We departed Nha Trang for our final destination in Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City. It's former name was Saigon, and still called that by the locals. It was changed to Ho Chi Minh in honour of their beloved leader before he died. This was to be our last overnight train - the Reunification Express. The name made it sound very appealing but names can be deceiving. When we mentioned it to some other back packers they're only response was "good luck!" What's that supposed to mean? We soon found out.
It was worse then all of the horrific trains in China combined. There were six berths to a cabin that seemed to fit only four comfortably. I was at the very top and barely had enough space to lie down. I felt like a contortionist trying to wriggle my way off the ladder and into a lying position. It reminded me a little of a coffin. The worst part was that every time the train hit a bump in the track - which was often - I would smash my forehead on the ceiling. The hygeneic state was no better - the sheets hadn't been changed in god knows how long and there was food garbage every where! Thank God we were getting off at 4:30 am - I didn't know how long I was going to last in here. Needless to say, I didn't sleep a wink.
Finally when 4:30 rolled around we all grabbed our bags and got the hell outta there! I felt an urgent need to disinfect my body with some antiseptic soap. We arived at our hotel by five am and of course they wouldn't let us check in until after 12. We had a tour arranged for 7am, but that was still two hours away. So the hotel manager crammed us and all ouir bags into his back storage room to wait because he and his buddies had taken up all the space in the lobby doing some serious gambling. Give me a break! Wonderful customer service here.
By seven we were all on our way to the notorious Chu Chi tunnels. The tunnnels were built and used by the Viet Cong during the war with the Americans. The massive network of tunnels stretches all the way to the Cambodian boarder and it made up of three levels containing hospitals, weapons factories, and living quarters. The entrances to the tunnels were well hidden and camoflaged by the surrounding Vietnamese jungle. The Vietnamese could change their postitions and "pop out" any where they wanted while the Americans were none the wiser. The Vietnamese were also experts at setting the most horrific boobie-traps, which they laid through out the dense jungle. Some of them were right out of "Indiana Jones." As we walked through the area, the guards would throw fire crackers - which sounded like gun shots - a little too close to our feet.
We had the opportunity to enter one of the tunnels. It was pitch black and so low and narrow that you almost had to crawl - not for the claustrophobic. I made my way through the tunnel by feel alone until I saw a speck of light at the end of the tunnel, which I followed like a beacon. I poped out abouit 100 metres from where I had started. The tunnels seemed to be very efficient - the trick was not getting lost in their labryth-like construction. The tunnels were a key factor in the success the Vietnamese had against the American troops. When we returned to the hotel - we spent most of the afternoon recovering from the night before.
The next day four of us (Hannah, Sandy, Kelsea and I) decided to branch off from the group and we went on our own full day tour of the mighty Mekong River. The waters were very rough that day and bounced our little boat from side to side like a bath tub toy. It felt more like crossing an ocean than a river. We made it safely to several islands where we were able to visit fruit and coconut plantations along with many local villages. The villages, however, had been frequented by tourists for so long that they had lost their original charm and lacked real Vietnamese culture. It was still fun and very beautiful. One of the highlights of the day was getting to ride in a traditional san pan boat down a narrow channel where the exotic ferns hung over, creating a green tunnel. At the end of the tour, Kelsea and I took a speed boat back to Saigon. It took three hours and we got to see more of the real side to the Mekong River. It was the end of the day and I sat in the open air on the back of the boat. The sun was setting and I watched as it melted into the waters of the river.
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