After a wonderfully refreshing night of sleep, we set out to explore the city. Of course, we couldn’t explore the city on empty stomachs. Not far from the apartment was a very restaurant that served a great breakfast. We started off sharing a large and amazingly fresh fruit platter, followed by fantastic eggs benedict. It was definitely one of the best breakfasts I have eaten in a long time.
Our first stop was the War Remnants Museum. When I was a kid, I preferred sitting down with a good history book than do pretty much anything else. In a somewhat ironic turnabout, my teachers actually took books away from me because I would rather read than listen to lecture. What I love, and still love, to read about is history, and more specifically US military aviation history. My favorite book was
Great American Fighter Pilots of World War II by Robert Loomis. I read that book cover to cover probably close to a hundred times. Most 10-year-old kids can recite the statistics of their favorite athletes to a “T”. I knew the number of kills of the top American fighter pilots by heart. My interest eventually expanded outside of World War II, into the Vietnam War or War of American Aggression as it is known in Vietnam , and beyond. But everything I’ve ever read is from an American perspective, naturally. It would be interesting see things from the eyes of the other side.
No sooner did we purchase tickets for museum and step inside, did the heavens open up and the rains of monsoon season descended upon us.
All war is terrible and no war should ever be “popular”. Unsurprisingly, there was a large section on the anti-war movement in America.
Afterwards, we walked to the nearby Independence Palace.
My favorite part of the visit to the Independence Palace was the basement/bomb shelter. The basement is exactly what I imagined a Cold War bunker would look like.
It was even equipped with a kitchen…
Complete with a Mix Master.
Finishing up the Independence Palace, we cut across a beautiful park in search of dinner.
Midway across the park, we encountered a group of guys playing a game resembling hacky sack back home but with badminton net. Noticing our curious gazes, one of the guys beckoned us to come over with a big smile. We only spoke two words of Vietnamese, and they spoke two words of English. But through hand gestures and demonstrations, we had a pretty good game of whatever this is going, and it was a lot of fun.
We found this restaurant not far from the park with really good reviews on Trip Advisor. It was tucked away down a little alleyway lined some very friendly stray cats. Being more of a dog person, so I kept my distance. My friend’s wife, however, loves cats, and naturally she went gaga over the cats. Slowly but surely, we eventually reached the restaurant. Although it was deserted, our first impression was very positive, as it was clean and bright. But everything went downhill from there. Service was slow, and the food was mediocre at best. How in the world did this place warrant 4.5 stars on Trip Advisor? We soon found out. After we were finished, the waitress came to ask us if we enjoyed everything. I said yes, to be polite. The waitress got very excited, almost too excited. She asked if I could write a review on Trip Advisor for them. In hopes of ending the conversation and paying the bill so we could leave, I said of course. Big mistake. She then insisted that I do right there. I tried to make an excuse that we didn’t have internet access, but apparently the restaurant has wifi. She stood over me, until I agreed to do it there and insisted on reading it before she gave us the bill. I just slapped some dong down, and we got the hell out of there.
We picked up a cake and some fruit to celebrate my friend’s birthday, which was a little earlier in the month. Once back at the flat, we cracked open the last of our Chang beer stash we bought the day before. The cake was fluffy and delicious, the mango was fresh and ripe, and the beer was refreshing. This was certainly one of the more unique birthday celebrations I’ve been part of, and I could think of far worse celebrations.
The next day, we headed back to the same diner and enjoyed another delicious breakfast of fruit, fried eggs, and waffles. The plan was to visit the Chu Chi tunnels, located about 60 kilometers outside of the city. The Chu Chi tunnels are a part of the system of tunnels used by the North Vietnamese as a means to move troops and supplies without being interrupted by the American bombing campaign. We spent most of breakfast trying to figure out a way of getting there, as the tunnels are located in a remote area. Uber seemed like the most logical option. But there was no guarantee the driver would be willing to make it all the way out there or, more importantly, take us back. But we decided to give it a shot. Our request was promptly accepted, and a Hyundai Elantra pulled up several minutes later.
The driver got nervous when he saw our destination, but he started driving anyways. I figured he was antsy about picking up a fare back to the city just like be we were. There was a bit of a language barrier, so I thought it would be best to hash it out when we got to the tunnels. It took nearly two hours to reach the tunnels. On the way, I was trying to figure out a way to communicate with the driver. I eventually remembered we had the hotspot, so I connected to that and used Google translate to get the message across. It worked like a charm. The driver looked relieved when he saw the message, and answered back he pause the ride and wait for us as long as we needed. Which was a relief for us, because if he left I seriously doubt we could have found a ride back.
Tickets to the tunnels cost $5 a piece, which I thought was very reasonable as it was a guided tour. But first we had to get to the tunnel entrance, and it was quite a walk from the ticket booth.
On the way, there was plenty of remnants of the war on display, including a staple of US military still today: casings from 500 pound “dumb” bombs. Cluster bomb casings and rocket pods used by helicopter gun ships were also on display.
Bomb craters from the intense American bombing campaigns still remain. Judging by the number of craters in that area, the claim of the craters resulting from a B-52 bombing run appears plausible.
We met our guide at a little covered pavilion, where a movie about the war and the building of the tunnels was also shown. Our guide was a rather interesting fellow. He had a keen sense of fashion dressed in Kelly green fatigues and sandals. Judging by his serious demeanor, he seemed to be a soldier and appeared to be old enough to have actually fought in the war. But as tour progressed, he showed a quick wit and dry sense of humor. I bet he certainly has some really good stories.
The first tunnel of the tour was the one of the larger ones. And even so it was a tight squeeze. A really tight squeeze. My friend and his wife are fairly slender, but even they had trouble getting through. I am definitely not slender, and I had a ton of trouble getting through.
The entrance to the next tunnel. Yeah... No. There’s no way in hell I’m fitting in there.
One of the Australian blokes in our group decided to give it an old college try.
The infamous booby traps.
The third tunnel we entered was far larger and elaborate, and all of us could stand up straight. It was even equipped with an operating room. Regardless of what side you’re on, you have to acknowledge the ingenuity and persistence to create something like this.
Escape tunnel.
By the time we finished the last tunnel, rain was starting to come down. So we ran back to the parking lot to find our driver patiently waiting for us. We were glad to be back in air-conditioned bliss after several hours of hiking around in the tropical heat and humidity. The ride back into town was quicker the outbound since traffic was lighter. Our time with the driver spanned over 120 kilometers, nearly 7 hours, and pretty much door-to-door service. The fare was paltry 500,000 VND, and we slipped him another 1,000,000 VND for his trouble and waiting time. That translated to $65, which was a bargain.
Beat from the long day, we stuck close to the flat spending our last evening in Ho Chi Minh City just hanging out.