- December 22, 2024, Sunday.
- I covered pretty much the basics of Saigon in my previous blog, but in and around Saigon lie many adventures that are worth experiencing. As much as I like to DIY all my tours, there are times when booking Klook tours (the good ones at least) just makes things easier especially when covering long distances or obscure places. - And boy did I maximize Klook for this Vietnam trip!
- The first tour I had was for the Cu Chi Tunnels. Located an hour outside Saigon's city proper, this series of tunnels was used during the Vietnam War by the Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communists). I learned that the term "Viet Cong" is regarded as a derogatory term, so they are referred to as VCs instead. I have also been to the Cu Chi Tunnels before, but there was one thing I wanted to prove that I wasn't able to do in the past: that I could fit in those tiny square holes on the ground.
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| We first had a visit to the handicraft center that employs handicapped people, some were also victims of the Vietnam War. |
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| An explanation of the kind of work they do. (They make lacquerware.) |
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| Learning to fly. |
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| Hello. |
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| Bombs. |
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| A representation of the kind of ventilation system that they had in the tunnels. This is a small chimney for when they cook during the wee hours of the morning when the surrounding mountains are foggy. |
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| Clothes the VC wear during the day (green, at the back), and at night (navy blue, in front). These colors help camouflage them with their surroundings. |
- For those who have never been, the whole area is just a tiny part of the big network of tunnels. Some tunnels were enlarged for tourists, especially tall and big-boned people which the tunnels were definitely NOT made for. The Vietnamese were thin and short (more so than they generally are these days).
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| We had to watch this short documentary about the war before proceeding to the next part of the tour. |
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| A diorama showing the different kinds of rooms in the tunnels and how the VCs were able to go survive while living in those tunnels. |
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| One of the sample entrances to the tunnel system. This is mainly for tourists, but the size of this wasn't far off from the original ones that may look smaller than this. (Guy in red is our tour guide, Felix.) |
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| If anyone calls me fat, I won't believe it anymore! Hahahaha. (But yes, I know I'm on the heavy side.) |
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| One of the many kinds of bobby traps set up by the VCs to trap opponents (who were Americans or allies of the Americans.) |
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| Inside a sample tunnel. We were told the size of these tunnels were enlarged for tourists. |
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| One room meant as a hospital. |
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| Will I survive? |
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| Meeting room underground. |
- The tour ended with a taste of boiled cassava, with sugar and nuts to add flavor. The sugar and nuts mixture is mainly for the tourists, as the VCs would eat the cassava as is. After this was a short visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels souvenir center before going back to Saigon.
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| Boiled cassava; I rolled it in the sugar and peanut mixture. |
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| Passed by a lady making VC-style clothing. |
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| Also passed by a man making VC-style sandals. The soles were made in such a way that when you walk, the footprints show the opposite direction as a way to confuse enemies. (In some cases, the VCs would wear one sandal with footprints going one way and the other sandal the other way to further confuse enemies.) |
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| Some landmines. |
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| The tour was kind enough to give each one of us a postcard showing Vietnam's culture! (I got the music one.) |
- Back in the city, I had a sumptuous lunch at Ben Thanh Market after all that walking and going inside tunnels during the morning. It is always a delight, though overwhelming, to go through the endless food stalls in Ben Thanh Market. From the market, I walked to the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City. The building was built in the 1800s and used as the residence of various governors and government officials (French, Japanese, and Vietnamese), became the Supreme Court, and turned into a museum in 1978. The museum has rooms that show the history and culture of Saigon. Because of the museum's Eurasian look, it is a popular place for photoshoots. Unfortunately, too many people were having their photoshoots that day it was hard to move around the museum or even take photos myself. (I ended up NOT taking any photos inside the building as much as I wanted to.)
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| Seafood for lunch at Ben Thanh Market. |
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| Please don't judge. I was hungry and had barely anything to eat for breakfast. |
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| Museum of Ho Chi Minh City. |
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| Museum interior. |
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| Costumes of the different ethnic groups of Vietnam. |
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| European architecture. |
- With some time to spare in the afternoon, I walked towards the Saigon Opera House to try the newly-opened metro system. It was its first day, and so it was crowded by commuters who needed to go somewhere, and passengers (locals and tourists alike) who just wanted to experience riding the train. From the Saigon Opera House, I rode to the Ben Thanh Station (just one stop). The metro is free for a month, and from then on passengers will need to purchase a metro ticket. The long-anticipated Saigon metro was under construction for more than a decade now, and is still in its initial opening phase, with more stations and lines currently being built. The metro system was built in cooperation with Japan, so it does feel a bit like the metro systems of Japan.
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| Saigon Opera House. |
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| Saigon Opera House metro station. |
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| Finally, an easier way to go around Saigon! |
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| I don't normally take photos of myself in train/metro stations, but this is a historic moment for Saigon! |
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| Riding for the sake of riding haha. |
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| Train. |
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| At Ben Thanh metro station. For my friends in Manila - this reminded me a lot of the Natural History Museum! |
- I spent the rest of the afternoon resting before my night food tour on a motorbike. Nam picked me up from my hotel and it was a wild ride from there (I meant this in a very very good way). The whole tour was a mix of food and culture. As much as I fear eating until I couldn't walk or feeling too bloated, the pace and the amount of food was perfectly calculated. I was told that this kind of tour became more popular during the pandemic, onwards, when Vietnam was trying to boost its local tourism, and to attract foreign tourists to experience new things in Saigon.
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| First meal for the evening: Bun thit nuong. A noodle dish with lettuce, meat, spring rolls, herbs, with fish sauce on the side. It's the Saigon version of the Hanoi bun cha. Bun cha is my favorite, so this is obviously a favorite too. |
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| We then visited the Nguyen Thien Thuat apartment building. It was originally built for the American soldiers stationed in Vietnam. Afterwards it was used as the Saigon government's free housing for those in need. Now these homes were passed on to descendants, most of whom still live in these units today. This apartment complex is enormous. However, my only concern is that, since we're really going around the several floors, aren't the residents bothered that their homes (albeit the public areas) are used as tourist sites? (And think of the amount of motorbike tours that operate daily.) |
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| The best way to see Vietnam, on a motorbike! |
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| Nam introducing me to the Vietnamese "pizza". We're sitting on the little chairs that Vietnam is known for. I am always scared because I feel that the chairs will fail on me because of my weight. I asked Nam why the Vietnamese often use little chairs and tables. He told me it was just a matter of practicality: easy to store, easy to take away (in case the food stall is illegally operating in an area), and easy to fit more people in a small area (like a corner or sidewalk). |
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| There is a food street that is located beside (?) or within the area of the Ho Thi Ky flower market. It reminds me of Manila's Dangwa (a market where they sell flowers 24/7). |
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| Trying Vietnamese savory pancakes, topped with various ingredients like shellfish, meat, shrimp, wrapped with herbs in a big lettuce leaf. |
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| So apparently, horseshoe crabs are streetfood in Vietnam. |
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| Steamed oysters. |
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| I bought this dessert because I wanted to try water coconut! A water coconut is a spiky fruit from the nipa palm plant that grows in rivers (also known as "mangrove palm"). As someone who likes coconuts, I had wanted to try this and I'm glad I saw this special treat! Apart from the white meat of the water coconut (you can see this very clearly in the photo), it has seaweeds and jelly as well. |
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| Making banh mi! |
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| That evening we also visited the memorial of Thich Quang Duc. He was a Buddhist monk who died by self-immolation in 1963 as a protest to the persecution of Buddhist monks by the hardcore Catholic President Diem. President Diem was the president of South Vietnam, back when Vietnam was still divided into two. This monument is located at the corner of the intersection where he burned himself. |
- The tour ended at 10PM, and boy was Saigon freezing at night! Definitely something I didn't expect since the Philippines didn't seem to be as cold (Saigon is at the same latitude as the Philippines). I'm happy I decided to join this kind of tour, which I felt was inherently Vietnamese (sightseeing on a motorbike, little chairs and tables, going through markets, the history of the non-food sites, and of course the kinds of dishes I got to try). Vietnam, as a fellow Southeast Asian country, felt familiar, yet different, and that's what I like about knowing more about this country! While I often like going around by myself, there are times when it's also nice to learn and hear stories from legit tour guides!
