cu chi tunnels

okay, so it's confirmed, the banging is not our guesthouse chef smashing bones or crushing ice as i had previously theorized… indeed, it is some small scale construction going on in the alleyway snaking around behind our guesthouse.
this was realized this morning at about 6:45 am when we woke up to head out to sinh café for our organized tour to see the cu chi tunnels, the elaborate spider web of underground tunnels extending far north and all the way to the cambodian border that served as the v.c. stronghold throughout the war.
at about 8:00 am, after a quick breakfast, identical to yesterday's, we arrived at the tour office and boarded a what looked like a very nice air conditioned bus with about 30 others and set out for cu chi, a suburb of saigon about 50 kilometers from the city center.
9:30 am - small kind deviation from plan as our somewhat rambunctious bus driver got a little over excited in the morning rush hour and somehow ' broke' the bus. rendering us incapacitated on the side of the road for about an hour while another bus came to our rescue. fortunately, the group seemed to be in good spirits and most everyone was rather understanding of the situation. as we have come to learn, it is super important to approach every day with a healthy sense of humor and a willingness to go with the flow (as the flow is often times very different from the plan)
10:10 am - still waiting… after alina decided we would forgo waiting for our afternoon snack, we dug into our first chocolate croissant of the trip. it was buttery, flakey and full of bittersweet chocolate, not unlike those of a fine parisian patisserie.
10:45 am - onward! the new bus with cooler air conditioning reloaded, this time with a few irritated travelers and headed towards cu chi.
11:30 am - well, it worked out for the best as our late arrival meant that we would be on the coat tails of all of the other tour groups, giving us more room and a little more peace at the site.
3:00 pm - back on the bus and a chance to cool off and reflect on the circus that is cu chi tunnels. a bit of background, cu chi served as the stronghold for v.c. guerillas throughout the war. the area was witness to countless deaths, chemical bombings and towards the end of the war, numerous b 52 carpet bombings. the area was left completely destroyed during and after the war, bomb craters scared the rice patties and most of the population was killed, maimed or fled the area as refugees. as the vietnamese tell the story, american forces were never able to gain a foot hold in the area and v.c. guerillas used it as a stepping stone to eventually take control of saigon in april of 1975. it would be safe to assume that the tourist site would serve as a somber memorial to all of the bloodshed and suffering the area had seen throughout history. that assumption is far from reality though, as the site is now home to a disney like theme park making light of war, repeated bombings, chemical weapons and suffering. a short film before entering the jungle site of the tunnels, praises v.c. guerilla 'american killers' and is quite a heavy hitting piece of communist propaganda. throughout the jungle, we got to see the actual tunnels still intact, along with displays of homemade bombs and weapons that the v.c. used. one of the most shocking exhibits was a display of all of the bamboo booby traps that the v.c. used against the americans and the apparent enthusiasm that the park guard and the tour group showed for seeing how they worked. followed by a stop at the shooting range to try out war era ak 47s and other various machine guns we were ready to call it a day and ge the heck out of there. it was a real eye opening experience and definitely gave a perspective of the war different than what you get back home.
4:30 pm - after getting back into saigon city, we hit our now favorite noodle soup shop for another hot bowl of spicy pho bo with tender braised beef brisket. it has become my favorite of all of our travels throughout vietnam.
5:30 pm - back to miss loi's for a cool shower and a 2 hour nap, void of any construction noises, scooter horns or any of the countless other noises this city produces when you are trying to rest…
7:30 pm - we head out of the guesthouse and find dinner at a local spot with cheap beers and fresh, tasty vietnamese food. i had bun thit nuong again, which is just a great dish - pork loin grilled with loads of lemongrass and served over rice noodles with lettuce, mint, basil and toasted peanuts - all tossed with a little fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and red chiles. it is nice and fresh, light and full of flavor. i think that it is very representational of everything that is great about vietnamese food - one of those dishes that would be great for breakfast, lunch or dinner and also does really well in this hot, humid climate… and best of all, a serving for 1 person costs barely more than a dollar - along with a 60 cent saigon beer - you can't go wrong…

fyi... i will be putting together another post about some of the food we have had in vietnam over the last month that i have not yet had a chance to mention. hopefully, wifi willing, i will get to upload it sometime in the next few days before we head into cambodia - david