Day 36: Cu Chi tunnels and Motorobike Foodie tour

This morning I went on a half day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, which is about an hour and a half drive north of Saigon. The 250km network of tunnels were used by Vietnamese soldiers during the war, with some as deep as 10 metres underground. 

I thought the tour was quite poorly organised. The group size was far too big, so a lot of the time you could barely understand what the guide was saying or see anything unless you were willing to elbow your way to the front. He also skipped through the stops fairly quickly. Still, it was a fascinating place. The entry to the tunnels themselves were small covered holes in the ground, big enough for the tiny Vietnamese, but too small for fat ass Americans. We got to go down into a section of the tunnels and travel around 100m, which was enough! The heat down there is unbearable, and if you're claustrophobic then it's best avoided as the  tunnels are so small and narrow that you often have to crawl.

When I got back to the city, I had the most amazing lunch at a place called Bun cha. It was literally heaven in a bowl. I had noodles in a broth with beef and pork patties, with a spring roll for dipping.

I then spent the next few hours exploring the city. I have the crossing the street lark totally nailed now and it actually feels kind of exciting. Although you still need to pick your moment to cross, the bikes somehow do just avoid you. I felt a bit like Jesus. On my tour of the city I stopped at Notre Dame Basilica, the Post Office building and finally spent some time looking around the War Remnants  museum.

Tonight I had the most amaaaaaazing night! I  went on a motorbike foodie tour of the city run by XO company, which is a tour with all female motorbike drivers. I was picked up at 530 by my guide, Moon, before whizzing off to our first stop to meet the other 10 people on the tour. All the guides were so friendly, but I totally lucked out with mine! She was the Vietnamese version of me, we had so much in common. We talked boys, films, tv shows, and we sang Abba songs while we drove from stop to
stop. Being on the back of a motorbike feels soooo much safer than being a pedestrian here, and I loved every minute of it! We also got to see districts of the city I would never have seen. The proper Saigon that tourists never see. And the city is so much quieter when you get out of the touristy areas. 

I also tried lots of foods I wouldn't normally have, including crab claws, clams and barbecued goat. The frog made a reappearance and I loved it just as much as the first time. I tried everything that was put in front of me, but the only thing I didn't like was Balut (fertilised duck egg). The thing still bad feathers, and veins! The thought of it is turning my stomach.

One of the guys in our group had done the tour 4 times already. I can't blame him. I would literally do this tour all over again tomorrow night, I can't rate it highly enough. The tour manager took lots of photos of us throughout the night, so will upload some when they're emailed in the next few days.