"A Lesson in History"

Nick - couldn't pass the test to join the 'Viet Cong' (who ate all the pies?)
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We took a flight down to Saigon from Hoi an and didn't end up arriving until early evening due to a slight delay - we weren't too upset though as it just meant more time in the pool in Hoi an before hitting the city.

Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh city) is more like a western city than Hanoi, with bright lights and wide streets. Although Hanoi is the capital, Saigon is the business capital and consequently where most of the money is! Nevertheless there are still many families living on less than a dollar a day, per person. On our first evening there we headed out for dinner and then for a hike across the city to get to the backpacker bar area. What would normally be a relatively relaxing drink at a nice bar, seated on the street, is different in Vietnam...the senses are attacked at every angle. Mopeds and traffic whizzing past you, a man playing 'titanic' music trying to get you to weigh yourself (no chance!!!), kids carrying stacks of books on their heads as tall as them selling bestsellers and lonely planets for $2, kids selling flowers, chewing gum and anything else to make them a 'lucky dollar' - the saying 'you no buy, me no lucky' is everywhere. The bars are good fun though and the fact that you can get in free to the club 'Apocalypse Now' was a bonus, although the 'do you come from the land down-under' song and $6 a drink was not quite what we had in mind! The people watching was interesting though - similar to some places in Thailand there were middle aged men everywhere having their egoes stroked and flattered (and their wallets blead dry) by gorgeous, young Vietnamese ladies.

the saying 'you no buy, me no lucky' is everywhere.....

Marissa down the hatch
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Our full day in Saigon was quite emotionally draining. We were up early to go to the Cu Chi tunnels, built by the Viet Cong to hide themselves from the American bombs and artillery during the Vietnam war. We visited areas that were severely devastated by the war - by napalm bombs, agent orange and other weapons. We went into the underground tunnels that the Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communist soldiers) hand-dug on three levels and were shocked to see how small they were and some soldiers and families could live them for up to a month at a time with no electricity. There are up to 250km of these tunnels in the area. The Viet Cong were also skilled guerilla fighters and we also saw the hand-made traps they used on the Americans which wasn't pleasant viewing. Needless to say, our bus was quiet on the way back to town.

Making anything from anything
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After having lunch at a crazy Sunday midday disco bar in town (it was packed with people drinking and eating with disco music blaring out!) we went to the war museum which was even more upsetting than the Cu Chi tunnels. The museum houses many journalist photos from the war and depicts many shocking and cruel images. It also talks about the after effects of agent orange and the napalm bomb that disfigured and disabled so many Vietnamese citizens. Whilst it was very upsetting, it also taught us about much that we didn't know about the war and the history of Vietnam and highlighted what an important cause it is to help rebuild the country.

Nick in the Cu Chi tunnels
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After a slow and pensive walk back to the hotel we tuned in to watch the first race that we have been able to see of Sylvain in the Moto GP - every other race we have either been on a plane, nowhere near a TV or it's 3am our local time or something! Anyway we enjoyed a couple of beers and some shouting and cheering at the TV - so well done Sylvain and thanks for giving the end to our day a positive, celebratory note!