Saigon Day Trips: Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta

We had kind of had enough Saigon sightseeing after our one full day in the city, and since there was an abundance of super cheap day trips, we decided to take advantage and head out to the countryside. On every Vietnamese backpacker’s wish list there were two excursions – the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Mekong Delta – and at under $10 each for a full day, we signed right up for both.

The Cu Chi Tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrilla fighters during the war, most notably during the Tet Offensive. Ingeniously built deep in the earth, with hidden trap doors for access, these tunnels wreaked havoc on the American soldiers, who could not dismantle this network despite many tries. A 75-mile section of the many hundreds of miles has now been turned into a museum of sorts.

Tunnel entrance – barely large enough to fit through

Our tour guide for the day was a South Vietnamese man, whose father had sent him to live in the US for a better life. Once he grew old enough, he enlisted in the US Army to fight against the communist North Vietnamese. After the American withdrawal, he stayed in the country and continued fighting with the South until they surrendered. His was an interesting story, as he had both Vietnamese and American sympathies, and his willingness to share his stories gave us a lot of understanding about the motivations of both sides.

As expected, the tunnels themselves are extremely claustrophobic and so tiny that you basically have to crawl through them. A 100 meter section had been widened for tourists (as Vietnamese as a whole are much smaller than Westerners) and Jemma, Leanne, and I only made it about halfway before gratefully following a small patch of light to an exit tunnel. Liam, our new hostel friend, was one of the only people in our large group to make it through the whole stretch. Even after just ten minutes in a ‘tourist’ tunnel, I never wanted to go down there again. I can’t imagine the horrors the people who actually lived in these tunnels had to face, both physically and psychologically.

Relieved to be out of the tunnels

Since we had spent most of our time in Saigon at various Vietnam War-related sites, we all were happy to mix it up and go on an excursion to the Mekong Delta, which many of our new friends had listed as a highlight of their trip. We drove a few hours southwest from Saigon, and then boarded a boat to take us to the famous floating market. Like most food markets, the majority of the day’s business had been completed by the time the tourists showed up, but we got a feel for the market and watched many latecomers hopping from boat to boat to make their purchases.

Some boats at the floating market

While both of these tours were great, the disappointing trend of being taken to various souvenir shops continued. The tunnel tour wasn’t too bad with this, but the Mekong trip was almost as bad as my Halong Bay experience. We were taken to many different shops where we had to watch random products being made – honey tea, rice paper, candies, etc – and then were left there for another half hour to see if we’d buy anything. I appreciate that everyone is trying to make money, but this is super frustrating for tourists who are on a limited schedule. It rained our afternoon in the Delta, when we were supposed to bike ride and explore, and if we hadn’t been cooped up in the shops during the morning we would have been able to fit that all in.

Fortunately, the skies eventually cleared and we got to take one final boat ride before the bus back to Saigon. And best of all – there were hats.

Jemma, Liam and I on the Mekong