Labour Day

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
May 01, 2009

Today is another holiday - Labour Day. Again, for us it means that businesses have shortened hours or are closed.

We were up before 6 am and Bill was not ready when I went down for breakfast at 7:20. I carried down my soy milk and raisins and had some cornflakes with peanut butter, raisins and soy milk with tea. Yum! Bill came down when I was on my way up, so I had to go back down and get the key. He only ended up having watermelon and juice.

We were downstairs at 7:45 for our pick-up. They collected us before 8:00 and dropped us and 2 other couples at another travel office. We paid $15 each for the tour and it is listed here for $5 each... We transferred to another, larger bus and waited for the rest of our group. We left the tour office around 8:30.

Our driver is not wearing shoes... Our guide said that if we can not remember his name, then we should remember his face and call him Number One. We all ended up calling him Number One.

We stopped a short distance later at a shop where the Victims of Cu Chi work. They make paintings, bowls, vases, ect out of lacquer, mother of pearl and pieces of egg shell (we had seen this at the Fine Art Museum, but did not know that it was made from egg shells). We did not meet the victims or learn of their stories. We did see their empty work stations with partially completed works and get to tour their store. Bill and I ended up buying three hand painted book marks of ladies wearing white Ao Dai outfits for $9. We think that they will be nice to frame.

It was another hour to Cu Chi (around 70 kms) and we both had short naps along the way. When we got out into the countryside it was quite nice. There are lots of trees and rivers. It is very green. We saw a few horses, water buffalo and some egrets - they actually have birds in this country! The houses were made of cement and were not on stilts. It must not flood too much during the rainy season here.

We had to pay 65,000 (less than $5) for one ticket and 15,000 (around $1) for another ticket (that we never used?). The funny thing is that I asked Number One what the monument was on the second ticket and he waved his arm and said, "It is here". OK - I think that makes it scam number 3 for the day!

Inside Cu Chi, the underground tunnels used by the Viet Cong (VC) during the American War, we were able to get a first hand look at where these people lived and how they were so effective against the American soldiers. The tunnel system was a village underground that had hospitals, living quarters, rooms for sewing and cooking, weapon caches and a communication route. The VC would stay underground during the day and come out at night to engage in battle, tend to the fields and search for supplies.

The first thing we saw was their use of traditional warfare with booby traps that were covered with leaves. If a soldier stepped on it, he would fall into a hole of spikes. The VC also made land mines out of unexploded American shells. They would bury them next to a tree or in the ground with a branch sticking out of it to look like a sapling.

Bill and others were able to get a first hand fell for what it was like for the VC. He jumped down into a hole that led to one of the tunnels. He (and others) could barely get in and out. I thought we were going to have to leave one lady from England behind (she looked like Winnie the Pooh). I did not give it a try, the whole place was giving me the creeps at first and I did not want to be shoved down a tiny hole.

We saw a few places where American bombs had been dropped on the site.

There are spots along our path that look like termite mounds. These are actually covers for the underground ventilation. Very clever!

We tried some of the VC food. They ate rice, chicken and roots. We were able to have some of the cooked roots dipped in peanuts and salt. It tasted like potato.

We were able to go to a shooting range. Bill and I bought 10 bullets for an AK47 for 220,000 dong ($15) - no forms, no nothing. We just had to follow a guy to the range and he loaded the gun for us. We quickly put hearing protection on, but it did not do much good. Dang it was loud there! I shot 5 bullets and Bill shot 5 bullets. The gun did not have as much kick-back as I expected.

Number 1 is very bossy and keeps yelling at our group. He has provided some good information, but we can overhear other guides and their English is better and they are giving better explanations. Our guide also likes to touch us a lot when he counts us (as he has done many times) and has even shoved some too.

We saw some ladies making some rice paper wrappers and drying them in the sun, but we did not get an explanation.

There was one spot where we got to go down into a tunnel. It has been enlarged to accommodate tourists, but was still extremely tight. I was crouched down and bent at the waist and my shoulders were still hitting the ceiling. By the time we got to the exit my hamstrings were cramping up. Our group managed to split up a bit and some of us came out a different exit. It is surprising how confusing it was down there even though I am sure it was much brighter than it would have been for the VC.

Number 1 has managed to lose 2 people in our group and he is not very happy about it...

We watched the introduction video on the way out because the hydro is back on. It was a documentary that was made in 1967. We thought it would explain the tunnels, but it was really more of a propaganda film talking about how the Evil Devils, the Americans are bombing women, children, chickens, ducks, schools, pots and pans. It also was praising the men and women American Killing Heroes.

We left Cu Chi after 1:00, so we did not think that we would be back into Ho Chi Minh City at 2:00 (as were told by the tour company). I am not sure why we bother to ask how long things will take, because 99% of the time, it is incorrect. So, we snacked on our multi-grain chips and I had a nap on the way back.

It was raining when we got back and it was around 2:15. They were dropping people off near their hotels, but we jumped off early to grab some grub. We have only had chips since 7:30 this morning.

By the way, we both hate being with tour groups. People wander off and take their time doing everything. You spend 1/2 your time waiting for them to take a picture or catch up to the rest of the group. It is always nice to have someone in your group step in front of you or shove you so they can hear what the guide is saying...

We walked around for a while in the rain before we found a "pho" (Vietnamese soup) place. I had pho chicken with tra da and Bill had pho beef with Tiger Beer. The soup was pretty good, but not overly filling. We ended up talking to one of the waiters who was thrilled to practice his English. He asked us for our email address and is going to write to us. He is originally from the Mekong Delta and is going to school here. He was kind enough to bring us some complimentary green tea.

We went back out into the rain because it was after 3 and Bill knew there was a place near our hotel that started Happy Hour at 3. As we walked up to the place Bill read that the deal was for Tiger draft only and was not any cheaper than he normally paid. So, we went back to the room and flicked through the channels. There was nothing on so I went down to the internet and Bill went for a haircut.

He was kind enough to bring me a Pokka iced tea. He is working on booking us some more tours and hotel rooms while I am finally caught up on the blogs. That is the first time in weeks!!

We walked to Black Cat restaurant in the rain. I ordered the curried lamb meatball on French baguette with water. Bill ordered meatballs in tomato sauce on a crusty roll with Parmesan and mozzarella and a mojito with flare (strawberry). Dinner was pretty darn good and was 270,000 dong ($20).
 
We stopped at Du Du (Em Em) and purchased a wooden stamp with a water buffalo for $1.80.

When we were steps away from our hotel I suggested that we go for a drink first. Nothing on our street looked good, so we went down another street. Nothing looked good and we kept walking. We turned down an alley and ended up in the bars where " you don't bring your own date, we have one for you" area of town. So, we finally circled back to our hotel (10 blocks later) and just went to bed. I fell asleep watching "The Davinci Code".