Ho Chi Minh, Cu Chi Tunnels

Another early morning for a day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, north of Ho Chi Minh. The Cu Chi tunnels are a huge network of underground tunnels build in the late 1940’s during the war against the French and later extended during the Vietnam war. The tunnels, spanning many levels and totalling over 250km, were used for hiding, launching surprise attacks, storing weapons, medical treatment and living. Conditions underground were described as boarder-line unbearable (rodents, insects, heat, lack of food and water, darkness and not to mention their size). We crawled through 40m of tunnels made wider for tourists, with some lighting and airflow and despite that, 5 minutes was enough. We also saw a range of various jungle traps that would have been buried in the floor, hung on doors, attached to trees or hidden inside fake tunnels entrances. It was not dissimilar the stuff from Rambo!

Later that afternoon we retuned to the city and left to watch the sunset. As usual photos never do sunsets justice but it was a good one setting over the skyline. We walked the main boulevard eating street food and then rode out to explore a little further. Without a clue where we were going we eventually came across a busy set of back streets all connected with more street food vendors, this time having a very local vibe. Sure enough we tried some more food which was delicious.

We finally arrived back to the hotel and decided to have a night out so showered off and left at 11pm for a night down Bui Vien street with a seemingly never ending happy hour!Read more