Day 1: 7 May 2009
Flight from Penang to KL then KL to HCMC on Air Asia. It was an evening flight which was delayed. By the time we arrived, it was 8.15pm local time (9.15pm Malaysian time). We were met on arrival by our tour driver, Mr Tu. We stayed at Metropole Hotel.
[Our room at Metropole Hotel]
Day 2: 8 May 2009
Went on a tour to see the Cu Chi (pronounced "koo chee") tunnels, and the Cao Dai ("kao dai") temple in Tay Ninh ("tay nenh").
The Cu Chi tunnels are located about 1 1/2 hours away from HCMC. They were very interesting. We went through an enlarged version made for tourists. The original tunnels were manually dug by the people as a hideout from foreign forces during the war. They run for about 200km. There are rooms to nurse the sick and injured, meeting and dining rooms and even a kitchen. The smoke from the cooking is filtered through several layers so that when it is finally emitted it is not very noticeable. Ingenius!
[Now you see me, later you won't...]
[Enlarged version of the tunnel: In the original, you'd have to "commando" crawl through]
[Julian on a defunct tank: The tank was damaged by a land mine during the war]
Cao Dai is a religion in Vietnam that combines Buddhism, Catholicism, and Taoism. Cao Dai temples are very colourful and the one in Tay Ninh is one of the main temples. We were there to observe the noon prayers.
[Cao Dai temple at Tay Ninh]
[Prayers in progress]
Lunch was local Vietnamese fare at the Thu Thao restaurant in Tay Ninh. They served noodles, tempura prawns, banh mi (french bread) with beef slices, and some fried rice. Lovely.
[Banh mi with beef slices]
On the way back to the hotel we stopped by a handicraft factory where victims of Agent Orange worked. We were on our own for dinner. We ate at Quan An Ngon restaurant, recommended by our tour guide, Mr. Dui.
[Quan An Ngon fare: Rice with meat and minced shrimp]
2 comments:
Hi! You guys went to Cu Chi tunnels with Angie 28 weeks preggie? We gave that a miss eventhough I was 6 mths preggie that time.....haha. Hats off to you guys!! And the food in Quan An Ngon, simply delicious eh? We went there a few times just for their snacks :). Glad that you guys enjoyed the trip very much.
Julian also crawled through the tunnel with grandma by clinging on to grandma monkey style. He could say 'dark' but not afraid. Grandpa was lost half-way through the tunnel,not sure which direction to follow. It was a real adventure but fun.
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