We arrived in the city of nine million, ready to take in the history of the last city to fall to Communists in the war and the headquarters of the American forces. Our guide Thuy picked us up from the airport and we headed straight to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels just 70 kilometers from central Saigon. Originally built by the French, the Viet Cong extended the tunnels to 200 kilometers long and added three different levels reaching up to thirty meters underground. Not only did the engineering amaze me, but the thought of it only a mile and half from an American base of 10,000 soldiers, yet it was never discovered. Used to shelter themselves from the tons of American bombs, the VC built an immense tunnel complex equipped with camoflauged rolling traps, see saw taps and armpit traps in the ground, all with blood poison to ensure an immediate death. As we walked into the complex, the guards led us to a video viewing room to watch a fifteen minute Viet Cong video on the “devils from Washington D.C.” and “American serial killers”. No question, the Cu Chi Tunnels communicated the animosity and disdain towards Americans more than any other site we had visited so far. We emerged from the viewing room, only to scream seconds later as guards let off pretend land mines to really get the feel for life throughout the war. Throughout our hour and a half on the complex, I never seemed to get use to the unexpected boom of the land mine—I cannot even imagine living in a state of constant angst at one wrong step ending your life. After walking through the trap display room, we reached the shooting range where they offer tourists the opportunity to shoot an M-16. I declined, yet continued to jump every time a shot went off making it clear I was a foreigner. Locals didn’t flinch as gunfire went off ten feet behind them. We concluded our time at Cu Chi, walking through the insanely small tunnels many called home. At one point I had to crawl on my hands and knees, as even leaning over my height was too much to continue. I left the Cu Chi tunnels with a nauseous feeling in my stomach and a hyper jumpy state, as even a butterfly coming towards my head startled me! Megan wisely stated that we all needed to get to the hotel ASAP to watch a Disney movie.
After our day excursion we headed into the central of Ho Chi Minh City, which made the traffic in Hanoi look like nothing. Locals claim that although the city population totals nine million, there seem to be ten million motor bikes on the road at any point. We reached the Majestic Hotel with stunning views of the Saigon River and a sky bar that provided entertaining aerial views of the insane traffic. After a powerful school session, we hit the streets for what we do best—shopping and eating. Shopping stalls with knock off EVERYTHING lines the main drags, including banned books, handbags and sunglasses. Dinner at Lemongrass proved to be a winner, as fried noodles with Chin Shu spicy chili sauce has turned into my favorite dish! I walked around the city center checking out the night life scene, which proved to be much more entertaining in the streets than in the bars.
At 10:00 am the following morning, our guide met us in the lobby for a packed day of sight seeing. Our first stop—the War Crime Museum, originally named the American War Crime Museum until Bill Clinton’s visit in 2000 to normalize relations. A three level museum, it is broken up into various exhibitsions including The War Truths, Americans Use of Agent Orange, War Crime Photos, A Photographer’s Perspective and Vietnam After the War. The pictures of the horrendous consequences that still exist today from Agent Orange were the hardest to take in—the cleft lip, limb deformities, blindness and more. The war crime focused on several massacres that I had only read one line about in history class. I spent a majority of my time mesmorized by the images captured by photographer’s who risked their lives to inform countries of the reality of the war. The kids opted for the Dove Peace Room, as many of the photos were simply too grotesque for their young eyes. The museum is definitely a difficult, yet essential stop in Ho Chi Minh City.
Followed by a lighter stop at the Thien Ho Temple to honor the goddess of the sea, we dined at Pho 2000/Pho for a President, a hole in the wall restaurant made famous by a Bill Clinton visit in 2000. Pictures of Bill adorn the entire establishment, as we enjoyed one of our favorite Vietnam dishes. We attempted to walk through the Chinatown markets, yet couldn’t quite handle the crowds as it takes 5 minutes to move 20 feet. Instead, we drove by the Reunification Palace, where in 1975 a Viet Cong tank busted through the gates to declare the fall of Saigon and the unification of Vietnam as a one party communist country. With the equivalent of $5 USD in Vietnamese Dong, I searched for a fun and exciting way to spend my last few hours in Vietnam. I walked in and out of numerous stores, yet couldn’t find a product that won me over. Instead, a man standing outside the Saigon Spa offered a 45 minute hot oil massage for only $5 USD. Really? Can I pass that up? Pure heaven!
I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent in Vietnam and overwhelmed by the generosity and forgiving spirit of the Vietnamese people. It is a country with a tragic history, yet a hopeful future! I cannot wait to be back!
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