Activities in Ho Chi Minh
We started with onion and cheese stuffed beef skewers and make-your-own veggie rolls. The most interesting part was when they brought out the shrimp...which were still alive, but skewered...and you had to unfortunately grill them to their death. We also said it was Josh's birthday so we each got sparklers to celebrate.
Cu Chi Tunnels: My first day was a SAS field program to the Cu Chi Tunnels where our guide showed us around. There were thatched roof huts that were dug into the ground and forested areas that turned out to have camouflaged holes big enough for a person.
There were traps, revolving panels, and over 70km of tunnels. We were even able to crawl through one of the football field-long tunnels that had since been widened but was still a claustrophobic journey to the other end. This was an eye-opening experience.
A Lively Dinner at 3T Grill: My boss on the ship, Josh, had lived in Viet Nam for a year and was the leader for our field office and admin team dinner. On the third floor above Temple Club, 3T Grill was a hidden gem that had no roof (though it did have a retractable one in case of bad weather) and each table was equipped with its own grill. Josh ordered for everyone and we began our feast.
We started with onion and cheese stuffed beef skewers and make-your-own veggie rolls. The most interesting part was when they brought out the shrimp...which were still alive, but skewered...and you had to unfortunately grill them to their death. We also said it was Josh's birthday so we each got sparklers to celebrate.
Mekong Delta: Another SAS field program was in store for me but this time it was to the Mekong Delta about 40 minutes away. In the beginning, we made a stop at a local market where the vendors had set up a rainbow of fruits, vegetables and meats in large pyramids.
Once to the river, we began in a large boat before transferring to a small boat and then finally to a horse-drawn cart to reach our lunch destination.
At the restaurant we were greeted with some rather interesting delicacies.
I then elected to go on a bike ride and began a nice ride through the small dirt paths and roads. It was a lot of fun, even when we lost the group due to the guy behind me having a rather unfortunate meeting with a ditch on the side of the road.
Our last stop on the tour was at a place where they made coconut candies. We tested some and my friend Ben even tried shots from a jug whose contents featured a full snake at the bottom.
War Remnants Museum: This was an extremely sad but interesting museum that featured pictures and artifacts during and after the war. I would definitely recommend this museum because it certainly shows a side of the war you don't normally hear about.
Tymitz Square: Aria and I met up on the last day to explore the local markets. We took motorbikes to Ben Thanh Market (FYI the streets are filled with motorbikes and crossing the street is a task). The market had a lot of local crafts and neat things to buy. As a heads up, we also went to Saigon market but the items there didn't seem to be locally made.
And of course we all enjoyed some fun nights out in Ho Chi Minh City!
These were just some of the activities I did while in Ho Chi Minh City for the beginning and end of my trip in Viet Nam. But don't forget I also had a slew of activities sandwiched in the middle in Ha Long Bay!
. It was an action packed week of food, tours...){kind=link}