Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

We arrived in Saigon at 7am and to get to our hostel (My My Arthouse) we had to walk through the park. The park was ridiculously busy, with people playing badminton, doing Yoga classes and 'working-out' on outdoor exercise equipment and most were dressed in normal day-to-day clothes. 

As soon as we dropped our backpacks off at the hostel, we headed out on the Cu Chi Tunnels half day tour. We got to learn about the history of the Vietnam war, as well as see all the 'booby' traps and the holes to hide in. We were also given the chance to go through the tunnels. I couldn't quite hack the small space (1st tunnel was 1.2m by 80cm and the last was 60cm by 80cm) and only managed to go down and have a look.

But Nathan managed the first one, so I was impressed that at least one of us did it.

We were then given the opportunity to shoot the guns at a cost. Nath and I chose the AK47, which was the most common gun used in the war. The sound was ridiculously loud and it came as a relief to put on the head equipment. We both had 10 bullets each, and we had to shoot at targets around 100 yards away.

We arrived back in the city around 3 and checked into our room, before quickly heading out to explore the city and locate the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre. We chose not to ride a Tuk Tuk or Cyclo as the traffic was hectic enough and headed out on foot. 

Finally, after walking around in circles we arrived at the Theatre. Water Puppetry is famous in Vietnam and is said to be the best way to discover the history and the traditional cultural life of Vietnamese people. 

It was pretty impressive and we still can't seem to work out quite how they did it. Unfortunately I didn't take any videos on my phone, so if you are a bit confused as to what I'm talking about, definitely YouTube it. 

After grabbing a quick dinner, we visited the night market to grab last minute souvineers from Vietnam before travelling to Cambodia. 

The traffic seems to increase the later it is and although there is zebra crossings, they do not mean the same thing as the UK. You pretty much have to step out into the road and the mopeds just zip around you. 

Walking home after the market through the park proved just as interesting as it was in the morning. This time there was a huge aerobics class with people of all ages and genders joining in. There were also small groups of teens playing with, what seemed like a shuttlecock, like a football. On closer expection it was spring like thing with the feather on top and it seems like the latest craze. So Nath bought it and plan to try it out on the beach. 

After a busy day exploring we went to bed. Day 2 in Saigon we had yet another early start and straight away walked to the War Remenants Museum. We were in there for a good 2 hours, as there was so much to see and read. It was so interesting and at the same time so sad. We learnt all about Agent Orange, which is chemical which the Americans sprayed all over Vietnam causing devasting consequences. Agent Orange is still present today, mutating human cells. 

We also got to see some of the planes and tanks that were used by the US. 

For anyone visiting Vietnam, this is well worth a visit if you are interested in learning about the history.

We then had to briskly walk back and get our backpacks organised before our 6 hour bus to Phnom Penh (Cambodia).