Day 12. Cu Chi Tunnels, Saigon.

It was a draining day today: a l-o-n-g drive to the Cu Chi tunnels, where Viet Cong hid during the war. It was a quiet little village before that, but a US army base nearby meant lots of fighting. It was horrible, with its now opened tunnels giving some idea of the conditions. We stopped off at a lacquerware factory set up by the government, where handicapped people are employed. Exquisite (and deservedly expensive) goods were for sale.
A late lunch gave us enough energy to tour Saigon city - the Reunification Palace (with the tanks that smashed through the gates and bunkers deep underground), cathedral (where i saw my first beggar, a young man presumably with agent orange affected arms) and ornate post office. Some ventured to the casino later and some had an early night.
It's fascinating just wandering the streets and just looking at all the motorbikes, and the different street sellers, with everything from a cup of coffee or sugar cane juice to to all kinds of fruit and vegetable in their baskets.
Chung tells us later that handicapped people are fed and looked after by the government, but that some still choose to beg.