3rd day in Ho Chi Minh

On my third and final day in the bustling metropolis of nearly 9 million people, I joined the same group as the day before to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels located on the outskirts of the city.

The tunnel system was built during the war against France in 1948 and expanded 12 years later to a total length of 200 km across three levels. The underground tunnels served as protection for weapons, supplies, and people, and were used as sleeping quarters, schools, and offices. The Americans made several attempts to destroy the tunnel system, but due to its intricate layout and different levels, it could not be bombed, flooded, or gassed.

Today, most of the tunnels have been filled in, but a small part is accessible to tourists. A guide led us around the site and shared the stories with us. As part of the tour, we also entered the tunnels themselves. The hole to enter was so narrow that I had to squeeze my shoulders together. Once underground, we crawled on all fours and still managed to scrape our shoulder blades on the ceiling - the Vietnamese are just smaller than me ;) The heat underground was immense, which was only made worse by crawling.

But the excursion was definitely worth it, and on the way back, we even saw a beautiful sunset.