29/10/2011

Ho Chi Minh City - Day 3

This is long overdue, I know but I only got the time to continue with the HCMC trip review.

On the third day, we booked a half day guided trip to the infamous Cu Chi Tunnel via our hotel. The half day trip costs USD 5 per person for transportation and light snack. Admission fee to the tunnel cost roughly about 70,000 VND (if my memory serves me right).

Demonstration on how to enter the tunnel


One of the trap used by the Vietcongs

Spiked bamboo trap


We were really awed by the complicated tunnel system. The length of the tunnel is believed to be 200 km and it stretches till the Mekong river and it has 3 levels altogether. During the War, the tunnel had become an underground city for the Viet Cong. It had a conference room, a hospital and many had married, bred and gave births there. It's really interesting and fascinating to hear (from the tour guide) how they lived, cooked, planned their sewage system, made their own weapons and even breathed underground for so many years without being detected by the US Army.

We also had the chance to experience walking in the enlarged tunnel for the visitors for 200 meters. It was so tiring having to squat while walking in such a small and confined space, not to forget it was dark! Can't imagine how it feels like in the original tunnel. Thank God I am not claustrophobic!


Don't be fool by this picture. It was pitch dark inside. H took this picture with the help of his external DSLR flash

We were also served with light snacks of boiled tapioca and pounded ground nuts. Dahla kelaparan masa tu tambah dengan hujan lagi, ubi kayu rebus pun sedap. Haha.

After we returned back to Ho Chi Minh City, the rest of the day was spend at Ben Thanh Market and also the night market nearby. Aktiviti ape lagi, shopping la! Dan kalau aktiviti shopping tu haruslah takde gambar bagai. Mana sempat kau nak sibuk tawar lagi, nak snap gambar la. Ei, tak kuasa kot aku. Haha.

But actually, takdela shopping banyak mana pun. I just bought some cotton fabrics and baju kurung for our family members, some souvenirs, that's all. But my husband went crazy and shopped for winter clothing and everyday clothing at their local boutiques because he said it was dirt cheap for men's wear. Which is somewhat true sebab murah la if you compared the price with Malaysia. Like 1 pair of good quality men's jeans of their local brand only cost RM 90. Kalau dekat sini, paling cikai pun mau RM100++

We had our dinner at Halal@Saigon and I love its pho! Really, can't get enough of the thick, rich beef broth. Argh sedapnya! Much better compared to one restaurant near the market that we went to. Not only it's expensive, the service also slow and food quality aren't that good. I can get more satisfying and authentic tasting pho at Secret Recipe or at Fat Spoon compared to what they served. We have to wait for more than 40 minutes for a plate of rice, pho and fish sauce chicken which didn't taste that good. Not to blow my own horn but I can cook 10 times better than that.

I think I wanna end the review on HCMC here kot because we did nothing on day 4 except for some sight seeing at the city and last minute shopping. So basically the activities aren't that much. Sadly we didn't watch any water puppet show (which is compulsory thing to do in Saigon), or went to Mekong River. We loved to go and was in our itinerary tapi last minute tu macam malas lepas tu sleep in. HAHA. Kalau bapak aku tau sure die jerit, nak tido ke nak berjalan oi.

But overall I love our trip to Saigon. We got to live up our backpacking days, I got to wear my Jack Purcell with my Vaude on my back and the fun thing was that I was there with the best travelling companion that I could ever ask, my own husband. Mari semua aaauwwwww.

HAHA.