Travel Diary #5: The Charm of Vietnam (Day 1)

For my travel diary today, I will be taking you on a trip to Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City to be exact. I was with my friend Katrina again on this trip. This was our first stop during our 10 days backpacking adventure. I already blogged about our Siem Reap, Cambodia travel (which was our 3rd stop) on my previous travel diary. You can read about it here, here, & here. My friend @memebibiboboo also wrote a very detailed itinerary of this trip which we also used as a guide during our trip, go ahead and check her blog.

So, Let's start!

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Ho Chi Minh City, also known by its former name of Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam by population.

It was known as Prey Nokor prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century. Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina and later of the independent republic of South Vietnam 1955ñ75. On 2 July 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Dinh Province and was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh (although the name Sai Gon is still widely used). - WikiPedia

Prior to our arrival in the city, we asked our hotel to arrange a taxi pick-up from the airport. The taxi ride was around USD 15 and the drive from the airport to our hotel was around 30 minutes. Along the way, we were shocked at how many motorcycles are on the road. They are like millions of motorcyles that they dominate the majority of the road of the city. Actually, this should not come as a surprise since Ho Chi Minh has around 11 million in population and we learned that 7 million of them have motorcycles.

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We stayed at Hong Han Hotel which was recommended by @memebibiboboo because of its location and friendly hotel staff. It is located in Bui Vien street which is part of District 1, the popular tourist area. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the receptionist, Ms. Hue. We had our US Dollars changed to Vietnam Dong since the hotel offers a good exchange rate. Since we arrived late, we just had our dinner at the next door restaurant and called it a night.

The next day, we went to Albatross Travel (around 2-3 minutes walk from our hotel) where we purchased our tour for the day. The tour includes a visit to Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi tunnels. The cost for the tour is VND 110,000 or USD 7 each.

While waiting for our pick-up, we had our breakfast at the same place. I am not a coffee drinker at all but I heard that Vietamese Coffee is really good, of course we have to try it out. I ordered the Hot Vietnamese White Coffee while Katrina chose to drink Iced Vietnamese White coffee. I must say the buzz about it is true. We can't get enough of its rich flavor and fullness. With our drinks, we also ordered a baguette. We observed that this is a popular breakfast in Vietnam because we saw a lot of people with baguettes on hand walking on the street.

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Handicraft Store

We bought the day tour because it includes the Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi Tunnel. When our tour bus stopped at a handicraft shop, we were surprised. We were not expecting another stop in our tour.

The products sold here are so beautiful. They even let us in the workshop and you can see how meticulous each product is made. My friend talked about this handicraft store shortly in her [blog] too.(https://steemit.com/colourfulphotography/@memebibiboboo/colourful-photography-vietnamese-handicrafts).

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Cao Dai Temple

For the second stop of our tour, we visited Cao Dai Temple. The temple was quite far from District 1. It took us around 2 hours to get there.

The Cao Dai Temple was finished in 1955 when the Cao Dai Army was formed following the Japanese occupation of Indochina. Caodaists believe that all religions are ultimately the same and seek to promote tolerance throughout the world. The Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad and Confucius, in addition to Joan of Arc and Julius Cesar are all honoured at this temple. - Source

The temple has similarities to a Christian Cathedral featuring side aisles and an altar. There is also this Divine Eye which is a focal point of the temple, it symbolizes God which has the Ying and Yang icon in its pupil. We were allowed to watch the ceremony which is held everyday from the galleries and they also allow photograph taking inside the temple. Before we went inside, we were also asked to removed our shoes.

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We saw Caodiasts praying, dressed in long flowing white/yellow/blue/red robes. Based on some articles I read, every color represents your role in the ceremony. So the white robes are the followers, yellow/blue/red are the priests while the bishops have the Divine Eye embroidered on their headpieces. We also noticed that the men and women were seated separately. The men are on the right and women on the left with all of them seated in orderly rows.

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We watched a little portion of the ceremony then went outside to look around the temple.

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Cu Chi Tunnel

The third and last stop of our tour was the Cu Chi Tunnels. It was another 2 hours travel from Cao Dai Temple.

The Cu Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War. These tunnels were used by Viet Cong soldiers as hiding spots during the war, it also served as communciation and supply routes, food and weapon reserve as well as living quarters. The tunnels are so extensive that it even reached as far as the neighboring country, Cambodia.

The Chu Chi Tunnels are part of a massive war museum in Ho Chi Minh. They offer visitors a sneak-peek at the underground life of Vietnamese soldiers back in 1948. The site has over 120km of underground tunnels. After the war against the French, Vietnamese soldiers expanded the tunnels and included effective air filtration systems, which helped them survive the Chu Chi carpet-bombings - Source

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The tour did not include the entrance fee to Cu Chi Tunnel. The ticket is around USD 5 each. After paying for it, we were led to a room or more like a hut for a film showing of the history behind Cu Chi Tunnel. In the room there is also a model that shows the 3 floors below the ground. In this model, it shows all the different "rooms" function like the living quarters and weapon room mentioned above. They also have an escape route exiting to the river.

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There are parts in the site where tourist are allowed to go in the tunnel and experience first hand what it was like inside. It was not scary in the first level as the tunnel is still big enough for me and Katrina to just be in a crouching posture. Upon entering the second level, we were down on our hands and knees that we started to crawl. The tunnel was so dark that my heart was raising so fast and I was starting to sweat (I think I was starting a panic attack at this moment. LOL). I was crawling faster than when I started, I just wanted to find the exit and get out of there. The walk inside the tunnel was not that long but it felt like I was there for an hour. It was my most unforgetable experience I had in Vietnam.

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They also showed us different types of traps and weapons they used during the war. They even have a shooting range area where you can try firing weapons they used back in the day for an extra cost (which we did not try).

It was a very interesting and insightful tour. I would recommend Cu Chi Tunnel if you ever visit Vietnam.

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Ben Thanh Market

We arrive back to our hotel from our tour around 5PM. We rested for a bit and then we went out to Ben Thanh market to look for souvenirs. There were a variety of items you can choose, from bags to ref magnets. All the vendors will give a steep price at first but make sure not to buy it right away since they will usually lower the price just for them to make a sale. We bought ref magnets and a wooden carving for half its original price.

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One thing to keep in mind when shopping in Ben Thanh Market, these vendors are very aggressive. Out of curiosity, I asked for the price of a batik Pajama but since it was too expensive, I decided not to buy it. The vendor haggled to lessen the price but I still did not purchase it. This lady then grabbed my arm while rudely saying "If you ask for price, you buy". Removing my arm from her grasp, we hurriedly walked away from her, confused and astounded at what I experienced.

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For our final activity on our itinerary, we were supposed to go to a famous bar called Red Buffalo which is also conveniently located near our hotel. Unfortunately, Katrina and I were both tired from the long day we had. We agreed to go back to our hotel in preparation for an early start the next day.

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Day 2 of our Vietnam Tour will be up soon. See you on the next one!