Saigon = Ho Chin Minh City

The most memorable day I had at HCM was when I visited Cu Chi tunnel. It was dug by the Viet Minh and later expanded by Viet Cong. It was used a base for storage, refuge, sleeping quarters by the Viet Cong as an offensive against the American troops.

We completed the 90m crawl in the narrow and dark tunnel. It was quite an experience and we were all wet after the crawl.

"Same Same but Different" team

Offensive traps against the American troops

This American tank was destroyed by a landmine

"My Son" - Beautiful Mountain

The next day, we left for a day trip to My Son. It was an impressive site worth going.

My Son which means beautiful mountain, was built by Champa kingdom in the 4th-13th century, whose origin was from the Javanese in Indonesia. This site was the area of worship to their gods. It was fascinating to understand how the Champa people worship as the local tour guide explained. My Son was a smaller version of the Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

The Viet Cong used to use this area as their hideout but it was later bombed by the American army. A few temples were destroyed.

After My Son, we took a boat ride to an island where wood handicraft was made.

We went back to Trung Bac for Cao Lau again for lunch. My last meal in Hoi An.

Lanterns are sold in many shops here in Hoi An. Our tour guide bought us a lantern each.

After which we went back to our hotel to prepare for our 12-hour night bus ride to Nha Trang.

Hue

We reached Hue at about 8am and we checked in to Sports Hotel (Rating: Good). The weather was surprising hot as compared to Hanoi. It was even warmer than Singapore.

After check-in, we left for a day trip to visit the Imperial City, tombs, local art-works and etc.

Hue was the capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty and is one of the cultural cores of the country. Nguyen Dynasty ruled Vietnam between 1802 - 1945.

Outside view of Imperial City. It is built on the same principles as Beijing's Forbidden Palace.

It was a pity that certain parts of this city were destroyed during the Vietnam War when the Americans attempted to root out the Viet Cong soldiers at the Citadel.

We visited some emperors' tombs like Tu Duc's. It was interesting to hear the stories of the lives of these emperors.

[Left] I am about the same height as this Emperor.

Along the way, we stopped by some local craft shops. There was a little girl making incense.

A lady asked the tour guide,"Aren't she suppose to be in school now?"

Not all children have the privilege to have proper education like what we have in Singapore. We saw another boy at night seeking for income by polishing shoes for tourists. Even when we were in Cua Dai beach at Hoi An, many children earn a living by asking the tourists to buy fruits, snacks..etc. In Singapore, it is not legal for children to work at such a tender age.

Due to the warm weather, all of us were tired and sticky, we left the rest of the tour group and went back to the hotel to rest after lunch.

We went to the Perfume River in the evening after dinner. We boarded a boat to view the traditional cultural performance.