03.09.2024 Ho Chi Minh City Day 2/4

Good morning Vietnam! Following breakfast at our hotel we were picked up by Pham, our guide we hired from Tours by Locals. We have an all day tour.
Our guide Long Pham and driver Huyen picked us up at our hotel.
Our first stop was a lacquer shop where Vietnamese who were impacted by Agent Orange work. We saw the process of turning rosewood into a beautiful piece of lacquer art using duck egg shells, mother of pearl and paint before applying the lacquer.
Our next stop was the Cu Chi Tunnels. This where the Viet Cong ( south Vietnamese who supported the communist north) built out this elaborate 155 miles of tunnels at various depths to hide from US soldiers they called tunnel rats.
They were super tiny and we only crawled through a very very small section.
Following our tunnel tour we stopped and had a traditional Vietnamese lunch. Way too much food for the two us. Diana enjoyed the pork cutlet with lemon sauce and the papaya carrot salad.
We drove back into the city. We saw wealth and poverty as we drove.
Once in the city we toured Unification Palace. This is where on April 30, 1975 a tank driven by the Viet Cong crashed through the gates and a N Vietnamese plane bombed the palace thus ending the Vietnam war.
Our next stop was at the Post Office and an opportunity to take a photo of where the last Americans were taken off the roof of the CIA building by helicopter. Long Pham wanted to buy us a beer so cheers to that.
Next we visited the War of Remembrance Museum as told from the Communist point of view. Vietnam, while very progressive is still a communist country.
Our final stop was Ben Thanh Market which is like a big flea market. We picked up a couple of t shirts.
Back to our hotel room to shower off the day’s sweat and grime.
We are tired and have another long day tomorrow so we are eating at our hotel and calling it a night. A few pics of the 12th floor dining room. One video to watch the traffic flow.Read more