Today is our tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Mekong River. We started out with breakfast at the hotel and were picked up at 7:45 am in a Ford “limo.” It looked dated but it was comfortable except for Jason’s chair. Anytime we hit a bump or his back put pressure against the chair it would recline back. Lol.
We had a full van of 7 total passengers. It was a family of 3 from the UK and another couple from Australia. They were all very pleasant people. I wasn’t in a mood to have a conversation especially in the morning because I was still tired but they were talking the entire time. I was hoping I could get some more hours of sleep since the ride was 1.5 hours to our first destination at the Cu Chi Tunnels but that didn’t happen.
Our first quick stop was a manufacturing warehouse for artwork made out of eggs shells, mother of pearls, and polishing wax. The business hired only handicapped workers. I thought that was great. The artwork they created were intricate and stunningly well made. The finished products were beautiful. We weren’t able to take pictures of the finished products in their retail side. I was thinking about buying one of the art pieces but the prices were pretty out there. For a small
We hung out for a bit, had some coffee and then headed over to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Our tour guide was a bit high strung and seemed worried that we weren’t enjoying the trip the entire time. I think it was because one of the ladies tried asking him innocent questions but he took it as she wasn’t enjoying the trip. Apparently, he had a group prior to us that complained about him and his driver so he was probably still dealing with some residue from that.
The Cu Chi tunnels tour was interesting. I don’t know how much of it was real because a lot of renovation took place at the sight and the tour guide wasn’t able to communicate with
It was hilarious going through the tunnels because Jason started freaking out a bit. It was a bit intimidating to be honest. The tunnels were small so you had to crouch down the entire time going through them. You also had people in front of you and behind you so even if you wanted to get out on your own terms, you had to wait on other people. There were multiple exit points so it wasn’t too bad. We did about 40 meters of tunnels before we went out. With the amount of space in the tunnels, the air seemed to thin. It almost felt like crawling through a coffin. If you’re claustrophobic this wasn’t something you’d want to do.
We got out of the tunnels and had a little snack of taro with tea then finished up the tour with a recap of the geography of Cu Chi and the surrounding area.
After the Cu Chi Tunnels, we went to grab lunch near the Mekong river. It was a 1.5 hour drive southwest of the Cu Chi area. I was starving at this point. The food was prepared for us when we got there. I was impressed with the size of the restaurant and how developed it looked in an area where I didn’t expect much to exist.
The food was delicious. I was familiar with all the dishes. I hoped there would be more food. We scarfed it down but we’re still left hungry.
After lunch, we drove to the Mekong river which at this point was only 10 minutes away. We got onto a boat and sailed to a couple small villages where we had some local fruit. We even had the ladies sing. It was awefully bad singing and pretty awkward. They left a tip basket but no one put anything in.
We then took a sketchy rowboat that felt like it was going to tip over at any moment to another small village where we held a snake, drank tea with fresh honey, and had dried fruit. The snake felt creepy.
We hopped back onto the larger boat and went over to a coconut candy factory. We saw the process and machinery they used to make it and we got to try freshly made coconut candy. It was still warm and tasted great. We ended up buying a few packs to bring back to the states.
That was the end of the tour portion of the trip. We got back onto the boat with coconuts waiting for us. We cruised back to the dock and got back into our van for our 2 hour trek back to our hotel.
We were impressed and drained that the entire group ended up talking together for the entire 12 hour trip. I did have an interesting conversation with Deb, one of the people on our tour. She deals with Myers Briggs personality assessments, helping people match appropriate careers based on the results. I told her about Unwage and she thought it was a great idea. We traded emails and will keep in touch.
We finally got back to our hotel. We were planning to go to Bitexco, one of the tallest buildings in Vietnam but we were too drained. We opted for the executive lounge hors doeuvres instead.
For the rest of the night we just chilled. It’s our last night in Ho Chi Minh City. We head out to Hanoi, our second to last stop of our trip. I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. I’m already heading back to the states in a week. It’s been nice to take my mind off of work and learn how to relax. That’s been one of the biggest challenges for me. Learning to take my mind off work to recharge.
By the time I’m back in the state, I think I’ll be refreshed and ready to go. I’ll post a reflection journal once I’ve settled in and had time to process. I’m not sure what to expect when I get back but this trip has been a win in my books. I’m glad I did it and I’m ready for a new chapter.
On to Hanoi!