Vietnam: Exploring Ho Chi Minh & The Mekong Delta

Welcome to Vietnam

It is almost impossible to travel in Vietnam without visiting a place related to the war this country fought against the United States from 1959 to 1975.

Museums, historical sites, and war monuments all reveal Vietnam has also capitalized on the conflict to attract tourism. And you can’t blame them; all the suffering Vietnam had to endure during the war of unification cannot simply be forgotten.

Base camp in Ho Chi Minh City

As we planned to explore the south part of Vietnam, we strategically set our base in ancient Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City.

The always busy Pham Ngu Lao Avenue, located in the heart of the city, is a great place to find inexpensive hotels and travel companies that offer tours to different destinations. The people are very friendly and the prices unbelievably cheap. You can choose tours that go from one day to several days exploring Vietnam.

Crawling through the Cu Chi Tunnels

In an afternoon you can visit the underground tunnels at Cu Chi, located just 40 miles northwest of Ho Chi Minh. This old military site has an impressive network of over 120 miles of underground tunnels.

The Vietnamese consider this place a true symbol of revolutionary heroism since this place not only offered versatile tactics to defeat the enemy during the war, but Cu Chi was a key site for the unification of Vietnam.

The main tunnel in Cu Chi is the Ben Dinh Tunnel. You have the opportunity to go in and explore the underground tunnel through its dark and narrow sections. But please note that some parts of the tunnel are very narrow:  2 ft. wide by 2.6 ft tall. In other words, you must be in very good shape and not claustrophobic.

Besides the tunnels, visitors in Cu Chi can also learn about the creative military traps and secret hideouts in the jungle, plus check out an old American tank destroyed by the Vietnamese troops.

If this isn’t enough military exposure, Cu Chi offers a unique shooting range for trigger-happy fans who want to feel like real war soldiers. Have a blast and fire real machineguns, like an AK-47 or M-16, when you purchase a minimum round of 10 bullets.

Traditional life in the Mekong Delta

One of the must-visit places in Vietnam is the Mekong Delta, located south of Ho Chi Minh. Although this region suffered horrible damage during the war, it is not so obvious today.

In the past few years, commercial trade has been active in the Mekong Delta, making this dynamic region a great place to discover the Vietnamese way of life.

You will be greeted by friendly Vietnamese smiles everywhere you go. One of the most beautiful sights of the Mekong Delta is to see groups of children partaking one of Vietnam’s favorite pastimes: flying kites.

Row, row, row your boat…

As you reach the town of My Tho, you will hop on a boat to tour different sections of the Mekong River.

During this trip, a group of four islands confirm the beauty of this picturesque river. Look carefully and you can see small colorful houses hidden beyond the thick brush and palm trees. Many fishermen and farmers live there with their families.

Towards one side of the islands is the province of Ben Tre. After hopping on a smaller boat you can navigate through the narrow canals. Enjoy the lush and calm scenery while curious young children approach the river bed to wave hello.

After a few minutes you will reach an entrance which leads to a small shop where women produce delicious handmade coconut candy.

Another very interesting spot in the Mekong Delta route is the city of Can Tho. This is where the world famous Cai Rang floating market is located, the biggest in Vietnam.

Very different from the small colorful floating markets of Thailand, Cai Rang gathers hundreds of commercial boats for whole-sale trade of fresh produce.

Also in Can Tho, you can visit a rice mill and a shop that produces rice noodles, a very important ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine.

A Vietnamese border town

The Mekong Delta tour takes you all the way to the city of Chau Doc, close to the border with Cambodia. Chau Doc also has a beautiful floating market, but one of the most interesting sites to visit is Cham, a one-of-a-kind Muslim village.

See you later alligator, in a while…

Before returning to Ho Chi Minh, there is a visit to a crocodile farm in the province of Long Xuyen.

With hundreds of crocodiles, this site is important to the region because it saved the crocodile population which was almost wiped out from the Mekong River. On another not-so-happy note, you can find elegant crocodile-skin wallets and belts at their souvenir store.

The War Remnants Museum is a must-see

Back in Ho Chi Minh there are other places to visit. But one you should not miss is the War Remnants Museum. A visit is essential to understand what happened in Vietnam during the war.

Some of the things you can see at the War Museum are heavy military arsenal used in the war, a reproduction of the “Tiger Cages” used to torture prisoners, hand-written letters that Vietnamese soldiers sent their loved ones, and a very shocking collection of photos showing victims of agent orange and the My Lai massacre, among other horrors.

After you leave the museum, the concept of war really becomes very hard to digest.

Planning your trip

So whether you are planning to visit Vietnam for its history or thriving present, Vietnam is an exceptional destination that offers an unforgettable travel experience.

Have you been to Vietnam? Please feel free to post your comments and share your memories with us.