For the last few days in Vietnam we ended in Ho Chi Minh City and spent a day on a small island in the Mekong Delta.
Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam as a whole have a history of brutality stemming from the Vietnam War. From historical buildings and tunnels we learnt about most of the war in Ho Chi Minh. We passed the Independence Palace where the original south Vietnamese government ruled from. This is also where the ‘fall of saigon’ occurred when the T-72 tank stormed the gates which signified the end of the Vietnam War. The T-72 tank is still sat in the grounds of the unification palace to this day. A 10 minute walk up the road lead us to the Vietnam War Museum. Here there were stories from people involved in the war as well as many graphic photographs. There were also rooms dedicated to Agent Orange commonly known as Napalm which showed the effects on human life and land. There were also people there who have been affected generations on from Napalm. The whole experience in the museum was harrowing and is an important part of history that is not commonly known in the UK.
We also visited the bronze statue of Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh is the former Prime Minister of Vietnam and helped unify the country to what it is today. The statue stands in front of a beautiful building looking down a long wide pathway. Just opposite the statue is a fountain with a lotus flower. We sat down on the side taking in the views and the sunshine in the beautiful city realising how lucky we are to have experienced Vietnam.
It was the next day and it was time to head to the Mekong Delta. 4 hours in a very uncomfortable mini bus, 1 boat and a calming bike ride later, we finally arrived at our homestay on the small island of Tan Phong, within the Mekong Delta. The Mekong River is the 12th largest river in the world and when it meets the sea it branches off into multiple streams creating hundreds of small islands which has formed the Mekong Delta as we know it. The islands are abundant with swamps, rivers, rice paddies and life. The Delta holds over 1300 different species of fish as well as plants, flowers and each island is home to thousands of local residents who get around on moped or bike.
It was a busy day on Tan Phong, after all the travelling we started off our stay with a bracelet making class. We cycled from our homestay to a locals home where a lady and her very young daughter taught us how to make dried water hyacinth bracelets and how to count to 10 in Vietnamese. I still can’t remember how to, but it was good fun. From our bracelet making class we went to a tea party.
At the tea party we learnt to make a traditional jackfruit cake, however it is not like your favourite victoria sponge or chocolate cake. It is like the texture and taste of pasta only thinner and shaped out on jackfruit leaves. Coconut milk is also your dipping sauce for the cake. I quite liked them, but then again there wasn’t too much taste to it. Along with our cakes we had fruits, chips, tea and ended the tea party with a local singing us a folk song. It was a great and relaxing tea party.
For my least favourite part of the day was mud catfishing. I was really excited to do this however, when it got down to actually trying to catch the catfishes I wasn’t really good at it. To catch a catfish you have to feel around in the muddy waters until a slimy catfish passed by. You throw down a wooden basket to stop them swimming off, pop your hand in the hole at the top of the basket and grab the slimy creature. Some of the group were really good at it. However I was terrible and disliked the whole experience. Maybe I’ll try it again some other time.
Heading back to Ho Chi Minh from the Mekong Delta we stopped off at the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cu Chi Tunnels are man made tunnels created by the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War that span under districts of Ho Chi Minh city. They were built to protect themselves from bombs being dropped as well as routes to other destinations and living quarters. Here we got to see the small entrance holes to the tunnels, booby traps, tanks, ventilation mounds, guns, uniforms and got to experience going through the tunnels. The tunnel we went through has actually been widened and heightened for tourism and has exits every 20 meters. The tunnel was so claustrophobic and small we had to completely hunch over to an almost 90 degree angel to get through. Our group only made to 20 and 40 meters. The fact that the tunnels have been widened and it was too small for us to bear captured the realisation of how tiny these tunnels actually were. Small enough to fit a 8 year old boy down. It is amazing how people lived down there for up to almost 20 years.
We ended our trip in Vietnam the way we started it, going out on the town! The evening began with a stunning rooftop dinner with the group we travelled with. I also don’t think I have seen so much food on a table before, but I sure did eat lots of it. From dinner we headed down to Bui Vien street. The base of the music from every club was so loud, each club competing to see who could play their music the loudest. This was definitely Hanoi all over again but on a bigger scale. The clubs were massive and fully decorated, we went into one called Donkey which was all Ancient Egyptian themed. We had a great night and great trip overall.
I will definitely be visiting Vietnam again, their Pho, spring rolls, banh mis, extra strong cocktails, landscape, culture and endless amounts of Circle K convenience stores have captured my heart forever. But for now next stop Bangkok in Thailand!
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