We Fly to Saigon and Crawl Through the Cu Chi Tunnels

2/28-2/29/2024

We are up early for another in-country flight.

Sunrise over "China Beach"

Today we are traveling to Ho Chi Minh City, formally known as Saigon. But we learn that although Ho Chi Minh City is the official name, Saigon is returning as the preferred name so as not to bring any disrespect to the country’s revered former leader. Yep! After a short flight, we landed at the Saigon airport.

Hardware at tunnel complex

However, instead of checking into our hotel, we board a bus, enjoy a box lunch, and are driven inland to the Cu Chi District of Saigon. The district is home to the Cu Chi tunnels, an immense network of connected tunnels dug by the communist Vietcong to house troops, transport communications and supplies, lay booby-traps, and mount surprise attacks. Communist forces began digging the tunnels in South Vietnam in the late 1940s, during their war of independence from French colonial authority. The network was expanded in the 1960s with the escalation of military presence. At their peak during the Vietnam War, the Cu Chi district tunnels linked VC support bases over a distance of some 150 miles.

Tunnel entrance

Arriving at the tunnel complex, we first viewed a collection of abandoned or captured US military hardware, including planes, helicopters, and artillery guns. We followed our “tunnel guide” (dressed in a VC army uniform) along a path that took us into a wooded area with several deep craters made by bombs dropped from American B-52 bombers.

Bomb crater

Our guide asked us to try and spot the camouflaged trap doors to the tunnel’s entrance; no one in our group was that keen-eyed. After revealing the door, he invited us to enter the tunnel and follow it to its exit. Vietnamese people generally have rather slight builds, and tunnel dimensions were dug to accommodate smaller people. Even though these demonstration tunnels were enlarged to accommodate tourists, one had to stoop to pass through the tunnel, and some points were so narrow that turning around was not an option.

Trap door demonstration

Aside from entrances for attacking or hiding, our guide pointed out enlarged, excavated rooms that were used for hospitals, kitchens, munitions factories, food and weapon caches, and living quarters for fighters.

Tod emerging through trapdoor

Booby traps were also extensively used on American and ARVN forces, and we were shown a display of the many different types of VC booby traps that were employed.

We left the tunnel complex and rode back into Saigon. As we coursed Saigon’s streets, we were amazed at the number of motorcycles and motor scooters that filled the streets, which undoubtedly were the preferred method of transportation. To confirm this, our guide told us that Vietnam has 100 million people and 76 million registered motorcycles and scooters. We checked into our hotel, The Park Hyatt Saigon, enjoyed dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, and put another busy day to bed.

Booby-trap demonstration

After a later start and breakfast with David and Linda, we boarded a bus for a ride to Saigon’s Ben Thanh Market. Located in the center of Saigon, the market is one of the city’s earliest surviving structures.

Ben Thanh Market

With nearly 1500 booths and more than 6,000 small businesses selling wholesale and retail items, from consumables to luxury goods, the market welcomes more than 10,000 visitors per day. We walked through the market, which is sectioned according to the type of merchandise being sold, and viewed the offerings. As one can expect with so many vendors, there is little variation among the businesses within each section.

Reunification Convention Hall

We left the market and rode to the Reunification Convention Hall, a presidential palace also known as Independence Palace. This four-story structure was the site of the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, which ended the Vietnam War when the North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.

Reception room in palace

 It has been preserved exactly as it was at the end of the war. Construction started in 1962 and finished in 1966. The hall was used for welcoming foreign and national dignitaries for conferences and meetings but also housed a telecommunications center, a war room, and served as the military headquarters for the South Vietnamese forces. We toured the palace’s different levels, viewing the meeting and conference rooms in the rooms used by the military for communications, intelligence gathering and analysis, and military strategy planning.

Map room in palace

The architecture and decor of the structure were very unique and impressive.

We finished our morning tour with a drive past the former US Embassy and a visit to the Saigon Central Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral.

Inside Saigon post office

The former US Embassy has been closed since 1975 but is remembered as the place where the historic helicopter evacuation occurred during the Fall of Saigon. The Notre Dame Cathedral is adjacent to the Saigon Central Post Office but was closed to tourists due to a large reconstruction project. The Central Post Office was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the late 19^th century. The architecture reflects Gothic, Renaissance, and French influences, which makes it a popular tourist attraction. We left the post office and returned to our hotel for lunch.

After lunch, we were offered an optional tour of the War Remnants Museum, of which we decided to take advantage.

Gun display in WRM

The museum is operated by the Ho Chi Minh City government, which apparently had difficulty determining what its name should be. Opening on September 4, 1975, as the Exhibition House for US and Puppet Crimes, the name was changed to the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes, followed by the Exhibition House for Crimes of War and Aggression, and finally, the name it wears today.

A journalist's typewriter

The museum is housed in a walled compound that was the former US Information Agency building, and the grounds within the walls contain an impressive collection of period US military hardware.

WRM military hardware

Inside, the museum is divided into themed sections, and while it is described as providing documentation of war crimes and atrocities against the Vietnamese people dating back to 1858 with French colonization, it becomes immediately apparent that the main focus is to emphasize “war crimes” committed by Americans during the Vietnam War.

We enter the museum and begin our anti-American propaganda tour. The first thing we notice is that it is not referred to as the Vietnam War but as the “American War.”

Those mean 'ol yanks

We guess it depends on which side you were on. While we realize that wartime provides a setting for “bad acts” to occur on both sides, not all conduct in the execution of battlefield strategies can be considered criminal. We viewed exhibits with graphic photography emphasizing the effects of Agent Orange and other chemical defoliant sprays and the use of napalm and phosphorous bombs, all of which affected the civilian population to some degree, but without criminal intent.

Lacquer artist at work

There were several photographs showing American servicemen conducting what would seem like routine handling of Vietcong prisoners, but they were captioned as criminally brutal abuse of these individuals. The museum’s third floor housed a wing commemorating the 134 reporters and photojournalists from 11 different countries who died covering the war, and we found this exhibit to be very interesting.

Lacquer art works for purchase

We were also struck by the tremendous number of young people viewing the museum’s contents, many of whom likely had grandfathers who fought in the war.

We left the museum and went to a lacquer craft house where artistic Chinese lacquer works were being produced. We were given an overview of the lacquering process and how eggshell, mother-of-pearl, and painting are used to create scenes from nature, mythology, and literature.

Our Vespa guides

The Chinese also carved, incised, and inlaid multiple layers of lacquer coating to produce their works of art. We watched the house artists work on their pieces, which were in various stages of development. And of course, the lacquer house had works that could be purchased with tourist money! We perused the gallery’s wide variety of pieces before heading back to our hotel.

Dinner tonight was going to be a real treat. Our group was going on a Saigon Vespa tour for the entire evening to get a taste of Saigon nightlife.

The Saigon skyline

We assembled in front of our hotel, where we were met by a fleet of vintage, iconic Vespa motorbikes and our Vespa guides. After receiving safety instructions and donning our helmets, we hopped on each of our rides for the night and began weaving through the busy thoroughfares of Saigon.

Streetside dining

Our dinner tonight will be much like a progressive dinner, with stops at different local dining spots where we will sample local dishes and street food.

Our first stop was at the 15^th-floor rooftop bar of a hotel for predinner cocktails. The open-air bar provided us with a panoramic view of the Saigon skyline just as the sun was setting.

Go Linda, go!

We enjoyed our drinks and shared camaraderie while watching Saigon’s nightlife come alive. Back on the street, our Vespa guides wove us through nighttime traffic and narrow back alleys to our next destination—a restaurant with open-air, streetside seating. Our first course was a beef and crab noodle soup, which was followed by rice noodles with grilled pork and vegetables.

Banh Xeo kitchen

Back to the Vespas and another winding ride to a street restaurant featuring banh xeo—Vietnamese rice pancakes filled with various vegetables and meats. Here, our gastronomic experience began with a variety of fresh spring rolls. These were followed by platter-sized rice pancakes, thin and crispy and stuffed with shrimp, pork, and mung bean. Fresh lettuce leaves were also brought to our tables.

Banh xeo

The huge pancakes were cut into pieces and eaten tucked into the lettuce leaves as a wrap. Needless to say, there was much hesitation among our group about consuming this dish. Even Capt. Larry thought twice about the cleanliness of the lettuce before he surrendered to the dish.

Our Vespa group

A lot of pancakes were returned to the kitchen. We again mounted our Vespas for a short ride to our last stop of the night—a Saigon nightclub named “Carmen Bar.” Inside the club, we ordered a nightcap and enjoyed a live band playing a Latin/flamenco genre.

The band at Carmen Bar

 

Our last Vespa ride for the evening was back to our hotel, where we tipped our guides and bade them good night. Another busy day was over.