Hello lovely friends and family,

After arriving in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) we headed straight to a nearby park as we had our huge bags and didn't want to walk round with them in 33 degree heat. We stayed with a wonderful person called Dav who is originally from just outside Dublin but is working as a teacher in HCMC. Sam and Cat had met her a few months before and she welcomed us all into her home to stay with open arms. The first night we cooked dinner and drank lots of Vietnamese red wine and got to know eachother.

The second day me and Adds went into the centre to explore, we started with the Reunification Palace. This is 60's style building with grand gardens and a big fountain, it's iconic because the photos of it being stormed by the north Vietnamese and the Viet Cong (the Vietnamese communists) are symbolic of them winning the war in April 1975. You can explore the interior which has huge rooms that were used by the president and you can wander the eerie network of underground tunnels. After that we took a stroll around Ben Thanh market and splurged on huge bags of fresh fruit, Vietnamese tea and a few gifts for back home.

A few days later me, Adds and Sam (Cat being rather ill the whole time we were in HCMC) did a day tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels. They were pretty interesting. The tunnels became legendary after the Viet Cong dug them in order to facilitate their communication areas and to isolate them from the Southern Vietnamese and the Americans. They dug a network of over 250km of tunnels on 3 separate underground levels, complete with living areas, kitchens, hospitals and drainage systems to avoid floods. We got to go through one tunnel that had been slightly enlarged for tourists, then one that was unadjusted. For the unadjusted one the guide called for "slim bodies only" which was quite amusing. The enlarged one was pretty tight but the unadjusted one was ridiculous! There were some points where the only way you could move was by sitting on your bum with your legs out in front and shuffling. There were 2 decents in the tunnel of about 3 or 4 feet (straight down as opposed to gradual) and after the 2nd one everyone was praying there wouldn't be any more given that the entrance ladder had already taken us about 10 feet underground. There is a shooting range on site so when you're crawling around in the tunnels you can constantly hear live gunfire...quite authentic. After the tunnels we had the option to fire a gun of our choice, we opted for an M60 machine gun, it being the biggest, loudest and most expensive of course ha ha. The guide grabbed me (Liz) first and I was shaking like a leaf with adrenaline. I fired two bullets, luckily the guns were strapped down so no dislocated shoulders occurred, then the guide put it on automatic and the thing went crazy....both boys then had a go and we all walked off the field with red faces, big grins and jittery bodies. Obviously were not condoning using guns but it was fun to have a go. At the end of the trip we were given the option to pay a little bit extra and get a "speedboat" back to HCMC down the Saigon river (around 60km). It was a great experience as we took up the back outside area and cruised along in the sun watching local life go on as normal as we sipped our ice cold beers.

So that was Monday.

On Wednesday our same group of three set off on a 2 day 1 night Mekong Delta tour with a homestay as the 1 night. On day 1 we went to a coconut candy making place and a honey bee farm, we all got to hold a huge snake around our necks (although us three the only daring ones along with a 10 year old boy), we had a local lunch then listened to sone traditional music and ate local fruits. We also had a ten
minute boat ride in a small boat down a tiny canal covered with palms. It was all relatively interesting but very touristy. We were then transferred to the hotel where most people were staying, but as we arrived the tour guide pointed at 3 old guys on motorbikes and told us to go with them. They rode us around 30 mins out of town and we all got separated (at which point we were all mildly concerned) but we arrived within a few minutes of each other at the homestay. We were a bit disappointed on arrival as it was more of a guesthouse attached to the family's house rather than us actually staying in their house. We were served some great food and went to bed at 9 given that we had to be up by 5:45 the next morning. The next morning we headed off to the local market at 6am with the dad from the family. It was nice to be up and about before the sun was fully risen, and the market experience was much more authentic with no other tourists around, just locals getting their food for the day and kids cycling to school. Every 20 feet or so there was a telegraph pole with a megaphone on top playing the news on the local radio (although the dad described it as someone reading the newspaper which is what it sounded like). Adds said he could just imagine what political issues were being discussed, and trying to imagine what might have been broadcast during wartime when the dad told him they were discussing the previous day's Arsenal vs Barcelona match! After returning to the homestay for breakfast the dad took us along the small waterways from their village to the Mekong. This was another more authentic experience as there were no other tourists around and we were able to observe people just going about their daily lives on the river. When we got to the Mekong we were transferred back onto a bigger tourist boat and spent an hour or so bobbing around the floating market there. There were loads of relatively large boats each with bamboo poles mounted on them pointing skyward. Whatever product the boat sold was tied to the bamboo pole...their version of advertising! There were also tiny boats that floated around selling drinks (including hot coffee!!!) to tourists and market vendors. After the market we headed to a rice noodle making factory and a rice factory which were both relatively interesting. The most interesting fact of the day was that out of all the school age children in Vietnam, 15 million attend school and only 50 thousand don't. I'd be interested to see how that compares to cambodia.

Over the weekend another friend o Cat, Sam and Dav's arrived, Larry, also Irish, arrived. The weekend was spent in true Irish fashion with morning mimosas (champagne and orange juice!!), great food, great wine, fantastic company and lots of singing and dancing.

Our penultimate day HCMC was sad as we had to say our goodbyes, not for long I hope! We all went into town for a beautiful traditional meal of Vietnamese Pho (beef noodle soup), roll your own spring rolls and othe ryummy treats. This was followed up with a visit to the War Remnants Museum which is a place where Westerners get the opportunity to hear the victims of the US military action tell their own stories. The museum includes photos and stories from the famous My Lai Massacre. A very interesting place, not to mention the grounds are full of bombs, artillery pieces, armoured vehicles and infantry weapons on display.

Our final day was spent packing, cleaning Dav's flat and making our way into town where we caught our 6 hour bus to the coastal town of Mui Ne. That's for next time.

Lots of love once again,

PS can't belive we'll be home in just over three months eek!

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