Ho Chi Min City Day 2

After my experience at the War Museum yesterday I almost decided against going to tour the Cu Chi tunnels, but I decided to go anyway.
These tunnels are about an hour and a half's drive from the center of the city. They were originally built in the 1940's in the war against the French. At that time there were about 50 km of tunnels. During the war against the Americans they became a major battlefield, and were expanded to a couple of hundred miles, and went down 3 or 4 levels. The Americans were unaware of these tunnels, and actually built an army base on top. They couldn't figure out how their soldiers were shot in their tents in the middle of the night. They tried to eradicate them over the years, and the area became the most bombed area in the war. One article stated that more bombs were dropped here, by the Americans,  than in the entire WW2. The ingenuity is amazing.
The tour shows how they were constructed, and hidden. At one stop a soldier demonstrated how they were entered. There is an opening, about half a meter square, with a top, covered by leaves. You squeeze down, holding the top over your head, and then replace the top after you are in. We were allowed to try it. I volunteered, and barely squeezed in. What they didn't tell me was that at the bottom there was a step, and then a sloping floor. I missed the step, and POOF, I was gone. "The Case Of The Amazing Disappearing Canadian". Luckily I didn't hurt myself, except my ego, but I did have to be pulled out.
We were also allowed to go down another tunnel, and travel 100m to the next opening. These tunnels are half a meter wide, one meter high. The Viet Cong would "duck walk", which is not easy. The tunnel is not straight. There are 3 levels to this one, and numerous turns. These are the original tunnels, but a few lights have been added. Most of the time it is pitch black. Our guide told us that if we couldn't continue there were side tunnels, where you could see daylight, which would allow us to get out early. I have to say that those were the longest 100 m of my life. I made it, duck walking, crawling, but I did do it. You have to remember that the temperature was 38, and this is in a jungle. I was never so happy to see sunlight again. Our guide was impressed, he said that we were the first group where everyone completed the tunnel tour. I also have to say that I was at least 25 years older than anyone else on the tour.
I got back to the hotel at 3, and spent several minutes in the shower. I was absolutely filthy. I did a laundry, but I think a lot of my clothing from this trip will be retired, permanently.
After a couple of hours rest I decided to see the Saigon river, and walk along its "promenade". What a misnomer. The river is a sewage drain; there is a lot of construction, and nothing but slums along the way. Not the things you see in the tourism videos.
My body is aching and I am out of painkillers, so I stopped at a "pharmacy" to buy some more. The lady spoke no English, and it is difficult to get the concept of "excruciating pain" across, in sign language. I curled up on the floor, in a fetal position, and I think that worked. I ended up buying a couple of different ones. The first one turned out to be an Alka Seltzer type. By 1 am I woke up, still in pain. I took several of the others, and they seemed to work. I went to sleep at 3.
I bet you don't get to do all THESE wonderful things when you join a tour.
Ralf