Day 1 in Ho Chi Minh city!

After a super early morning we climbed on board the bus that would become our home for the next 13 hours. Along the way we received a very in depth history lesson from our tour guide, Thuan, or handsome Kevin.

We visited handicapped handcrafts and got to see the workshop where disabled war veterans are hired to create traditional laqueur works. The prices were much higher here since these artworks are created with authentic materials.

We could not take photos of the work cause each item was a new, unique piece, but take our word for it that the artworks were quite stunning.

We then hopped back onto the bus to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Handsome Kevin directed us through collections of military equipment such as traps and animatronics depicting life at camp during the Vietnam War. We all got the unique opportunity to “drop” into a hole for one of the tunnels and close the lid above, covering it with leaves to hide away the entrance just as the Viet Cong would have.

Then it came time to enter the tunnels. We decended into the narrow, confining, and dark tunnels and found ourselves needing to waddle through or simply crawl through. With exits all around us, some students chose to opt out sooner than others, but majority of the students succeeded in completing 100m of these tunnels. Upon emerging everyones celebrations were cut short as it turned out we had one of the much easier tunnels.

We then embarked upon the next leg of the journey: a 2 hour bus ride to the Mekong Delta River which ended up being 3 due to standstill traffic. To everyones (mainly Luke’s) dismay a traffic jam/car accident of sorts had occurred upon our road and we were completely stuck on what was basically a high way. There were many outcries for a bathroom (again mainly Luke) and a futile suggestion of a bucket. But in the end, everyone (especially Luke’s bladder) persevered and we arrived at a rest stop for the Mekong Delta River where we all practically sprinted from the bus into the bathroom (of course, mainly Luke).

To quote Handsome Kevin – “after releasing water we are going to find more water” – and so we arrived at the Mekong Delta River docks. We were greeted with gifts of traditional hats and boarded a lively boat. This boat took us across to the coconut candy factorie.

Once again, our handsome tour guide Handsome Kevin talked us through how they create these delicious candies, and we sampled peanut, pandan, jurian, and cocoa coconut candies.

We climbed aboard the boat once again and travelled to the Unicorn island – one of four islands named after the four holy creatures  in Vietnam culture: unicorns, phoenixes, turtles, and dragons – to which Unicorn island hosts an elaborate honey business. We sampled delicious honey tea and some purchased royal honey made from the queen bees meals.

In groups of four, we then boarded small kanoe-style row boats and we transported 2km down a small river by the locals on a very serene boat ride. We arrived to a small restaurant where we were treated with a performance of local songs and a platter of food. Finally, we boarded golf carts which quickly transported us back to the main boats, from where we made our way back to the bus for a final 2 hour bus ride back to the hotel.

We took control of a shopping malls food court for dinner, most students choosing to have pizza or pasta for a simple, quick dinner. Unfortunately for Alyssa and Joshwa, this was not the case, as their pasta was forgotten and they had to wait 40 minutes to get a pasta. At least it was a pretty good pasta.

And that was our crazy busy day in Ho Chi Minh!

From Alyssa, Ainsley and Meg