. - yikes!

We started with a nearly three-hour bus ride north.

Older, original Saigon

We conservatively estimate that we saw over 10,000 scooters today - no joke - 10M people and 8M scooters - wow

There are stands everywhere, selling everything

Yet another overloaded scooter

An entrance  to a Christian church

Our tour today took us north of Ho Chi Minh City to the Cu Chi Tunnels - a series of tunnels built by the Viet Cong to hide from US forces and be able to infiltrate and attack.  There were over 200 kilometers of tunnels that could accommodate up to 20,000 troops at one time.  Originally measuring about 40cm wide and 80cm tall, they were designed for the more diminutive Viet Cong soldier than Western visitors.  The tunnels have been widened a bit and heightened to 120cm, but they still require stooping and potentially crawling to navigate. It took 15 years to build them all.

The tunnels are on three levels and include areas for cooking, medical, repairs, and such

Tunnel entrances are small

We saw a series of Viet Cong boobytraps that were designed to disable the enemy.

Step on the hidden panel and fall on sharp spikes

This was designed to swing from a doorway and stab in the stomach

This is a hidden tunnel entrance in the forest

One of our tour members hopped in the hole and covered up

Arms only still showing

Where did he go?  *poof*

A crater remains from a B-52 bomb

Guerillas would crawl out, pop up, shoot, and then disappear down the hole

A typical Viet Kong uniform

Viet Cong leveraged termite mounds to connect hidden channels to provide ventilation to the tunnels

Cool fungi

A US tank that was destroyed by a mine

An example of a bunker used for military prep

Massive guns left behind

We had the option to fire weapons (pay for the bullets)

I chose the M60 - 50 rounds on full auto

Serious weapon fun

An example of how they dug access tunnels

The women would carry the dirt to the river to hide evidence of the excavated dirt

Examples of Viet Cong sandals - some were designed with the soles backward so the footsteps they left looked like they were heading in the opposite directions

There was a uniform bunker where seamstresses made and repaired uniforms and footwear.

The final thing to see was the tunnel itself.  Traversing the tunnel required severe stooping and bending - something my knees have not allowed me to do for several years.  Arlona, however, is limber as ever and headed down.

A look at the climb into the tunnel

5'10" doesn't fit easily in 3'11"

She emerged unscathed but sweating and overheated.  I can't imagine how uncomfortable these tunnels were back in the day in the middle of summer.

A demonstration of how they filtered smoke from cooking

This guy scooted by - yikes

After the tunnels, we headed to lunch.

Our menu - the food was good so I didn't take photos

Next up was a stop at the War Remnants Museum which looks at the Vietnam War from the perspective of the Vietnamese.  It is an interesting experience and definitely gives Americans something to think about. I didn't take a lot of photos.

M60s like I shot today

This sculpture was made from shrapnel

It is sad that 50 Vietnamese die every year from land mine explosions.

Arlona found earrings and a necklace in the gift shop. The lovely clerk wanted to take a photo with us, so then, we asked to take a photo with her.

Our last stop was at the Rex Hotel for a drink on the 5th-floor roof bar. Here are sites along the way to the hotel.

Vinfast - a Vietnamese car manufacturer - these were all over

The palace

Notre Dame - under renovation

A former CIA house and the site of the last helicopter evacuation from Saigon

The Opera House

The Rex Hotel - drinks were on the 5th floor near the crown

My Mojito and Arlona's Rex Politan

The Opera House from the Rex

City Hall from the Rex

We had some time after drinks for a walk around.

Ho Chi Minh statue

Looking the opposite way

Pigeons making a statement

A better look at City Hall

Right across the street from City Hall - a Rolls Royce dealership

A good look at the front of the Opera House

We saw a couple of rats running around the plantings - yikes!

The Vietnamese flower - the lotus flower

It is interesting that in a communist country, Vietnam’s economy is definitely capitalistic.  There are tons of individual businesses and everyone is entrepreneurial.  It is most certainly an odd combination.

We made the remaining, traffic-filled, stop-and-go drive back to the ship. It was an 11+ hour hot hot hot marathon. When we got back to the room, the clothes flew and showers were had.  It felt wonderful.

Drinks and dinner and we were relaxed and semi-recharged.  We hit up the Explorers' Bar so I could write this post. We also decided to cancel tomorrow’s included excursion, since we saw most of the highlights and we don’t want to spend three or more hours on a bus again.

We sail tomorrow around 2 p.m. but since we’re not getting off tomorrow, it will essentially be a full sea day.  We might wander to the portside pop-up vendors to see what they have, but then again, we might not.  There may also be laundry involved as today’s clothes were really wet.  Until tomorrow…