This weekend was filled with lots of fun experiences. We woke up early Saturday morning and headed to Vung Tau beach. Before we arrived there, we took a pitstop at a tall mountain with a huge statue of Jesus at the top. The heat was even more unbearable because most of us had two layers of clothing, because when we arrived at the bottom of the hill, the workers told us that we weren’t allowed to show knees or shoulders. In our matching beige capris, we all walked up 814 steps. It was a gorgeous view, because it was surrounded by the water and an overlook of the city. It was miserable walking up to the top of the mountain in high heat, but it was definitely worth it for the view. A few of my friends and I even went to the top of the statue, where we had to take off our shoes before walking up the stairs inside of the statue. From the top, we could see a 360 of the city, beach, and ocean. It was so pretty.
After a few hours, we had lunch at the hotel and spend several hours on the beach and in the pool. It was so relaxing because this was the chance we had to just lay around without doing something. The sun was so beaming and it was super hot. When we went back to the hotel, most of us were sunburnt, including me, because our skin wasn’t used to the Vietnamese sun and its radiance.
On Sunday, we visited the Cu Chi tunnels, which was a system of underground tunnels that the Vietnamese dug during the Vietnam War. It was so interesting to learn about how thought out the Vietnamese were during the war, because they knew they couldn’t beat the Americans through force, so they decided to outwit them. They had various methods to do this, they flipped the sandals they were wearing during the wet so it would look like the tracks were going in the opposite direction. We went through some of the tunnels and it was crazy how small they were, and that was after they extended the tunnels, so that foreigners could fit through them. I can’t imagine them being any smaller. Afterwards, we ate a restaurant on a river.
On our way back we visited a lacquer factory, where the employees created art using egg shell and mother of pearl. This factory was so unique because they employed disabled workers to create the art, because the art consisted of breaking up egg shells and polishing the artwork tablets, so it was something they could easily do. Each piece took about a day to create. The final product was a gorgeous piece and it was slightly expensive, but half of the proceeds of the product went towards a charity for disabled workers. This factory was probably one of my favorite parts of the day and seeing all the beautifiul pieces, including my favorite painting being created in this method.
When we got back, some of the group went to get pho and it was so delicious. Pho is one of my comfort foods, so it was amazing to try it in Vietnam while sitting a table on the street. Overall, this has been an eventful weekend with so many fun activities happening, and I’m excited to see what next week holds.
