From Cu Chi to Cai Be
Booking the trip to the Cu Chi Tunnel was the very first thing we did when we reached Saigon. Arriving early in the morning by bus from Mui Ne, we were dropped at the Pham Ngu Lao street and walked straight to the agent in Bui Vien. The half day tour costs us USD5 (per pax) and started in a hour, so we quickly rushed for lodging to drop our bags, refresh ourselves and all. I haven’t booked any, but Pham Ngu Lao is well known as the backpacker haven that it is not difficult finding one. We managed to find a decent place to stay a stone throw away, at just USD12. With ensuite bathroom, hot shower, aircond and 30″ flat screen tv, it was a great deal. The owner, a woman in mid 40 was kind enough to let us in early, enabling us to have a quick shower and changed to fresh clothing. Otherwise Cu Chi (and the rest of the tour participants) have to endure our smells for the day. Breakfast was just some canned coffee and tuna sandwich we bought from the nearby 24-hour convenience store.
Along the way, the bus made a stop at a craft factory, where worksmen were victims of the infamous Vietnam war. Although most of them had been made handicapped thanks to the U.S. agent orange, they are really skillful people. The lacquerware, plaques, vases and paintings made of egg shells are simply intricate and beautiful, and the process is more than tedious. I always believe that when a capability is lost, one will be a master of another.
The bus pulled in the compound of Cu Chi Tunnel complex an hour later, and after paying the entrance fee of VND75,000 each (exclusive of the tour) we were taken to the semi-grounded hut for the 20-minute video presentation of the Vietnam War and some lecture about the tunnel. Standing at the hut entrance was our cute guide, Han.
Han explained the tunnel route, an immense underground network and Vietcong hiding place during the 1961 – 1971 Vietnam War. Dugged with simple tools and bare hands, the tunnel spans about 200km underground Saigon up to the border of Cambodia, where about 16,000 soldiers and family members found refuge from the U.S Army and South Vietnamese government. I can’t imagine life inside a dark, damp, cramped and stuffy tunnel, much less get pregnant and give birth in there!
Vietcong was notorious for winning the war against the fully-equipped U.S. Army with their cheap guerilla warfare and ingenious design of fatal entrapments, such as this one. Sharp and poisonous bamboo spikes awaiting underneath concealed trapdoor, covered with grass and leaves, makes it one hell of a hole of doom for those unwatchful U.S. soldiers. Once fallen, goodbye torso; goodbye life!
Sometimes it was not spikes that awaited the U.S. soldiers, it was the Vietcong soldiers themselves. One simply hide in a tiny hole (about the size of A4 paper) for hours, waiting for his chance to ambush.
DH with the soldiers from the National Liberation Front (NLF).
Another remodel of Vietcong traps aim to brutally injured different parts of the body.
Living in densed jungle for years and shunned from the outside world meaning one has to be self-sufficient, which was norm to the Vietcong. They grew their own food and made their own cloths. Most of them were made from recycle materials such as the sandals. Made from scrap tires, the sandals were thick and though enough to long-survive the rugged and challenging environment they were living in.
The highlight of the tour is off course experiencing the tiny tunnel yours trully. Although presently it has been made bigger to accomodate tourists, crawling and ducking are still required throughout the passageways. Conceiving the fact that it was dark, hot and stuffy inside, not to mention duck-tailing behind a crowd of tourists in a claustrophobic tunnel at turtle-speed, we decided against it. Enough sweat for the day.
Instead, DH decided to try his wit at the shooting, which experience is much cheaper than the one he tried in Krabi last year. This time it was the U.S. Rifle M1 Garand, spelled as “Garang” by the Viets, which coincidently means fierce in Malay.
With the rifle in hand, we followed the attendant to the shooting range. The non-stop, loud and frenetic sounds of shooting and cocking of bullets to the burnt smells of used ammo - it was like real battle ground; and my very own baptism of fire. The impression? It scared the hell out of me. I’m thankful for being born in a war-free country, and very much hope and pray that the freedom and peace we have now will last forever.
At the end of the tour we were served with the Vietcong staple food - boiled tapioca eaten with ground peanuts and some pandan tea. Not that it is something foreign to us, Asians.
Next day we chose to join the day-trippers to the Mekong River, a 3-hour journey from Ho Chi Minh City. Above is our guide, briefing the day itinerary.
We chose the longer route to Cai Be at USD12 per person (with lunch included), instead of doing the very much beaten My Tho and Ben Tre. Cai Be is well known for its wholesale floating market, and the passage to the city of Vinh Long, a province of the Mekong Delta. Here we were departing from the jetty in one of the long boat, 3 hours later.
Long boats docking at the jetty, in between lush colonies of water hyacinth.
Arriving at 11am, the floating market which started as early as five in the morning was very much over, but we still enjoy the sight of the slow-pace life that exists on and along the river.
We bypassed the traders in their colorful barges laden with fruits and vegetables plying through the brown water. Samples were hung on the tip of the long pole attach at the front, visible to the potential buyers. Some of the boats are even home to these people; where at a time I saw one on top of which a kid waving at us from his hammock.
Most of the boats have “eyes” painted at the bow, as the locals believe that boats needed them to steer the crew to safe during bad weather and to avoid collision with other boats.
Another tourist boat passing by.
We cruised along the delta for quite some time, and arrived at the much narrow waterway with houses at each sides.
Some shots of the life at the Mekong.
The first stop was the bee farm, where we enjoyed honey tea and sampling some local tidbits.
The warm honey tea was refreshing after a long day sitting in the bus and boat, and the tidbits were nice too. Especially the dried honey ginger.
From the bee farm we set on foot to the nearby rice paper home industry, and it was a nice village walk on the small shady path tucked along the river and houses. Saw this old lady talking with a friend in front of her grocery shop, and was happy when she said yes to have her photo taken.
A lady preparing the rice-paper at her house in Cai Be. Rice paper is one of the main ingredients of the ever popular Vietnamese spring rolls, as the one we tried during our trip to Mui Ne. The process and recipe is similar to the making of our own laksam although Vietnam’s version is much thinner.
Unlike the ready-to-eat laksam, the steamed Vietnamese rice-paper needs to be sun dried for a day usually on a mesh of bamboo weaven layer.
Rice papers that were left to dry, then packed for sale. These rice papers will turn into a crisp and translucent sheets once dried, which can be kept for several months. They just need a sprinkle of hot water to soften before they could be used as wrappings for the spring rolls.
From the rice-paper making we walked to another house right into the kitchen, to witness the making of puffed rice and coconut candy.
A man whisking the rice kernels, heated in a large wok together with some sands, until it pops like popcorns. The mixture is then poured into a sieve to filter out the sand, and voila! Now you have local munchy and cereal.
From the puffed rice and candy making we returned to our boat and cruised for another hour towards Vinh Long. It was already afternoon; having only skimpy sandwiches for breakfast made my stomach growled with hunger. It was a relief when our guide told us that we were actually heading for lunch. Knowing that we are muslims, our guide was accomodative enough to let us pick in between having some fruits or vegetarian meal. I immediately chose rice, as the last time I ate proper meal was during yesterday’s lunch.
Lunch over (sorry no picture, we were so hungry that taking photos totally slipped our mind) we were left with options either to cycle around the village or to laze in a hammock at the back of the restaurant. Guess what, we did both!
For the curious, vegetarian lunch was basically rice with some soup, vege and fried eggs, but we only took the rice, vege and eat it with our MRE. A fellow Malaysian tripmate was kind enough to share his home-made sambal with us. By the way, I did the quick spot check at the kitchen beforehand and found nothing suspicious though.
A kid at the village in Vinh Long.
It was sweltering that after a few cycles to the bridge we decided to turn back. Others have yet to return, so DH filled the gap playing a game of pool with our guide while I relaxing in the hammock. We took the boat back to the jetty at 4.00pm to our waiting bus, with the last stop at a local market. I bought a bag full of juicy lychee for just VND20,000, which we savoured along the way. A sweet ending to a tiring but memorable day.
