Gateway to Ho Chi Minh

Phu My 

Sapphire Princess arrived in Phu My, Vietnam around 6 am.  The port of Phu My (pronounced "Foo Me") is the gateway to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the seaside resort of Vung Tau. 

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Over three decades have passed since the Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon. Today, the name of this bustling metropolis on the Mekong River is Ho Chi Minh City. Yet, the essence of the city, a major trading center since the 18th century, remains unchanged. The air is filled with the cries of street hawkers and honking horns. Bicycles, motorbikes and automobiles fly down the boulevards at dizzying speeds. We only saw one accident, which amazed us.  Everywhere there were friendly faces and warm greetings.  

We met in the Wheelhouse Lounge at 6:50 am for our Cu Chi Tunnels shore excursion. After a short wait we were led to the gangway where our landing cards were stamped. We proceeded ashore and to our awaiting motor-coach.   Our guide, Thang, explained that our drive to the tunnels would take us thru Ho Chi Minh city and take about three hours.

Saigon is a mix of old and new.  There are construction sites all over including skyscrapers which will tower as much as 80 stories.  Amongst the new are the last cal family run businesses which are seen along the side of the road.    Motorcycles dart in and out of traffic.  Most cyclists have helmets and face masks.  Two people are the legal limit but you often saw whole families on one motorcycle.   You could see motorcycles loaded with bags and boxes of all sizes.  

About halfway to our destination we stopped "to sing a song" (restroom stop) at a lacquer shop.  We purchased a small souvenir there.   If we only had  the wall space and didn't have to transport them home, we could have purchased multiple section murals which were beautiful.

Our next stop was at Rice Paper Village where we saw a woman making rice paper.   Outside there were many racks drying in the sun.  After about two hours the rice paper is dry and ready for use.  Each circle yields two spring rolls.   She makes about a thousand rice paper circles a day.   She let one of the passengers try it.

We arrived at Cu Chi, made another restroom break while our guide retrieved our entrance receipts.   Entrance to the sight is via a long steep ramp.   There is a lot of walking on uneven ground during this tour so be sure to wear comfortable shoes and be able to walk a distance.

First stop was at a one of the tunnel entrances.  It is basically a hole in the ground which is just wide enough for a slender person to enter.  It has a cover which would be pulled over the soldier.  Covered with leaves you wouldn't even know it was there as you walked past it.  I attempted to get in but it was too narrow.  Several other passengers had their photos taken inside  he entrance.

Our guide also pointed out termite hills which were really a camouflage for air ducts which were a source of fresh air for the troops living underground.   They e en cooked underground.  We saw how they vented the smoke so that you wouldn't be able to detect it.

Other sites included training facility, troops in the different uniforms, booby trap demonstrations, bummed out tank, various guns and ammunition, and exhibit showed Ng how tunnels were dug.  The main attraction was a tunnel which had its entrance enlarged so that it could be entered and explored.   
You need to go down several steps an bend / crawl through the tunnel for 20 to 40m.  I didn't go in but my husband went down to take a photo of the entrance, but turned around at that point.  About 20 out of 30 in our group did go into the tunnel.   

After leaving Cu Chi we had a lunch stop which we will describe in another post.

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Related Album:

Ho Chi Minh
Cu Chi Tunnels
Saigon Lunch

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