A Visit to Cu Chi Tunnels and a Speed Date with Da Lat

Well it has been a full few days here in Vietnam. Before joining up with the cycle tour yesterday we headed out to the outskirts of Saigon to view the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Vietnamese began building a vast network of underground tunnels to evade enemies in 1945. They were used in the Vietnam War. Some of the remaining tunnels have become a huge tourist draw. The party line is rather propagandistic but honestly, if thousands of Viet Cong were willing to live underground in narrow, dark, earthen tunnels in order to resist foreign invaders, well, they deserve to win. I crawled through a small section (Lou wouldn't join me) and have only an inkling of what it must have been like.


Fun Fact: Vietnam really likes to get into celebrating Christmas for a nation that is 60 percent Buddhist. It's not religious it's the decorations and sparkle. Lots of families dress up the kids in Santa suits or red dresses with white fur trim and head to shopping malls and decorated public spaces and take lots of pictures. There are lots of skinny Santas running around here.

We met up with our tour group in Saigon last night for dinner and are a mixed group from Washington state, Portland, a couple who have been traveling for 19 months around the world, NYC, Baltimore and Atlanta. At 4:30 this morning we met up in the lobby and headed to the airport for a 6:00 am flight to Da Lat. This is a beautiful area known for flower growing, cooler weather than Saigon and lots of vacationers and honeymooners. On the flight this morning was a bride and groom and her family going to get married in Da Lat where his family met them at the airport. She was in her dress. He was in his suit. All the relatives were dressed up. Decorated cars met them. It was impressive.

Today we began our ride with our guides in and around Da Lat and the Valley of Love. It was only about 20 miles but at 4700 feet with rolling hills, it made us work. Wish us luck tomorrow when we will ride for 56 miles.

After the ride, a small group of us did a bit of site seeing-a botanical garden, the Central Market which is very similar to many throughout the world filled with food and live animals, clothes and housewares, and a place called The Crazy House. A female Vietnamese architect, maybe channeling her inner Gaudi, has created/is still creating this fantasmigorical house. I really can't begin the describe it. It is full of  odd staircases and rooms with themes based on animals. It is sort of like a combination of the Swiss Family Robinson's tree house in Disneyland, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. It's nuts in a fun way.

I tried to post pictures but I am having some technical difficulties tonight so I will try again soon.