I was only planning on staying in Saigon for a couple of days, in keeping with my intention of not spending much time in big cities.
When I got there I actually got a real good feel for the place. It was crazier than ever on the roads with swarms of people on scooters and crossing the road is an adventure in itself!
A friend of mine from University has been living in the city for the past year, so I gave him a call and we met up for a coffee. It was great to catch up after so long.
Gordon only stayed until the first evening and then flew out to Bali, so after travelling together for the last 3 weeks, it was finally time to go our separate ways. Shame, we got on great together and had a lot of fun.
The first night in town I bumped into some people I had been travelling with previously, so a few beers down in Go2 bar were very welcomed.
The next morning I went to the Tunnels. These are a network of tunnels that the Vietnamese used during the war as part of their Guerrilla warfare campaign and helped them hide from the American and South Vietnamese forces for so long. It was really impressive to see the initiative shown by the forces and also just how determined they were. To fight, and win, against such an awesome fight, can only be a testament to the mentality of their people. To fight in the day and then spend the nights tending the fields to ensure they could still produce their crops was amazing.
The tunnels themselves were tiny! Obviously the Asians are generally a bit smaller than us westerners, and that helped. When the Americans did find some of the tunnels, they couldn't fit in to chase the enemy out! They also lived under ground and when they cooked their food they had really long Air tunnels so that the smoke would leave the ground about half a click away from the actual tunnel. So, when the Americans saw the smoke and bombed the area, they missed the tunnels by a long shot! Ingenious.
After the tunnels there was the opportunity to fire some guns. I had been looking forward to this and bought 10 bullets for the M-16 rifle, used by the Americans. It is a lot harder than it looks to fire accurately, partly due to me not really knowing how to line up the sights. Apparently I was firing too low. But I couldn't see where it was hitting anyway, so I wasn't too bothered. One thing that did surprise me is just how loud the guns are, especially the AK-47. In hindsight, I wish I had bought 5 bullets for the M-16 and 5 for the AK-47. I should get another chance in Cambodia, so I might try it then.
After the tunnels I was dropped off at the War Remnants museum. On my way in I bumped into Malcolm, a guy that I met on the bus to Vang Vieng, the same time I met Gordon, so I went with him and his friend.
The museum was a very sobering and quite distressing experience. To see just how badly treated the Vietnamese prisoners, and civilians (including women and children) were treated was quite terrifying. And then seeing the pictures of the people who suffered at the use of Agent Orange actually brought a lump to my throat and nearly a tear to my eye.
The birth defects suffered by these people are grotesque. It really was a moving experience. Definitely no sugar coating here.
Around town I also bumped into Gordons friends again so arranged to meet them for a drink later.
I had another good night out in Go2 bar with the guys (Amy, Becky, the name I can never pronounce!, Alex, Malcolm and Max).
I actually got on with one of the girls really well and it is a shame we only had a short time together as I would have liked to spend more time with her. Still, we might get to meet up when I get home.