Day 4 of Ho Chi Minh Trip ^_^
After a great rest in our AirBnB unit, we woke up early to join Cu Chi Tunnel Half Day Tour at 7.15am. We reached the Sinh Tourist early and we decided to settle our breakfast. Saw a food stall opposite the road selling Banh Mi. We had been in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) for 3 days and yet to try any Banh Mi. Without thinking much, we walked across the road to get our breakfast.
What is Banh Mi?
Banh Mi is a Vietnamese term for all kinds of bread. The word is derived from banh and mi (wheat). Bread, or more specifically the baguette, was introduced by the French during its colonial period. The bread most commonly found in Vietnam is a single-serving baguette, therefor the term banh mi is synonymous with this type of bread. The banh mi is usually more airy than its Western counterpart, with a thinner crust. It is sometimes metonymous with a food item known as a "Vietnamese sandwich", for which banh mi serves as the bread wrapper. Vietnamese sandwich sometimes called a "banh mi sandwich" combines ingredients from the French (baguettes, pate, and mayonnaise) with native Vietnamese ingredients (cilantro, cucumber, jalapeno, pickled carrots and daikon), Classically, it is served with various Vietnamese cold cuts, such as sliced pork or pork bellies, pork sausage, head cheese, along with the liver pate and vegetables. (Information from Wikipedia)
The small food stall that sells coffee, noodles and banh mi sandwich all in one.
The making of our banh mi sandwich.
I bought one for myself and this is how it looks!
We paid about RM9 for this. It is so much expensive as compared to the other stalls that I found after this. Sigh... Overpriced sandwich but it tasted alright. Like the crunchiness of the baguette.
And this is how my Banh Mi looks after two bites. =)
After enjoying our breakfast, our bus to Cu Chi Tunnel arrived! Such a great timing. *claps* The journey to Cu Chi Tunnel from HCM city took us about 1 hour 15 min. I slept throughout the journey. The sleeping bus is so comfortable. XD
What is so interesting about Cu Chi Tunnel? Apart from the tunnel, I have no idea what to expect. I read some information regarding Cu Chi Tunnel before this trip. Let me share some history of it here.
Cu Chi Tunnel was dug by Communist guerrilla troops known as Viet Cong (VC) in order to combat the better supplied American and South Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. This extensive tunnels of thousand miles run underneath the Cu Chi district northwest of Saigon. Soldiers used these underground routes to house troops, transport communications and supplies, lay booby traps and mount surprise attacks, after which they could disappear underground to safety. Tunnels were often dug by hand, only a short distance at a time. American soldiers used the term "Black Echo" to describe the conditions within the tunnels. For the VC, life in the tunnels was difficult. Air, food and water were scarce and the tunnels were infested with ants, poisonous centipedes, scorpions, spiders and vermin. (To read more on the history of Cu Chi Tunnel, please click here for link )
The soldier showing us how to get into the tunnel. The leaves covered up really perfectly after closing it off. People will not noticed the tunnel.
One of the traps. Different kinds of traps available in this area.
It's a jungle area. It allows us to get a feel of the war time.
One of the opening into the tunnel.
The tunnel is indeed shorter than a normal person's height. To enter, everyone has to squat or crawl to go through.
Statue of the soldiers. Telling us stories of the war time.
Notice the holes? It is there to provide air into the tunnel.
Found this! I happily climbed up the truck. XD Our group photo in Cu Chi Tunnel area.
This is the place showing us different kinds of traps.
Our tour guide showing us how these traps work.
Visiting the statues which show the bomb remnants and how the people prepare their weapons.
The most exciting area -- the shooting range!
Didn't expect I have the chance to visit a shooting range.
I've never hold a gun and hence decided to try on M16. Bought 10 bullets for RM80.
Quite affordable to buy an experience which we hardly get. Decided to share the bullets with a friend. Just want to get a feeling of how to shoot. =)
Me shooting with the M16. I think I look cool with gun XD
The guns available at the shooting range.
The shooting range. The sound of the gun shots is really loud!
The rice paper and coconut candy shops
The rice paper drying under the sun.
Another opening to show us how the tunnel looks like.
Then we walked to a small hut, where there's a man making rubber shoes from tyres.
The talented man making the rubber slippers. This is what the soldiers where during the war.
The opening of tunnel which tourists can enter. Us queuing up to walk down the tunnels.
It is really difficult to walk through the tunnel. My thigh ached so much after walking only 60 meters. Inside the tunnel, it was dark and there isn't enough oxygen to support too many people at once. Lack of oxygen makes us feel more tired while walking. Friend did help me to take a photo while I walk out of the tunnel. However, it was TOO blur. T_T a bit disappointing...
There are statues while we are walking to a place to rest and eat cassava. Take photo to compensate my feelings of losing the photo of me walking out the tunnel. Hehe...
Then, we got to the area to rest. The steamed cassava was served with salt and sugar. Quite nice.
Before we end our tour, our tour guide told us history of the Cu Chi Tunnel. Was a bit tired that time and didn't really focus. But the history was quite exciting, where soldiers with less weapons used great ideas to win the war.
Cu Chi Tunnel is really a great place to visit when you're in Ho Chi Minh. This is where you can see how people of the past did a great job without much civilized weapons. Great minds. I was really amazed.
Coming up next: a great pizza place in HCM City --> 4P's Pizza
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