20 Dec - Cu Chi Tunnels
Experienced the traffic of Ho Chi Minh City with what could very well have been a million mopeds battling each other to get to work. After about 30 minutes of bus transfer we met up with the support team to prepare our mountain bikes for the rest of the holiday. The Trek mountain bikes provided were surpisingly good with some hassle-free swapping for a bigger frame size.
The day's ride lasted about 35km stopping off to see some rice pancake making (used for spring rolls) and to see a rubber tree forest. My handle-bar mount for the digital camera didn't last long due to the bumpiness of the roads.
Our last destination for the day was the Cu Chi tunnels, a complex of Vietcom tunnels which were created right under the American forces own camp. There were hundreds of tourists already there but somehow it didn't feel that busy on the tour. As you can see I tried a hideout hole which I could only just fit through. After seeing some of the home-made traps we tried some of the proper tunnels. There weren't as narrow as I expected (have been widened for tourists) though some claustrophobia did creep in after awhile. The personal highlight for me was firing a real AK47. Bought 5 bullets to experience the kick and sound though ear protectors were essential especially next to the M60 which was just stupidly loud. The mountain of empty shells was amusing too.
After the sweaty crawl through the tunnels we were introduced to the typical food and drink the Vietnamese would have had whilst living underground. The root vegetable with peanut dip was quite tasty whilst the local tea (I never drink tea) gave me the first ever chilled out, drug-like state I've experienced.
We returned to the hotel with the afternoon free but Kerry's health had taken a turn for the worse with heat-stroke. I went out to get some food and pharmacy essentials but instead of a 30 minute walk around, a few wrong turns meant me getting lost for about two hours. If it wasn't for the huge new building I would have never got my bearings.
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