Vietnam: Mekong Delta and Cu Chi Tunnels

We also visited the Mekong River and Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam. Both are about a half-hour drive from Saigon City.

Cu Chi is an area in Vietnam which, during the War, American soldiers found the hardest to penetrate. Vietnamese actually dug intricate, layered underground tunnels where they actually lived, dined, and slept. These tunnels enabled them to move around the area (and even go to Saigon), hold meetings, tend to the sick and injured, and attack the American forces. There were times when bombs were thrown in the tunnels, but the Vietnamese quickly learned to camouflage and create less-obvious air holes (and even cooking vents) that would throw the Americans off-track.

The Mekong River is a wide expanse of water that actually reaches the China Sea. Since this is considered a province, life here is more quiet and slow-paced. This is also the area where a lot of the handicrafts are made, as well as the more traditional and unusual food items such as Rice paper chips and Snake Wine. I also liked the horse-powered rides and the Vietnamese gondola rides; I guess it's their version of the Venice gondolas :)