Vietnam - Easter Sunday (part two)

I almost forgot the wackiest bit of the Cu Chi Tunnels.  The reason I almost forgot it is I didn't take a photo as they were prohibited.... see notice below...  ho hum.  

As we walked along the tour trail, we could hear the sound of gunfire in the distance.  To my middle-class, middle-aged, female white English ears it seemed a little tacky, a little bit 'side-show-ey', a little sensationalist.  But, hey, did it add to the atmosphere?  Well, yes, it did, actually.  There was the birdsong, the filmtrack sound of the tropical insects, the heat, the dust and the shots echoing through the trees.  It may have been a pre-recorded soundtrack, but the random stutter of the gunfire didn't seem to be taped, and grew louder the further into the forest we went.   It didn't occur to me that there would be a firing range at the end of the trail.. 

At the end of the trail was a gift shop / snack stop / rest room / seating facilities and a firing range (of course!).  They were happily taking the cash of the people who were eager to try firing original authentic weapons from the War and live ammunition.  The firing range dropped off to the bottom of the slope and the targets were positioned a good distance into the de-forested hillside.  I couldn't see the targets from the cover of the shop canopy, but I could see the dust raised from the shots fired.  

What you couldn't mistake was the sound of the live fire, the lingering smell of the spent ammunition  and the quickening of your heartbeat when one of the more eager shooters let off a round of rapid fire (no doubt re-living Apocalypse Now or The Deer Hunter in his mind's eye).  Surreal.

Whilst I didn't take photos of the weapons available to hire, I did snap the cabinet at the entrance to the tour - with weapons used / recovered on display - your original AK47 and others... 

I would write more, but after two days back at work the jet-lag's getting the better of me, so it's an early night tonight.  Glad I didn't forget the gunfire at Cu Chi Tunnels.  Easter Sunday afternoon sees us back in Ho Chi Minh City to visit The Palace of Re-unification.  More on that next time.

night y'all,

Kat.

Our Vietnam Adventure - day two

Easter Sunday, 5th April, and we went from Ho Chi Minh City to visit the Cu Chi tunnels - approximately 2 hours drive by minibus.  Ho Chi Minh City in April is the dry season, hot and dry.  Hot.  Vietnam travel guide weather  It made for an interesting experience leaving the hotel, walking through 33degrees, into the air-conditioned minibus, and then out into the sweltering heat again to see whatever it was we'd gone to see.  Sensibly water bottles were carried on the minibus to aid in coping with the heat.

Hmm.  Where to start?  Driving in Vietnam is a crash course - in not crashing.  It would be alarming were it not so funny.  The Health and Safety inspectorate were obviously on holiday at the same time as we were - in so much as there was no evidence that they exist in Vietnam.  Hold on to your hats, here's an idea of what it's like, taken on the way....  (and this will be good if it works, first time uploading video to the blog!)....

Anyhoo, we'll see how that looks later.

In the meantime, on the way to the tunnels we stopped for a quick history lesson from our guide, Hoi, about the rubber plantations which were established by the French (Indo-Chine) colony.

Back on the bus and we arrived at the Cu Chi tunnels mid morning.  Hoi took us around the site, following a well worn route, along with about 10 other tours being guided along the same route at the same time.  This was interesting in itself as there were other groups from France, America, and Vietnam - evidenced by the sometimes clashing narration from the other guides.  You had to be on your toes not to lose your guide.

The Vietnam War is an obvious point to bring tourists to, and still feels fresh in the consciousness of the country.  Our guide was matter of fact in her explanations of the site, and did not express an opinion either way.  She didn't have to, it was incredibly powerful to witness.

Will he fit?

Apparently yes he does!

Can you see him now?

Ta-dah!

Whilst this was a fun participation experience, the reality of the reasons for the tunnels being there was demonstrated further into the forest...

 Escape, evade and capture....

... in 1970 I was 5 years old...

The Viet fighters used every trick they could devise to target their enemy - this door trap would ensure that if the victim survived he would never be a father.  'Stand back!' this guide said, whilst he demonstrated it.  Again, the H&S police were nowhere to be seen...

Unexploded enemy bombs were retrieved, taken to makeshift workshops, and recycled (not without danger) into weapons to use against the enemy.

The Americans bombed to try to disrupt the tunnels - which were 3 tiered and could be up to 6 meters deep in places, dug into hard clay and unmapped - so the enemy couldn't get very far without becoming lost.

as buildings appeared from outside - often with secret entrance to tunnel in corner of 'room'

hospital - dug into the ground, and roofed with simple structure of frame and leaves

kitchen - VERY hot in here!

staple diet of fighters - Manioc (tapioca root - tasted like potato), peanut dip, and jasmine tea

fighters often supplemented their equipment with plunder from American soldiers...

And then we were on our way back to Ho Chi Minh for a late lunch.  The journey gave us more opportunity to see the traffic, and the insane wires...

We stopped for lunch and then went to see the Palace of Reunification.... more of that tomorrow, and this was all on 'Day One' (well, day two if you must, and for us day three since leaving home).  It was all on Easter Sunday.

Phew!

The Reluctant Traveller ... aka, me!

We did it.

Our trip to Viet Nam and Singapore was an astounding success, and now I've got the jetlag and photos to edit to prove it.  I'm going to put up selected photos here with an impression of what we did and learned, and what we enjoyed.

As with most things the planning is key.  Our travel agent Asia View Travel had been chosen by our friends in Singapore, and the itinerary they put together to meet our requests (family friendly, some history, some culture, some cooking, some lifestyle) was tip-top if more than a little frenetic.  Less of the holiday and more of an adventure.  I put my personal travel reluctance aside (see previous blog 'Baggage'), and dived straight in.

We flew out of London Heathrow on Friday 3rd April a little later than scheduled at 20:50hrs.  Our Singapore friends, R&J had recommended Singapore Airlines as they fly to Singapore the most and offer more flexibility of choice of flights.  This night flight was ideal as the opportunity to sleep made sense, although it was never going to be a great experience in economy.  Our daughter, Phoebe told me she watched 4 films on the 12hr 50min flight... I didn't.

We arrived in Singapore and transferred from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2 to meet R&J and their twins S&E, and then to connect to another Singapore Airlines flight to Viet Nam and Ho Chi Minh.  By 4.30pm local time we'd arrived, and had our first real blast of heat... more of that later.

Our guide for the next 3 days, Hoi, met us at the airport (Tan_Son_Nhat_International_Airport) and we were taken to our hotel to freshen up.  Although we'd eaten on the plane, we went to the trendy open-air roof-top bar (OMGSAIGON), and after some remonstration with the staff (by R, who's 20yrs ex-pat and knows how the system in Asia operates) the children were allowed to join the adults for something to eat.

Here's what we saw:

 R, illuminating the menu for Tom with his iPhone (torch) - modern life in Tropical Asia at night.

Not having any expectations, I was quite surprised by the skyline, which was relatively modern to my country eyes.  A quick supper on the deck, and we were all in bed by 10pm local time as we'd an early start (8am) next day to go to the Cu Chi tunnels (Cu Chi tunnels), a 2 hour drive away....

K.