Here are the highlights of our trip to Saigon
1. Water Puppet Show
We loved going to the traditional Vietnamese water puppet show. The entire event was in Vietnamese but anyone from any language can appreciate the humor of the puppets and puppeteers. Seating was pretty limited so we made sure to arrive early, tickets were $8 per person and the show started at 5:00pm.
1. Water Puppet Show
We loved going to the traditional Vietnamese water puppet show. The entire event was in Vietnamese but anyone from any language can appreciate the humor of the puppets and puppeteers. Seating was pretty limited so we made sure to arrive early, tickets were $8 per person and the show started at 5:00pm.
2. Cu Chi Tunnels
The Cu Chi Tunnels were about 60km outside of Saigon and is basically a vast tunnel system that defined an era of the Vietnam War though trench warfare and survival underground. These people lived in these tunnels for almost a full decade while thousands also died there too. We were shown the small tunnel entrances and also booby traps that the Viet Cong army placed to try and kill or injure American soldiers. There were over 100 miles of underground tunnels where the Vietnamese people lived once the Americans dropped napalm bombs and it was impossible to live above ground safely anymore.
The guide was very knowledgeable and gave us a great description of what life would be like to live in these tunnels for so many years. At the end of the tour there was an optional 100 meter tunnel crawl to go in the footsteps of the Vietnamese people and experience what it would be like to walk in the narrow tunnels day after day. Only half of the tour group went through the full 100 meters, near the end was a slide where you could only fit through by crawling on your hands and knees. The tunnels were so hot and clostrophobic, there was absolutely no way for anyone to turn around so the only way you could move was forward.
The Cu Chi Tunnels were about 60km outside of Saigon and is basically a vast tunnel system that defined an era of the Vietnam War though trench warfare and survival underground. These people lived in these tunnels for almost a full decade while thousands also died there too. We were shown the small tunnel entrances and also booby traps that the Viet Cong army placed to try and kill or injure American soldiers. There were over 100 miles of underground tunnels where the Vietnamese people lived once the Americans dropped napalm bombs and it was impossible to live above ground safely anymore.
The guide was very knowledgeable and gave us a great description of what life would be like to live in these tunnels for so many years. At the end of the tour there was an optional 100 meter tunnel crawl to go in the footsteps of the Vietnamese people and experience what it would be like to walk in the narrow tunnels day after day. Only half of the tour group went through the full 100 meters, near the end was a slide where you could only fit through by crawling on your hands and knees. The tunnels were so hot and clostrophobic, there was absolutely no way for anyone to turn around so the only way you could move was forward.
3. Cooking Class
This was such a fun experience. We signed up for a cooking class early in the morning through our hostel for $15. A local guy and a girl met us at our hostel to take us to the local market to buy fresh food for us to prepare. We walked down the road with them until we came across a giant local market, not a tourist in sight. Every kind of fresh food you would want was there, vegetables, fish, fruits, meats, etc. and we were given a brief introduction of how the markets operate and how they were organized. After we gathered up all of the food we needed, we headed down to the hostel to start our cooking lesson. They helped us through every bit of the process, from deep frying the spring rolls to cutting cucumbers into shapes for decoration. We made a sweet corn soup for dessert, deep fried spring rolls for appetizer, braised chicken in ginger and sour fish soup for the main courses. We made enough food for a family of 4 to eat but the cooking teachers insisted, per Vietnamese tradition, that we not leave any scraps behind. So we ate... and ate... and ate. We had so much food that we didn't eat until lunch the next day.
This was such a fun experience. We signed up for a cooking class early in the morning through our hostel for $15. A local guy and a girl met us at our hostel to take us to the local market to buy fresh food for us to prepare. We walked down the road with them until we came across a giant local market, not a tourist in sight. Every kind of fresh food you would want was there, vegetables, fish, fruits, meats, etc. and we were given a brief introduction of how the markets operate and how they were organized. After we gathered up all of the food we needed, we headed down to the hostel to start our cooking lesson. They helped us through every bit of the process, from deep frying the spring rolls to cutting cucumbers into shapes for decoration. We made a sweet corn soup for dessert, deep fried spring rolls for appetizer, braised chicken in ginger and sour fish soup for the main courses. We made enough food for a family of 4 to eat but the cooking teachers insisted, per Vietnamese tradition, that we not leave any scraps behind. So we ate... and ate... and ate. We had so much food that we didn't eat until lunch the next day.
4. Sleeper Bus
When we left the city, we arranged to take a sleeper bus from Saigon to Nha Trang on the coast of Vietnam about 10 hours away and the bus was surprisingly only $9 per passenger. I have never been on anything quite like this before. There were no seats, only beds for everyone to sleep on, which were pretty comfortable. It was clean, decently spacious and we were able to sleep the whole way through until we arrived in the morning. Oh yeah, and there was WiFi!
When we left the city, we arranged to take a sleeper bus from Saigon to Nha Trang on the coast of Vietnam about 10 hours away and the bus was surprisingly only $9 per passenger. I have never been on anything quite like this before. There were no seats, only beds for everyone to sleep on, which were pretty comfortable. It was clean, decently spacious and we were able to sleep the whole way through until we arrived in the morning. Oh yeah, and there was WiFi!
5. Crazy Traffic
This of course had to be on our list of favorites. Just crossing the street was an adrenaline rush of sheer excitement and panic mixed together. Cars, trucks and especially motorbikes race at you as you try to keep a steady pace so the drivers can anticipate how to avoid smashing you to tiny bits.
This of course had to be on our list of favorites. Just crossing the street was an adrenaline rush of sheer excitement and panic mixed together. Cars, trucks and especially motorbikes race at you as you try to keep a steady pace so the drivers can anticipate how to avoid smashing you to tiny bits.
And just for the hell of it, we found this hand painted picture of George from Seinfeld on our last day from a street artist. Definitely a highlight.