AK47 - Accept No Substitute

Greetings,

First of all, I made a slight cock-up with the post below the other day which meant that half of it was cut off. That error has now been corrected and the post also updated with two bonus items that I forgot to mention in the initial post. Namely, the similarity between a cult film star and a communist leader, and a drugs bust that I was almost involved in!

Right, back to business. At the moment I am in Saigon, and have been for the past two and a bit days or so.

After travelling from Nah Trang to Saigon I took a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels where the Vietnamese fought, hid and lived during the American War. It was incredible to crawl through these tunnels and see how these people lived and fought and, ultimately, outfoxed their rivals during the war. Some of the tunnels you could barely fit your body through, and after crawling for just 100 metres underground through said tunnels, my legs were almost seized up and I felt like I'd been sitting in a sauna for a good hour! Unbelievable. Also shown were the various cunning traps that the Vietcong used to great effect. Loads of booby traps fashioned from only the natural materials that were around them, like pits with sharpened bamboo canes in them that opposition fighters would fall in. An amazing sight, and a testament to the spirit of survival of these wonderful people.

While at the Cu Chi Tunnels, I partook in an activity that will have the lads back home green with envy - I fired rounds from an AK47 assault rifle!

Following this I travelled from Saigon to see the Mekong Delta where "the mighty river splits into a labyrinth of channels before disgorging into the South China Sea". It was excellent to see how the people lived along the river, and how resourceful they were at creating their various wares. Really interesting and a fascinating insight into proper Vietnamese culture.

Following the Mekong Delta excursion I returned to Saigon. During a night out we went to a ‘specialty‘ restaurant where I tried several new types of food. Including; deep-fried scorpion (followed shortly after by holding a live one in my hand), snake, rat and goat’s penis (I kid thee not!).

In Saigon I visited the War Remnants Museum (rather amusingly formerly called the American Museum of War Atrocities or something like that!) which was incredibly moving. There were so many images showing how the various chemicals used during the American War had affected the Vietnamese people and the various deformities and defects it had caused. So sad.

Tomorrow I leave Saigon and Vietnam after having the most incredible time here. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Vietnam, but it is safe to say it has surpassed my expectations on so many levels – a truly wonderful country.

So, onto Cambodia next – cant wait!

Hope you are all well and are looking after yourselves. Missing you all loads, will speak to you very soon.