Day 4: Cu Chi Tunnel, City Tour, Water Puppet Show

Backpacking South East Asia by the Hand Signs

Day 1: Petronas Twin Towers
Day 2: Genting Highlands
Day 3: Batu Caves + Putrajaya

Evening of Day 3: Arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
The shuttle service I hired from Nguyen Khang picked me up in Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Come on, it's my first time to travel alone in a foreign country, so I made this safe and convenient for me. Besides, $12 for the pick up is reasonable enough.

Chyng Reyes from MALINA - ano daw?! 0_o

I arrived at around 10pm in the famous backpackers' area in District 1. I saw a lot of different nationalities around. I headed towards Nguyen Khang Hotel to check in. I chose that place because of the good feedbacks from our fellow Pinoys. And it didn't disappoint me. Among my 4 accommodations in this SEA trip, my room in Nguyen Khang is my favorite. I got a private room with a double bed, aircon, fan, mini-fridge, en suite bathroom, free wifi and free breakfast, all for $15/night. The hotel is clean, well-maintained, and quite new.

private room for me (yey, pwede magkalat!)

en suite bathroom

Nguyen Khang Hotel
http://nguyenkhanghotel.com/

I talked to the receptionist and booked myself a Cu Chi Tour ($5) for the following day, and a bus ticket to Siem Reap, Cambodia ($20) for the day after the next. Yes, everything is rated in dollars.

After that I strolled outside the hotel alley and looked for a bar and resto where I can eat. It's almost midnight yet many establishments are still open. The place where I settled served different beers from different countries. Ex. Singha from Thailand, Tiger from Singapore, Angkor from Cambodia. And yes there's San Miguel from the Philippines of course.

Asia' different beers - this is cute!

I know I should try the Vietnamese Pho pero di ko pa feel that night. I need a rice meal. Hihi

Seafood Fried Rice

Surprisingly good. The serving is generous and the taste is just right. Enough of the overflowing spices and flavors. I need a simple dish this time.

Day 4: Cu Chi Tour, Ho Chi Minh city tour, Water Puppet Show
I went down the common breakfast area and found no one there. Seemed everyone's still sleeping. Why? Because it's still very early. Well, no one told me the time in Vietnam is 1 hour delayed of us. Maaga pa naman ako gumising, kainis. Haha

local bread, jam, egg, coffee, and fruit juice

After breakfast, the receptionist informed me that the coordinator of the trip was already waiting for me outside. I followed him and there I met the other backpackers. This is the shuttle bus that will bring us to Cu Chi.

shuttle bus to Cu Chi

Chi, our local tour guide, told us random trivia about their country. He said it's only been 4 years since they got a cellular site and use cellphones in Vietnam. He also said they cant complain much, because if they do, they'll be in trouble. That's why they don't bother if Facebook or any other social networking sites are prohibited in Vietnam (you cant access FB here).

The shuttle bus stopped in a local handicraft and manufacturer shop. I got very amazed in what they are doing. Right there I agreed that the Vietnamese are skilled.

lovely hand made crafts

and all of these are made up of egg shells

We arrived in Cu Chi tunnel site and paid for the entrance fee. We were instructed to watch a video presentation first.

Cu Chi Tunnel is 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City in the Northwest. It is miniature battle versatile of Cu Chi’s military and people during the 30-year struggle longtime and fierce to fight invading enemy to receive independence, freedom for motherland. It also is the special architecture lying deeply underground with many stratum, nooks and crannies as complex as a cobweb, having spares for living, meeting and fighting with total lengths over 200 km.

Honestly I have no idea what this trip is all about. I didn't even know there's a war between America and Vietnam. To be able for the Vietnamese people to survive, they created a tunnel and almost 16,000 people lived underground for 40years.

Now why did they create a tunnel with just a small opening? Simply because small holes can only fit small people. Therefore, American soldiers can't.. Ang talino! Ü

this very small hole is the entrance to the tunnel

Chi, our guide, showed off he can fit

Being the only Asian guest in the tour, I volunteered to try it first. I know I can effortlessly fit too.

Asians can easily fit!

But the westerners can't... They have big body builds.

see, he got stuck

Not only that, the Vietnamese managed to cook without smoke, breathe normally, take a bath, and almost do everything underground. Vietnamese have simple yet brilliant ideas! They also use traps like these:

this will really hurt

This tour is very interesting. Never miss Cu Chi Tour when you get to visit Vietnam. Indeed, this is the trademark for my 4th day of Backpacking SEA.

Day 4: Cu Chi Tunnel, Vietnam

westerners: hey, what's with the 4 fingers? is that the popular hand sign in your country?
me: (smiling) no, it's my 4th day of backpacking.
pero sa totoo lang eto gusto ko sabihin: tse! pakealam mo! 0_o

As souvenir, I think this one's the most famous.

drink it 3x a day

Cu Chi Tunnel
http://www.cuchitunnel.org.vn/

We returned back to the city and we're dropped somewhere the backpacker's area at 2pm. I decided to have lunch at Pho24. Why here? I just need a place with wifi. I dont have any idea how to get back to my hotel. I need to search for the location. Hihi

Vietnamese Pho and Spring Rolls

This noodle soup has a distinct taste. Tastes far different from Chinese and Japanese ramen. The Spring Rolls come perfect with this Pho. I enjoyed my 1st real Vietnamese meal.

Moving on..
Para maging proud naman sakin sina Nina, Jamie from GT, and Shyn from PEX (thank you ladies), I didn't' join any group for the city tour. I visited the landmarks alone. I had a map in hand of course. It's safe, but it's just very hard to cross the streets. Why? motorcycles are everywhere!

1:1 yata ang ratio ng motorycle dito

I visited Saigon Square and Ben Thanh market place. I bought some items but these don't include a TNF bag. I realized I don't need one.

Next, I walked towards the Notre Dame Cathedral. The late 19th century cathedral has a neo-Romanesque facade with twin towers. There's an ongoing mass inside and as respect I didn't take any photos. After all, there's nothing really fancy inside the church. The churches' interiors in Intramuros are more charming.

Notre Dame Cathedral

a photoshoot outside the church

Next is the Reunification Palace.

Reunification Palace

And the Central Post Office.

Central Post Office

Since Im alone, I don't have any photos of myself in front of these landmarks. For the entire Vietnam trip, I only have 2 photos taken in the Cu Chi tour. Ü

Moving on, I ended my Do-It-Yourself city tour with the Water Puppet Show. Ticket is VND80,000 (about P185).

Water Puppet Show

the show's about to start

the musical team

Traditional Daily Life in Rural Villages

Heroic Legends and the Vietnamese Spirit



the finale

and the people behind these puppets

Water Puppetry and Vietnamese Traditional Music are new to me. I may not understand the songs and the whole story (songs and music are in Vietnamese language), but I was entertained. Actually I prefer this show's not translated to English, for sure everyone in that room wants to see the original version of this traditional show.

Water Puppet Show
http://www.goldendragonwaterpuppet.com/

For dinner, I settled at Highlands Coffee to taste Vietnam's coffee.

at Highlands Coffee

I don't really drink coffee so I don't know how to rate their version. What I like more is their coffee cheesecake.

Since I still have a lot of Vietnamese Dongs in hand, I had a manicure+pedicure in a nearby salon. Pretty cheap!

Btw, for this trip, I showcased being a Pinay through wearing this shirt.

proudly Pinay ♥

Total expenses in Vietnam (including bus fare to Siem Reap) is $107 (P4,900)

Next entry: 14 hours overland to Siem Reap, Cambodia