This first week has been incredible. We have traveled to multiple different companies, attempted learn Vietnamese, and experienced some new cultures. The first week has been jam packed with classes and company visits that we were in well need of a break. On Saturday we traveled to Vung Tau, a 2 hour drive east of Ho Chi Minh City with a massive Jesus statue and a beautiful beach. Then on Sunday, we drove out west to Cu Chi, the place where the Vietcong dug tunnels during the Vietnam War.
Similar to Rio de Janeiro, Vung Tau has a massive Jesus statue. However, this one is a lot less crowded. We had to hike up over 850 steps to reach the statue, which didn’t seem too bad at the time, but we didn’t account for 100+ degree weather and humid. Nonetheless, we pushed through and made it. We even got to climb inside and overlook Vung Tau. It was an incredible sight. You could see the incredible contrast of a beautiful city next to the South China Sea. Shortly after that we went to an extremely nice hotel for lunch and the beach. We were served lots of fish, including stingray. I was too scared to try it but heard that it was better than anticipated. Then it was time for the real relaxation, the beach. The beach was smaller than expected but it didn’t matter. The water was warm and refreshing. I haven’t been in the water in so long I was extremely delighted. If I have the chance to go back I absolutely will.
When Sunday rolled around, we experienced a much different part of Vietnam. This was very educational and interesting. Cu Chi offered many tunnels to crawl through, the longest being 45 meters. We also learned about the operations that America performed there during the war. It was extremely interesting yet sad seeing how the Americans were fighting and dying there. I am not too big of a history person, so I learned a lot while there. The tunnels were the best part though, I’m not claustrophobic but wow were those tunnels tight. The craziest part was learning that they widened the tunnel twice or even thrice for tourists! It was incredible learning that they dug hundreds of kilometers of tunnels all across the country. I was only in the tunnels for a total of about 5 minutes, so living underground for weeks at a time must’ve been awful. But overall I had an incredible and extremely interesting time. I really enjoyed relaxing as well as learning more about the history than I already knew. I can’t wait for the rest of the trip, it’s going to be amazing.
