Last stop Saigon

Trip Start Apr 16, 2008
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Trip End Apr 15, 2009


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Thursday, July 3, 2008

After yet another night bus, this time from Nha Trang, we arrived at 7am in Ho Chi Minh City. Just as we booked into our hotel, we met some friends from Nha Trang who had a few spare places on their day trip to Cu Chi and Tayninh, and after a quick Italian shower we joined them. It was a bit hard to get straight back on a bus but it was well worth it. First off we visited the original Cao Dai temple in Tayninh which is their Holy See. This religion is a mix between Hindu, Buddhism, Christianity, Confusionism and some others I can't remember. Saw one of their daily ceremonies. Quite a spectacle along with the amazing decorations on the temple and the constant chanting from the choir.
After that we moved on Cu Chi, the site of the famous Viet Cong tunnels. These were constructed over a period of 25 years and were used to run guerilla operations against the French and the Americans in South Vietnam. It was amazing to see the conditions of life in the tunnels and to experience moving through them at first hand.
Also spent a couple more nights out with the crew of friends we made along the way in Vietnam Cao Dai temple in Taynin
Cao Dai temple in Taynin
 . This included a goodbye night for Scotty who was heading off back to reality in Ireland. We expected him back the next day but he never showed up.
Visited the War Remnants museum in Saigon also. This was a very interesting museum with several exhibits. However, with many stark images of death and war it was also a sobering experience. Well worth a visit but it leaves you with a real feeling of how real the war was in Vietnam (not just a movie like we might feel at home).
This brought to close my Vietnamese Odyssey with many places left unvisited I am sure that I will be back there again. But for now its on to Cambodia.
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