The Cu Chi Tunnels were about 45 km away but in the HCMC traffic it took about two hours! However, the tour guide was hilarious and had this dry sense of humour that made the painful drive more enjoyable.
These tunnels were built during the Vietnam War and we could go inside! This was actually the scariest thing since we crawled for 100m in these tiny tunnels that were probably 3 ft in diameter. Every 20m (which felt like an eternity), there was an exit to the surface... but I would get to those points and decide to try another 20 m, regretting it a few metres later. Any way, this strategy seemed to work and I made it the whole way! They had beer at the end which was a welcome reward.
Going in...
Almost there...
Made it!
They also showed us some of the traps that were used... dear lord.
I’d have more photos but it started pouring! We huddled under a tarp that was covering an American tank for about 30 minutes but soon realized we had to brave the weather. We got back in the evening and explored the area by the guest house and checked out a market. I bought a couple things after bargaining a bit (I think I got a good deal... but who knows). We ate at a restaurant that was set up on the street in the market. The food and beer was super cheap and we felt like kings!
I had some fried rice with seafood and we shared a Banh Mi. Banh Mi is essentially a baguette with barbecued pork/chicken/beef and vegetables inside! Vietnam was a French colony and that is why Vietnamese is one of the few Asian languages without symbols and why the Banh Mi is made using bread that resembles a baguette.