Vietnam 2.0

Whelp, time to head back to Vietnam. Yes, I have already been...BUT I missed out on the Chu Chi Tunnels so I HAD to go back. What's so important about the tunnels? Well, during the Vietnam War, the Vietcong lived in these TINY underground tunnels. Since they were open to see, of course I had to do it!

So I arrived in Vietnam on Saturday AM (Fri night) at about 1am. I grabbed a Taxi and headed to my guesthouse. I checked it by 3am, and went straight to bed. When I woke up, I had a day to do NOTHING but relax before my Tunnel Tour on Sunday.

So I started my day with a cup of Vietnamese Coffee. MMMM, I am 100% sure this is my FAVORITE coffee in the world (so far anyways). While sipping my morning feul I chatted the 2 older men beside me. They directed me to a great massage parlor, at which I spent my mid-morning. I get a GREAT oil massage, then treated myself to a pedicure as well. All for less than $10. Yup - I MUST be back in SE Asia!!

Afterwards, I grabbed some lunch and ended up sharing my table with a Kiwi named Allister. He bought me a beer since I shared my table. Friendship made. We chatted about life in "Nam (he lives/teaches there). His funniest story; "I was walking around District 1 (backpacking area) and I got tired of being asked 'what you want sir' so the next time someone asked me that I looked at the woman and said 'a husband' and she paused, thought a minute and said 'ok, one minute' and ran off" HAHHAHA. Those store owners can find you ANYTHING! After sharing stories, we headed to his rooftop to see the sunset, and go swimming (yes, a pool!!). Once the sun was set, I was ready to get back to the backpacking district, so I bid adieu and headed back to my guesthouse. Once at my guesthouse I had planned to go to bed early, but instead stayed up chatting with my 'dorm roommates' about their travels and even tried my first Macaroon (I know understand why they are Blair Waldorf's fav cookie!!).

Sunday morning it was CHU CHI TUNNEL TIME!!! So I got up, grabbed some breakfast from the lobby and waited for the bus. After a while of calling/emailing the tour, they FINALLY came to get me (they had forgotten lil' ol' me!!). Luckily, they forgot another girl as well, so we boarded the bus together. We arrived at the site of the Tunnels about an hour or so later...I'm not sure how long, I fell asleep. Here are some of the pix once we were there....

So you're just marching along, shooting the enemy, when all the sudden....

...the ground opens below you, and you fall onto the spikes and die.

This is how you get in and out of the tunnels....

...look at how small they are!!

Many more weapons from the Vietcong.

New friend Anne....with her in the tunnel, you can see how small it is!

You have to squat-walk in these.

Well, back when I was in 'Nam I was busy shooting guns in Ho Chi Minh City

So there ya go - my time in the tunnels. I wish the pictures would show more of how small they were - but I barely fit through, my arms touched the sides of the tunnels, and I was squatting the whole way. We only went 100meters, but I can't imagine how people survived actually LIVING in those tunnels for as long as they did.

Whelp, now that the tunnels have been crossed off my bucket list...time to head to Cambodia!!!

Gum awn,
Apes :)