Sat (Feb 17): Skipping this. Read the runabout here.
Sun (Feb 18): We started our day with a 1/2 day tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels with Sinh Cafe, Vietnam's largest tour provider. As it was during the Tet holidays, there were plenty of travelers taking tours that day. So we stood in a pack of sardines in front of the Sinh Cafe office for 30 mins while waiting for our bus to board. The Cu Chi Tunnels are a
series of tunnels created by the people in the Cu Chi area during their resistance against the Americans during the Vietnam War. During the tour, we saw how they structured their tunnels, how they lived, and traps and weapons used to defend their position. A short 15 minute video made in the 196o's showed life around that time, with an emphasis on killing Americans. The black-and-white video introduced a few men and women who were given "American Killer Awards". I'll bet the Americans on the tour didn't appreciate that too much. I also fired 5 rounds of M-16 and an AK47. Very loud. Pretty fun. And got kind of close to the target.The rest of the day with Saigon Hotpot is described quickly here.
Mon (Feb 19): We spent out morning in Cholon (Chinatown). But with Tet still in the air, most stops were closed, and there wasn't too much to see on the streets. Cholon's probably best known for two things: Binh Tay Market (which was closed) and the pagodas/temples. So, we casually made our way around 6 or 7 temples and pagodas
shown on our Lonely Planet map. After a few, yes, they get to be repetitive. But each of them has something somewhat interesting. Part of the fun is also imitating the locals in their praying traditions. In many pagodas, there is a wooden horse. People pray to it, touch it's head, waddle under its belly, and shake its bell (no, not THAT bell... a real bell hanging from its neck). What I liked the most were the circular incenses hanging from the ceiling in a cone shape. Kind of neat. Though kind of dirty with all the ashes landing on your head and shoulders as you walk beneath them. But still, kind of neat visually.
In the afternoon, we were joined by Saigon Hotpot members Linh and Ngoc. At only 23 years old, Linh is the founder of Saigon Hotpot. Together, we went to Central Saigon, down Dong Khoi street (the high-end street). Around that area, we saw People's Committee Building, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Central Post Office.After circling around Central Saigon, a bus ride took us to Binh Quoi Tourist Village, which is basically a large park area and a buffet all for a flat entry fee. With Saigon Hotpot's help, we got in for free and just went in to walk around without eating. We sort of regretted it later because the food looked pretty good and seemed fairly traditionally Vietnamese. In hindsight. We ended up having a very cheap dinner (<$1US for Hue noodle soup; Hue is a city about 10 hours North) just behind Ben Thanh Market. Although the cheap noodles weren't altogether too bad. And pretty street (i.e. local).
Tues (Feb 20): Another Sinh Cafe tour - this time a one-day trip to the Mekong Delta (Ben Tre and My Tho). This tour was kicked off with sleeping on a bus for 3 hours, and then a motor boat ride. First stop was at a rice paper factory (and when I say factory, don't think big machinery; think primeval equipment like woks, rulers, and hand packaging). We sat aboard a row boat through a winding path within the delta while donning Vietnamese straw hats. We had a short stop for fruit and some painfully screechy Vietnamese singing. From there, we hopped onto a carriage pulled by a small horse to a coconut factory, where they make products out of coconut shells, and had some tasty honey tea with bees flying about trying to get a bit of that sweet honey goodness. Another motorboat took us to a coconut candy factory.With a bit of leftover time back to HCMC, we swung by the People's Committee Building and Rex Hotel again to see them lit up at night.
