This won't be a long post, but will bring you up to date. We're continuing to love HCMC, so much I think we are in danger of settling into life here and just enjoying the vibe, rather than doing anything of huge interest. Therefore, day 146 was a nothing day. The only thing that happened is Sarah got her teeth cleaned for about £6, and is pleased with result.
Today, the 28th August and day 147 we took a trip out of the city. About 120km to be precise. We had two stops. Firstly a Cao Dai Temple. It's apparently one of the worlds youngest religions. It's a hybrid of all the major ones. Taoism, Buddhism, Catholicism, probably Mormons too. I just saw some great photo opportunities with a whole congregation dressed in white and performing rituals in neat alignment. It looked peaceful enough. Tourists seemed to be welcomed, but ushered out the way frequently. Fair enough it's their place of worship, not Disney World. A weird rule they applied with hand waving vigour, is no taking pictures of each other in the temple. Snapping worshipers seemed ok, but taking a photo of your friend was outlawed. Very strange. Maybe that's the point of a new religion, it has centuries of catching up in the freakiness stage. Look I haven't done it much justice as, as soon as I took the pictures, I found the singing nauseating and left the temple. If you want to know more follow the link given.
Next came what I was really looking forward to; the Cu Chi Tunnels. Essentially these were tunnels used by the Viet Cong, the guerillas in the Vietnam War. From here they lived underground in the most cramped situations. This gave much protection from the aerial bombardment, which the USA was over reliant on during the conflict. Very interesting too are the booby traps they made, which were often variations on falling in holes followed with a cleverly engineered spike in your armpit. There is a 100 metre tunnel kindly carved for the enjoyment of tourists. Apparently twice the size of those used by the cheeky Vietnamese. Most our tour group wouldn't make the whole 100m journey and emerged out a relief hole, myself included. How those people lived in those network of tunnels for weeks and months beggars belief. It gave a fantastic look at the war from the VC's side. It showed how innovative they were. How ready they were to put up with supreme hardship. This was obviously underestimated by USA.
Tomorrow we are on a two day trip down to the Mekong Delta.
Next came what I was really looking forward to; the Cu Chi Tunnels. Essentially these were tunnels used by the Viet Cong, the guerillas in the Vietnam War. From here they lived underground in the most cramped situations. This gave much protection from the aerial bombardment, which the USA was over reliant on during the conflict. Very interesting too are the booby traps they made, which were often variations on falling in holes followed with a cleverly engineered spike in your armpit. There is a 100 metre tunnel kindly carved for the enjoyment of tourists. Apparently twice the size of those used by the cheeky Vietnamese. Most our tour group wouldn't make the whole 100m journey and emerged out a relief hole, myself included. How those people lived in those network of tunnels for weeks and months beggars belief. It gave a fantastic look at the war from the VC's side. It showed how innovative they were. How ready they were to put up with supreme hardship. This was obviously underestimated by USA.Tomorrow we are on a two day trip down to the Mekong Delta.
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