A day and night in Saigon

SUV. Saigon style

Saturday the 23 we head out early to outside of Saigon to the Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnels were dug with simple tools and bare hands during the French occupation in the 1940's, and further expanded during the Vietnam War in the 1960's to provide refuge and a defensive advantage over the American soldiers. Despite all the bombings in their town, the Cu Chi people were able to continue their lives beneath the soil, where they slept, ate, planned attacks, healed their sick, and taught their young. Some even wed and gave birth underground, but over 10,000 lost their lives here. The Americans discovered some of the tunnels as early as 1966 and used dogs to sniff out the Viet Cong and then send in special soldiers called Tunnel Rats to clear them out.

Today there is a walking track that loops around the area, with things to see spaced at regular intervals, including examples of how people lived and what they ate. There are sample sections of tunnel which Tom crawled through but not recommended for the claustrophobic. There are examples of traps used during the war, and the remnants of B 52 bomb craters.

Tom getting ready to enter tunnels

After crawling 50 meters in the tunnel

We grab a quick lunch at Pho 2000 where Bill and Chelsea Clinton grabbed a quick lunch.  Its like a fast food Vietnamese style three floor experience. We had a bowl of the national soup.

Pho, a noodle soup with beef or chicken. Add lime, basil and peppers.

From here we go to the War Remnants Museum (formerly the Exhibition House for Crimes of War and Aggression). The exhibits tell about the war from a Vietnamese point of view including anti-American propaganda.  It is quite interesting and the exhibits are well done.

We pass by what is now the US Consulate in Saigon and was the US embassy during the Vietnam war.  The major buildings have been torn down and its now a one story building.  We make a quick stop at the Catholic cathedral where you can see the former CIA building where the last helicopters left when Saigon fell and the Americans left.

We go the Saigon Opera house for a show called The Mist, a story of Vietnamese farming life expressed through sensational music in synergy with dancers' movements and voice expression, splendid visual combined with colorful lighting effects. We finish the day with a dinner outside in the still rather warm evening weather.