Laura's 'Nam Fan - Cu Chi Tunnels
Today we are off to to the world famous Cu Chi Tunnels which I was looking forward to seeing. I like history so I enjoyed learning all about the vietnam war.. particularly whilst I was visiting the place where it all happened. I was lucky enough to get the chance to go into the tunnels (although my colleagues didn't come down) ... they are tiny and it felt very claustrophobic....luckily I am only 5ft 3..but if I was any taller I felt I would get stuck.. although I saw people taller than me going in them and they managed to get through.
There was also a shooting range were you can pay to shoot a selection of guns and I was planning to have a go, but the sound of the guns going off was so LOUD! I practically jumped out of my skin every time a gunshot went off, so decided against it.
After the tour around the cu chi tunnels we headed back to the minibus and off to lunch at a local restaurant where again the food was lovely and staff very welcoming.
After lunch we visited the war museum. This was very intresting, but also quite upsetting. It brought home how much devastation was caused and how many innocent people were treated badly or killed. Some of the pictures we saw that were taken by photographers covering the Vietnam War were very shocking and personally upsetting for me to see, bearing in mind how much I am enjoying this beautiful country..
After the war musuem, our mood lightened and we headed to the Ben Thanh Market to so some shopping which includedg a walk around the city centre. After some frantic bartering I bought some presents (going home is getting close) and we headed back to the hotel where we had a couple of hours to relax and get ready for dinner for 730pm.
We were picked up from the hotel reception and our guide took us to one of the restaurants the tour company BenThanh Toursit has opened; the food was great and very filling. After dinner we went and visited the park hyatt (which looked lovely) and then walked onto the caravelle hotel to try one of the most famous and deluxe bars in ho chi minh called the saigon saigon bar. This is on the 9th floor of the caravelle hotel overlooking the city. The entrance to the hotel was magnificent, as was the rest of the hotel and in particular the amazing saigon saigon bar, in which there was a band playing and where we drank some delicious cocktails in very big glasses!
The Caravelle Hotel looks over the grand opera house and has lovely views of the city... it was a really memorable evening
After enjoying the view ..and the band.. and the potent cocktails... it was time to head back to the hotel, I remember feeling sad as tonight was our last night in Vietnam. At the start of this wonderful trip I had been so nervous about coming to Vietnam..now, enchanted by a special country full of friendly people, amazing sights and incredible food, I knew that I didn’t want to leave...............
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|