aigon. Cu Chi is a maze of 154 miles of tunnels. Instead of using the cruise line for the excursion, we hired our own driver and guide. I’m happy we did because we left before the cruise tour and got there earlier therefore, we had more of the place to ourselves. It starts out sort of like a wax museum. There’s a brief video explaining the complex and then there are various wax figures depicting the way the Vietcong lived at the complex. As we’re wandering through, we begin to hear gunfire. Now that was eerie. Our guide explained that there was a shooting range. You pay for the opportunity to shoot either an M16 or a machine gun or an AK47. My husband was in the National Guard during the ’60’s and had shot M16’s. So, he paid a dollar a bullet to shoot the gun. It was a very active shooting range. From there we went to the tunnels. I’m claustrophobic. I was not enthusiastic about going down into these tunnels. But I try to overcome this phobia. I squared my shoulders, bent down and entered the darkness…and promptly said “let me out of here!” But our guide kept prompting me to go forward. You can’t stand up. You have to either hunker down or crawl. Sometimes crawling deeper into the tunnels. Lord help me. But I made it. And it was one of the shortest tunnels. My husband and I opted to not go into another, longer one. They also have what I would call “hidey” holes. Meaning they simply dug a hole deep enough and wide enough for a person to crawl in and stand up in and then, like a lid, cover the hole. They’d then pop up and shoot and then pop back down. My husband went into one of these. It’s too much like a coffin to me. I guess it could very well have been one.
Saigon is a beautiful city. Some call it the “Paris” of SE Asia. Much of its architecture has a definite French influence. The central post office, which is really a form of a shopping mall, is a perfect example. It was built by Gustave Eiffel. They have a nice central market but nothing to really be enthused about. The Notre Dame Cathedral, built between 1877 and 1880, is worth a look. The city has wide, tree lined boulevards. And you’d better be careful crossing the street because you can get your butt run over by a scooter. There are 1000’s and 1000’s of these scooters. It’s a safe city. I walked by myself for quite awhile and never ever felt scared or intimidated. Let’s address the elephant in the room, communism. In almost all of the private homes and museums we visited, there was a picture of Ho Chi Minh. In Saigon, if you look at the people, they are smiling, drinking coffee, hanging out on street corners. But after talking to guides, it is, to a large extend, a facade. Even though the Vietnamese do have greater freedoms than they’ve had before, they are still censored in speech and writing. Their internet is also censored. There are still political prisoners. President Obama says than when he visits Vietnam in the next few months, he will discuss these issues with their President. Vietnam and Cambodia are a favorite destination for the backpacking set. There were young westerners everywhere. The reason…it is cheap.