Day 3 in Saigon ~ China Town and Saigon Opera House

Our Day 3 in Saigon is a bit relaxed compared to yesterday's full day itinerary covering both Cu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta.

Day 3 is a half day China Town Walking tour with Saigon Hotpot and a Traditional Vietnamese Show at the Saigon Opera House later in the evening.

  

As I have mentioned in our Day 1 in Saigon ~ Saigon Hotpot is a non-profit organization, offering FREE guided tours of Saigon.  We also enlisted in their China Town Tours ~ check them via their website: Saigon Hotpot.

Our tour ambassador (TA), for today is Ms. Tram.  She was already waiting  at hotel lobby when we went down to meet her.

We took a cab to China Town and visited temples in the area. Our TA was very knowledgeable on the culture and traditions...

From China Town we took a cab to Hard Rock Café for lunch (and some "souvenir" shopping).

I love the Hard Rock set up "chilled vibes".

I can't say no, to a "(feeling) Rock Star" photo-ops!

Food was very good as expected ~ we got barbeque chicken and hickory smoked ribs with lemonade.

We ended our morning tour early and went back to the Majestic Hotel to freshen up and ready to watch the Teh Dar show at the Saigon Opera House.

Look what we found on our way to the Opera House (lol!)

We got our show tickets directly via Saigon Opera House official website: Lune Production 

We availed of a show and cuisine combo package which included dinner at Hoa Tuc Restaurant.    

TIP: Come 30 minutes early to enjoy free refreshments and a tour of the Opera House.

There are currently 4 regular rotating productions shown at Saigon Opera House.  Our schedule allowed us to see Teh Dar ~  the show highlights the Vietnamese highlanders way of life: hunting, festivities romance, death and reincarnation depicted in daring acrobatic acts.  

It is a very good show worth watching!

Dinner at Hoa Tuc was equally wonderful.  There were 2 menu options to choose from, we got one of each :P

The show and the fine dinner at the Hoa Tuc was an icing on the cake to cap off our final night in Saigon.

We will definitely miss Saigon!

I you missed our Day 1 and 2 in Saigon, please check and follow the links below:

Day 1 in Saigon ~ City Tour

Day 2 in Saigon ~ Cu Chi and Mekong Delta

Day 2 In Saigon ~ VIP Cu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta

We wanted to cover as much as we could of Vietnam's top attractions and saw Vietnam Adventure Tours via TripAdvisor. 

They offer a VIP tour that covers Cu Chi Tunnel  and Mekong Delta.

The package included hotel pick-up and drop off via limousine, entrance to both Cu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta,  motorized boat and row boat ride to the Mekong Village, a traditional Vietnamese lunch, on board refreshments and an English speaking guide.

Our first stop was a tourist center selling handcrafted lacquer finished trinkets.  They were hand made by disabled citizens impacted by the Vietnam War from the Agent Orange (read more about Agent Orange through this link) and other chemicals used during the Vietnam War that contaminated ground water and soil causing various health problems and disabilities.  

Prices of the handicrafts were a bit more expensive than those available in the market,  however, one cannot be sure of the quality and authenticity of those sold in the market.

Next stop is Cu Chi Tunnel.

Cu Chi is a story of Communist Vietnam's triumph over the Americans.  The intricate network of tunnels built by hands ~ housing families and serving as secret refuge for those fighting for liberation were really admirable.

 Management widened tunnels for tourist to pass through, but the original tunnels were really narrow.

The Vietnamese Communist were very ingenious in their war tactics ~ setting of booby traps and landmines.  

In the morning they would go to town wearing ordinary clothes to mingle with the peasantries.  The Americans can't really tell who the enemies were.  

Now you see him ~  seconds later he was already underneath covered with dried leaves. 

Thoughts being down there, even for a minute makes me uncomfortable.  I can't imagine the Vietnamese staying there for days waiting to ambush passing American soldiers.

Now, the part of the Cu Chi tour that men usually enjoyed the most... Gun Shooting Range.

Cost per bullet is VND20,000 to 40,000.

My husband tried one round of AK-47 (He ended his round saying it is the best experience ever).  

Back at the limousine we were offered wet towels, cold beer and soda, biscuits and bananas.  

We stopped for lunch at the one of the local restaurants on the way to Mekong Delta ~   Mekong Tram Dung.

All smiles after a hefty meal (with our tour group) ~ 

Ready for Mekong Delta ~ a maze of rivers, local villages  selling produce...

At the Mekong Tourist Boat Station (with our guide Anbie, briefing us on our Mekong Delta itinerary).

We took a motorized boat to Ben Tre Province...

We transferred to a paddle boat to enter the smaller canals ~

It was a bit scary though as the boat was small and we were 4 huge people on board... 

At the Ben Tre Village we were given a tour of various local livelihoods such as honey gathering, chocolate and coconut candies making.  

The locals would be offering you their products, but you are not required to buy any if you don't want to...

Honey with tea 

Snake/scorpion wine anyone?

I did get chocolates though ~  I got 100% dark chocolates, which are quite hard to find in supermarkets.

We were also entertained to some Vietnamese music.

We then took a local tri-van to go to the other side of the Village to head back to Mekong Tourist Boat...

This one was fun ~ It was actually like a Jurassic World thrill ride.

When we got to our Boat,  we welcomed by refreshing coconut juice (straight from the tree)!

If you are looking for a hassle free-VIP tour of Cu Chi and Mekong Delta, this tour is highly recommended.

Now time to relax ~ as we head back to the city.

If you missed our Day 1 in Saigon ~ please follow the link 

here:Day 1 in Saigon (City Tour)

If you are interested about the 

VIP Cu Chi and Mekong Delta Tour  check 

VietNam Tours website: Vietnam Tours