Today Ho Chi Minh City is very much the heart of Vietnamese business and entrepreneurs. Incomes here are typically twice that of Hanoi and the city’s skyline is rapidly changing, reflecting the sharp influx of foreign trade within the last decade. And yet for all this modernity, the city still retains its connections to the past, particularly so in Cholon, Saigon’s Chinatown.
Here dozens of elegant temples and pagodas can be seen. The French too left their mark here – the city has many street cafes and patisseries where fresh croissants can be purchased The Cu Chi Tunnels were pivotal to the Communist’s victory over the Americans and the South Vietnamese Armies as they allowed the Viet Cong to control a large rural area around Saigon. At its height, the tunnel system, parts of which were several levels deep, stretched over 200kms from Saigon to the Cambodian border.
The area of Cu Chi was one of the most pro-communist districts in the far south; indeed the VC used the tunnels to organize the 1968 Tet Offensive. During the American War the entire area of Cu Chi was designated a free fire zone and was heavily bombarded: you can still see numerous craters caused by 500 pound B52bombs.
It was this persistant bombing campaign that drove many of the residents of Cu Chi together with the Viet Cong underground. Originally the tunnels had been created as far back as 1948 to help combat the French. Now they were rapidly expanded to include innumerable trap doors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centres kitchens and even schools.
Today the remaining tunnels of this intricate network have been widened to accommodate the larger western frame and have now become a major tourist attraction giving the visitor a unique experience of what underground life in the American war must have been like and a deep appreciation of the courage and ingenuity of the Vietnamese people
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8:00 Pick up you at hotel, start to downtown of Ho Chi Minh for touring along the famous Dong Khoi street , passing by the Opera House, Town Hall, Notre Dame Cathedral & central Post Office and Independent Palace. Lunch at a local restaurant.
In the afternoon, we are heading to Hoc Mon District to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, is 70 kilometers North West of down town Ho Chi Minh City. The Cu Chi Tunnel system had been created long time back, from 1948 to assist Viet Minh in the combat with French. We arrive in Cu Chi Tunnels (Ben Dinh). Then we will watch a propaganda film a wartime propaganda film showing how local guerilla fighters were “American Killing Heroes” (a short introductory video showing how the tunnels were constructed).
We then spend the next hour exploring the maze of tunnels in Cu Chi. Also on display are various mantraps and the remains of an American tank as well as numerous bomb craters made by 500 pound bombs dropped by B52 bombers.
Also, you can try to real gun shooting at the shooting yard ( extra fee)
Back to the hotel in the late afternoon.