Mom and Denise arrived in Saigon on a Friday morning. I was coming to meet them late Friday night. I had arranged with the hotel that there would be a key left for me at the desk so I didn’t have to wake them up. Many emails had been exchanged with the hotel. When I arrived it was nearly midnight. I stopped at the front desk and then the following ensued:
Me: I asked for a key to be left so I don’t have to wake my mom and sister up. They just flew in from the States today…
Hotel: Ok, well let me just call and make sure it’s ok…
Me: NO! Don’t call and wake them up! They’ve had a very long day of travel! The reservation is in my name, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Hotel: Hmm…ok…then this man will take you upstairs…
I get into the elevator with said man and headed up to our room. When we arrive he goes to ring the doorbell…
Me: NO!! They are sleeping, please don’t wake them up…
Man: Hmm, ok. Well, then…. (opens door)…is this them?
Me: uhhh, yes. Thankfully…
What if it wasn’t them? What if we had the wrong room and we had just opened some random family’s room at midnight with some random white lady trying to get in?
The next morning we were picked up early to be taken on a motorbike tour. I have spent a limited amount of time in Saigon and was really excited for this tour. It definitely didn’t disappoint. Our drivers were nice and funny and charming. And, we had a wonderful morning.
One of the last stops was the War Remnants museum. I’ve gone before and didn’t really want to go again because it’s really hard to see. Especially the Agent Orange section of the museum. But I enjoyed being there with mom and Denise to be able to give them different perspectives and insights into some of the things they were seeing.
The next day we went on a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta. We had been warned before we went that when you come out of the tunnels, you will hear gunfire. They have a shooting range there and you can shoot different types of guns. It’s a bit unsettling being in that place and hearing guns.
Some of the bombs/weapons used by both sides have been outlawed for use during wars.
The tunnels are SO SMALL. It’s really crazy. It’s also crazy to think how they were able to build such an infrastructure so long ago...with the little ax in the pictures below.
Can you find the tunnel entrance below?
They even showed us how all of the different booby traps worked.
We opted for the shortest distance to crawl through the tunnels and it was definitely enough. I’ve become more claustrophobic as I’ve gotten older and I can’t imagine going deeper or longer in those tunnels. They get smaller as you go and are, essentially, a miniature city below the ground.
If you ever have the chance to go, go. You really can't imagine what it's really like.