ho chi minh

Dear travel journal,
Today was a long one. After not getting in the train until 11pm last night and some stupid loud annoying song being blasted at 5am to get us up and have 5 minute warning to get off the train. Today was already gonna be hard but then we just kept going! Back to the hotel and we were split between 3 rooms to shower and get sorted for the day. I was put with the 4 kiwi boys - guess i really am one of the boys now lol. We all showered and a couple of the boys had a shave and we headed up to the hotel resteraunt for breaky (not good...). Then at 7am jumped back in a bus and started our day. First stop was the war tunnels. We were shown a map of the site and given the history of how during the vietnamese soldiers (gorillas) would fight while still planting rice and doing their trades. They literally faught to keep their way of life. Three soliders where highlighted for having the most american solider kills. 2 everyone men, one a farmer who was said to have a gift of knowing where the most strategic place to set up bombs and traps were and a teenage girl who refused to not fight back after her entire family had been killed. The tunnel systems had three levels, air vents, water wells, waste disposal systems, and many hidden exists including ones that opened out under water in the river. Most tunnels had small entry points. Just big enough for vietnamese soldiers to fit - the average being 55kg and 150cm tall. Which made it hard for bigger build american soliders to fit down tunnels and holes and if they did sections of the tunnel where tight and created bottle necks so they would never make it past the gorillas and back out. Bac showed us heaps of holes and traps and bunkers and bomb craters. And then we went down into the tunnel system to experience what it was like. I only did the first bit which was definately a crouch down job. I was told it got much worse and very narrow so i jumpwd out. But the boys all made it through and said it wasnt that bad, so wish i had done the hole lot, but thats ok i understand and cant believe people lived like that. Then we went down to the firing range and euan, guss, nicola and I, had a go at shooting the M16. I was too short for the platform but got to the edges of the target and think i hit it once. It was not quite what i expected. No where near as bad as i had made up shooting a gun to be like in my head. Im glad i did it, but prefer my bow. Then a bit more walking around and we jumped back in the bus for a couple of hours and we had lunch at a place called the garden along side the mekong river. Then we jumped into little boats (4 to a boat) and put on the wide woven hates and were taken down stream to the main river and put on a bigger boat and went down stream. Off at the jetty we walked through some markets and jumped onto tuk tuks. Which here are a tri-bike with bench seats in on a tray on the back. Helmets on and we were off through the back streets, pasts coconuts, rice fields, and a bunch of other things being grown. Houses and streams pets galore. Seriously some of these houses are huge even by home standards. Insane. Afternoon tea was fruit at a local cafe which have long tables under coconut leave roofs and little huts all around the place that are used by couples on dates. Cute. Then back on the bikes and we headed down to a coconut candy factory. They make loads of different coconut candys, dried fruits, things made from the husks etc. We all ate and tried and everyone else tried coconut wine. And we brought some goodies and i brought a new bag and then owner showed us his beautiful 2m-3m python who is mid-molt and a few of us had a hold. He was very cool. Then back on the boat to cruise back to the other side of the mekong. Which here they call the 9 tails river, as it 9 major branches that lead out to sea. Relaxing, watching the sunset and drinking fresh coconuts. Then back on the bus for the two hour bus journy back to the city. Up to our rooms to get sorted and we headed out for dinner. It was quite nice. Then we walked to a bar and left the boys too it and everyone else headed off to bed.Read more