March 24 Happy Birthday Julie!!
We arrived here at 6:30 a.m. and the temperature was already 88 degrees. After breakfast we left for our tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels. These tunnels, used by the Viet Cong during the war, are 124 miles long, going all the way into Cambodia.
We boarded the bus for the 3 hour drive thru the countryside to the tunnels. Luckily the bus was 100% better than the bus we rode in 2008 as it had air conditioning. The tour guide was excellent, explaining the history of the tunnels and of Vietnam. It was interesting to hear the story from another perspective.
The traffic everywhere in Vietnam is terrible, thousands of motor bikes and cycles loaded with everything imaginable. There is a helmet law but it only applies to the driver. Therefore, the parents load the children onto the bike and none of them have helmets.
Once at the tunnels we were shown the original openings which are very small. A 10 kilometers have been enlarged so that tourists can view them. The Viet Cong were smart enough to build them so the Americans would not fit, we used the Filipino soldiers as ‘tunnel rats’ since they were smaller. It was impossible to see the openings to the tunnels, they were so well camouflaged. The tunnels actually went under the largest US base during the war. They were built beginning in 1947 during the war against the French, and then expanded during the war with America. They have multiple levels as well as kitchens, hospital rooms, etc. Sure glad I didn’t serve here, the deaths in these tunnels and traps was very painful. It was a very devious and ingenious plan.
(I didn’t know Bill was taking pictures of me, nor do I know how to delete them from this blog. Not very flattering.) We then had the opportunity to enter a tunnel. It was a mile long, Betty and I opted to exit at the first opportunity as it was very claustrophobic and completely dark. People in front of us were having a hard time getting through and we would have to stop hunched over in the complete darkness before they got moving again. It was an experience that I don’t need to do again. After we got out we were treated to some Vietnamese tea and some tapioca root. The tea was good but it was 96 degrees, I needed something cold. The tapioca, a staple of the Vietnamese people, was tasteless. We then were taken to a restaurant for lunch, they offered us free beer, so Betty ordered one for me since she had water. (The beers will be added to the beer list) See how lucky I am to have her in my life. The following is the menu:
The ride to and from the tunnels was very interesting, we passed many rice paddies and rubber plantations. The rice was ready for harvest and it was all being done by hand. Sadly, Vietnam does not possess the technology to be a major player in the world today.
During dinner we sailed out of Phu My and we retraced our steps through the river past Vung Tai and into the South China Sea altering to starboard and setting an initial westerly heading for Liam Chabang, Thailand.
March 25
Relaxing day at sea today, trivia this morning, same results as usual. Afternoon Scholarship at Sea lecture “Fighting Crime with Computer Technologies” by Mark Harrington. It was very interesting.
Tonight show is a encore performance by Preston Coe, we missed the first show so we will attend tonight. Then we will get to bed early as tomorrow we arrive in Laem Chabang, Thailand at 7:00 a.m. and our tour leaves at 7:15. It is really transportation to and from Bangkok so we will spend 5+ hours on a bus. the rest of the time we will be on our own.
