Ho Chi Minh City Day 2, History Lessons on the Vietnam War

The second day in HCMC was our history lesson, consisting of a day tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels and a few hours in the War Remnants Museum. We got picked up at 7:30am, and when we walked on the empty bus we knew we would be doing some circles around the city to pick up the other 23 that would fill those empty seats. It was great to see more of the city by bus, but after an hour of pick ups, we were ready to head out there. 

Our tour guide gave us a brief explanation of recent history of Vietnam which was quite interesting. One thing he explained to us was why HCMC went by two names- Ho Chi Minh City and Saigon. I wasn’t exactly sure the answer to this so my ears perked up. Before the Vietnam War it went by Saigon as when it was discovered it had so many cotton trees, it was named “firewood (Sai) of cotton trees (Gon)” But after the war, it was renamed after the Northern Leader Ho Chi Minh. I could tell our tour guide prefers to call it by its original name, but it's still referred both ways. Another important fact he noted was the dates of the war. It lasted 20 years, from 1955-1975, with the capture of Saigon being April 30, 1975. I remembered a few things from history classes being that the US was involved in it, but I needed the refresher and appreciated each fact I got.

We made a quick stop at Handicapped Handicrafts, an organization the government created to employ those disabled by the effects of agent orange. They created the most beautiful artwork, done by hand making each unique, out of egg shells, paint, and lacquer. We got to see the intricate detail put into each piece and see just exactly how long it would take to create just one piece of artwork. I was blown away by how beautiful the art was. I almost felt like I was at an art museum more than I was at a handmade crafts shop. I was so tempted to buy a piece, but knowing I had limited space in my bag and this would require the utmost protection, I opted to pass and just book another trip to HCMC in the future and get it then. I was bummed to not be able to support their work and display a great piece at my home.

Back on the bus and on our way to the next destination, the Cu Chi Tunnels. We were headed to the jungle, it truly felt so tropical in the midst of the humidity and the bug bites. They had walking paths for the many guests to see the battlegrounds of the Vietnam War and their methods of warfare and logistics. This was where troops were set up, right outside of the city, to prepare for their attack of the capital. We saw divots in the ground where bombs were dropped by the Americans, the barracks, a broken US tank, and most interesting of all, the trap doors. We had a demonstration of the different types of traps that Vietnamese created. They entailed mainly of hidden hollowed spots in the ground that once you step into, release sharp long nails that puncture the limbs of the victim. There were a handful of different traps and watching how each one works made me queasy as the thought of that happening to me. Before walking through one of the tunnels, we had the opportunity at the shooting range, and some real guns like M16s and AK 47s. Sadly guns are not my cup of tea, so I skipped that option of the tour and browsed the gift shop, ahh that's more like it. I see the appeal of that for many guests, as I’m guessing the US or other countries around the world don’t offer many opportunities to do that. Because the shooting range was so close to the Tunnels, we heard gunshots the whole duration of the tour. It was quite unsettling in the beginning but soon got used to it which is a wild thought. 

Finally, we got to walk through the tunnels. We got in a line and made our way down. I was in the middle so instead of trying to listen to the local guide up front, I followed the person in front of me. These tunnels were so small, designed to only fit a Vietnamese solider, and they quickly became dark. The tunnel I walked through was 20m long, but you could have gone 40m or 60m. I was lost in translation when I heard the original directions so I just followed the person in front of me who ended up doing only 20m. I wish I could have gone longer, but just those 20m gave me a good glimpse of just what traveling through these tunnels must have been like. The people that came out after the longest stretch had their knees marred with dirt and were wiping the sweat off their foreheads, seeming as though the full distance was quite the endeavor. 

Our last experience at the Cu Chi Tunnels was stepping into a true entrance they used back in the day. When we walked through the tunnels, we took stairs that they must have added for when it became a tourist attraction, they also mentioned that they made the already small tunnels even bigger for us to walk through now. But, for the OG entrance, it was a hole in the ground that you’d lift a cover and place leaves on top to camouflage the opening. This was a very small entrance, a rectangle in the ground even I doubted for a moment if I could fit. But when I saw the 6’5” Aussie man do it, I knew I could too. They showed us first exactly how to do it, then we had the opportunity to try it out ourselves. I really enjoyed doing it, seeing just exactly how they got in and out of the tunnels, and the pitch black once you sealed yourself in for a moment. 

That concluded our time at the tunnels, and on the way out, I chatted with one of the girls on our toured that looked like she was traveling alone. When I solo traveled Spain, I loved when people reached out to me, so I knew that if I offered taking a photo for her, I could say hi and converse to keep her company. I learned that she was a full time traveler, solo mostly, and spends most of her time visiting SE Asia. She gave me some words of wisdom and advice for when I will be solo and it actually made me feel so much better and almost excited for that portion of the trip. One great thing about this area is that there are so many solo travelers and so many opportunities to meet friends that you are almost never alone. Quite inspired, I was grateful to have sparked a conversation with her and I hope she enjoyed the momentary company as well.

The tour ended around 2pm, so we got lunch at Hum Vegetarian Cafe, a fine dining experience in which I had some spinach rice and tried a very unique dessert of sugar water soaked beans. The rice was amazing and replenished me as I wasn’t feeling the best, likely from dehydration and hunger while on the tour, so the iron rich spinach rice was the perfect way to recoup some lost energy. Also trying a new desert that I could likely never find again was great. Would I order the dessert again.. No, but it was definitely worth the $2 to try, and get cool pictures. 

Next to our cafe was the War Remnants Museum where we spent the rest of our afternoon. They had lots of US tanks and cannons outside and then photos and artifacts inside. I love history so this was very cool for me to see, and it also was a completely different experience than expecting because it was the first time I saw this information from a completely different perspective... The Vietnamese perspective. In my history classes, I remember learning about the Truman Doctrine, Agent Orange, Guerilla Warfare, the tough and dire conditions of fighting in the jungle on foreign territories, and the opposition most Americans had to the US involvement in the war. Those were certainly the main points of what I learned in school but the museum told a completely different story. They displayed the American involvement as “US imperialism and aggression” saying that the US was the source for mass destruction of the country and the perpetrator of horrid war crimes. It wasn’t that I doubted if any of this was true, but to hear the war from this point of view was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and in all honesty, it truly shocked me. To think the US was the villain in the eyes of the Vietnamese people whereas the US likely thought of it as a fight for democracy was eye opening. Seeing both sides of the story now was making my mind twirl, but also something I valued learning. 

We saw exhibits such as protests of the Vietnam War and protests to US aggression in each continent (USA included), War Crimes (committed by US soldiers), Agent Orange Effects, and tribute to the photographers and best photos of the war. Those were the most impactful rooms and definitely photos, some very graphic, will be forever seared in my brain. A history day it truly was. 

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a vegan Banh Mi places, it was even more incredible than the first and again costed less than $2. To cap off another day of our food tour, we got ice cream and waffles which satisfied our sweet tooth and made for the perfect lineup of food. 

After seeing the incredible hotel pool the night before, we knew it was a must do before checking out so we put on our suits, covered up in the hotel robes, and slipped on the hotel sandals and made our merry way to the rooftop pool. We swam, chatted, and admired the skyline view until the downpour rain kicked us out. We needed the weather to make the timing call anyways because we were exhausted and therefore went to bed early for once. That was our day 2 in Saigon!