Ho Chi Minh City General Tips by Johnny_CA

Favorite Thing: Visit the Chu Chi Tunnels (about an hour outside of Saigon.) These tunnels were deeply dug mazes beneath the earth that the Vietcongs used as home and shelter from the heavy U.S. bombing campaign during the War. Some parts are three levels deep and the tunnels contain sleeping and meeting quarters. Kitchens are equipped with make-shift chimneys to transport smoke from underground to the surface without being detected by the U.S. soldiers above ground. There was even an escape route which allowed the inhabitants to slip into one of the rivers. After crawling your way through some tunnels (opened for tourists), you can pay to fire an M-16 or AK-47 at the target range. As a precaution, before the tour, the tunnel guides showed us a very outdated (circa 1969 our tour guide told us) video with heavy anti-American propaganda which celebrated the lost of American soldiers' lives. If you're sensitive to such topics, please forgo the video. Our tour guide told us that she tried to ask the government to update or revise their video to make it more diplomatic but her request has been pending for several years now.

Fondest Memory: Sitting on top of the Rex Hotel's roof top terrace, savoring a Vietnamese beer. It was a muggy summer night but the vibrant atmosphere in the city was captivating. Saigon is full of boundless energy.

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