Last Day in Ho Chi Minh City

On our last day in Ho Chi Minh City we went to the Cu Chi tunnels and Dam Sen Water Park. We left the city for a 1 and a half hour ride to the tunnels. These are the tunnels that the Vietnamese villagers used when their country was at war with France, and later the Vietnamese soldiers used them to hide from the American army. To get to where the tunnels started we had to go underground in a huge tunnel. We then went to one of the camouflaged entrances where he showed us how to get in. Acacia and dad both went under and peeked out for a picture. We then went to one of the larger entrances for a 10m. walk underground in the dark in the tunnels. The only way to know where you were going was to touch the person in front of you. Acacia wanted to do 50m, but we didn’t. It was very hot in the tunnels. We then left back for the city. About half way the driver stopped and we got out to wait at a public bus stop so we could get to the Water Park.


At the water park there was a wave pool, two double slides, 7 single slides, and a zip line in to water. At the beginning when we got there we had lunch then went to the tallest slide, but not the fastest. Since I had metal on my swimsuit it had to be cut off before I could go down. They had a lot of safety rules (like in Pennsylvania). Then Acacia and I went up to 2 slides that were partly covered. One was a long straight down and at the end you went into a funnel. Acacia wanted to do this, but was too short. So she and I went on an orange one that was fast. Then we did the double slides. Right at the end Acacia, Mom, and I went on the “Kamikaze” the fastest slide in the park that when you landed you hurt your butt. Then we returned to the hotel. We were so tired that day that we didn’t go out for supper, but ordered in pizza!

Austin

Trip to Vietnam - Mekong Delta Tour

Our first full day in Ho Chi Minh City and we left town. We went on a tour of the Mekong Delta. This is a part of Vietnam that the Mekong River and smaller canals run through. We drove to a docking station and got on a boat till we reached our first destination. A candy factory! Well we were definitely happy to see that. They made coconut candies there. Basically they boiled the coconut milk for a long time and added some sugar and out came taffy. These were cut into squares that were then wrapped in rice paper- edible so the candy doesn’t get your fingers sticky. It was very yummy!


Next we got on carts, sort of like roofless tuk-tuks and off we went. We rode through the villages and it was very tropical. Fruit trees, rice fields, brightly colored houses scattered about made it a picturesque ride. We stopped to see a rice field and fruit trees. We enjoyed a delicious lunch consisting of elephant ear fish made in front of us into spring rolls, fried taro and egg rolls, and soup. After eating we got in canoe like boats and someone rowed it as we soaked in the sights. We all put on the traditional hats and off we went. Slowly we made our way back to Ho Chi Min. It was a great way to see the countryside of Vietnam.



Janaya