Saigon Day Tour

We figured that since we had spent so much time in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), we had better go do something, so we booked a day tour to see Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi Tunnels.

See photos at http://web.mac.com/erinfearn/iWeb/SE%20Asia/Saigon%20Day%20Tour.html

On the way we stopped at a workshop where victims of Agent Orange make extraordinary artworks, using crushed eggshell(!) amongst other materials.

Cao Dai (meaning high tower or palace) is a religious sect that was formed as a strategy to unify people, and comprises a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, with much smaller elements of Christianity and Islam thrown in. The temple is brightly coloured, and bears the symbol of the divine eye. Followers dress in yellow, red, blue or white robes, depending upon their status.

Visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels was a strange experience, painting an heroic picture of the Vietnamese soldiers who were awarded medals for killing the most Americans. The strategies they utilised were indeed ingenious, and in truth they had few options. Around the site of the tunnels, bomb craters can still be seen, and walking through the dense jungle makes it hard to imagine the area barren and bare, following the release of American defoliation chemicals. The tunnels were tiny – “Vietnamese size” – and were complex systems with ventilation shafts running through the 3 depth levels, with internal water wells, links to the river, and traps for American soldiers, should they penetrate the tunnels. American soldiers built a base over the top of one of the tunnels, and suspected each other when they found their own, dead in the base.

We went through part of the tunnel system. We went down some steps, then crawled along for a bit, then down some more steps… getting to the second depth caused some anxiety, and required concentration to avoid panic. Getting out of the tunnel was relieving – it’s unbelievable that people lived down there.

As we were leaving, we were offered the opportunity to empty a round in an M16 or AK47 for a small charge. We thanked them for the opportunity and declined the offer.