Vietnam II (Cu Chi tunnels & Ho Chi Minh)

After returning from our bike tour thoroughly soaked and exhausted, we met up with everyone else again and did a bunch of eating and walking around the city--past the Reunification Palace and through local markets, all while trying not to get hit by the thousands of mopeds on the street.  Literally everyone seemed to have one.  There were lots of hole-in-the-wall restaurants with chairs and tables on the street; we had some great Pho at one of these at 3am before we left for the airport at 3:45am on Monday morning.

Hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a mix of tourists and locals

The Irish boys (Chris and Rob) playing with their food

The Vietnamese people were really friendly--this little guy down here was rocking Top Gun-style aviators and posing like a superstar when I pulled out my camera.  We also walked by a bunch of men kicking shuttlecocks (a local game played like hacky sack, except with much cooler tricks); they waved and showed off their best moves as we watched in awe.

Rock star.

Some intense moves

On Sunday, we took a $5 tour to the Cu Chi tunnels, an elaborate network of underground tunnels which the Viet Cong built for hiding and attacking purposes during the war against the U.S.  On the way to the tunnels, we stopped at a factory where people handicapped by the Vietnam War produce artwork for sale to support themselves.  It was touching and awing to see them create such beauty despite their physical disabilities, and the pieces were absolutely beautiful.

The warehouse

 

Beautiful works of art

Then we drove on to the tunnels.  The tunnels were so tiny and hot--it's the first time I've ever felt anything close to claustrophobic.  They already widened the tunnels so tourists could fit, I can't even imagine how skinny they must have been during the war.  It's amazing how creative and innovative this tactic is, but I guess extreme times called for extreme measures.

Hidden tunnel entrance.  Scary!

Elliot demonstrating the duck waddle we had to do to get through the tunnels

Besides the tunnels, our tour guide showed us the various types of traps that the Viet Cong used to build to trap American soldiers.  They even had a shooting range where one could shoot AK-47s amongst other guns used in the war for about $1.50 a bullet.  A bunch of us (including myself!) tried it, and it was one of the scariest things I've ever done in my life.  I never thought that I would ever shoot a gun in my life, and here I was in the middle of Vietnam shooting an AK-47!  It was so loud and so scary--I'm never doing that again.  It was definitely an experience though...I guess you have to try everything at least once in life.

Thomas shooting the AK-47.  Everyone else was too busy plugging their ears that I didn't even get a picture of myself...

I definitely got my adrenaline rushes for the day both from crawling through the tunnels and from shooting the AK-47...it was an intense day, one that I will definitely not forget anytime soon.