Arriving to Ho Chi Minh City

Marco Whyte|2024-03-16 (9 months ago)38 views

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After 34 hours of traveling, I finally arrived at my first destination of my trip, Vietnam! I landed in the busy city of Ho Chi Minh City, otherwise known as Saigon. This is in the south of Vietnam and over the next month I will be climbing my way to the north, trying to experience as much as I can.

One thing hit me after walking out of the airport, the humidity and heat. It was around 28°C (82.4°F) at 5am and quickly got to the high 30s. My first stop was to get breakfast. I took a taxi to the center and got my first Banh Mi of many, as well as a coconut coffee, it was so good!

I also saw a couple taking wedding pictures of an antique car at the opera house, which was neat.

The next day I headed to the Củ Chi tunnels, an eye opening experience of the remnants from the Vietnam War (or American war is it is called by the Vietnamese). The Củ Chi tunnels are an extensive network of underground passageways that stretch over 250 kilometers (155 miles), located in the Củ Chi District of Ho Chi Minh City. Used by Viet Cong soldiers during the Vietnam War for hiding, transportation, and as a base of operations, these tunnels played a significant role in facilitating guerrilla warfare tactics against American forces. The spaces were so tight, American soldiers were not able to fit inside leading to a significant advantage to the Vietnamese.

Now it's time to head up to central vietnam, the next stop is Hue.