Journey to Saigon and Tunnels Visit

Another early start, all packed up and on our way to Saigon by 8am....

....workman at the service area, bamboo pole pipes....

....local bananas on sale, perfect size, much thinner skins than the ones bought in this country, perfect for eating when green....

....a furniture store.....

....shop selling maternity clothes....

...dual carriageway? as we near the city, the central reservation is always beautifully planted and well tended...

....crossing the river....

.....'docks' along the river....

....this was the view from our restaurant, we couldn't find out about all the floating vegetation but it was quite mesmerising.....

.....a few boats went past....

.....orchid baskets hanging from the trees in the garden...

.....water lily seed heads.

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Next stop the Tunnels....

....some very nasty traps with bamboo spikes....

....a very small entrance into the underground tunnel system...

....nobody offered to go down this one....

....tableau showing the Vietnamese above ground, only ever at night when the American soldiers didn't patrol...

.....air shafts were disguised to look like termite mounds...

....more really nasty traps....

....door trap being demonstrated by our guide....

....everything found was recycled in the underground workshop....

....this shows how small the tunnels were....

.....making rice paper for spring rolls...

....laid out on bamboo mats to dry....

....original machine from the sewing workshop...

....these were called Ho Chi Min sandals and were fashioned from old tyres, two of our group bought a pair....

....I bought a miniature pair...

....the soles had these rubber flaps so no footprints were left,,,,

....went down..

the tunnel was very narrow and I had to double over, unable to take photos, very hot and clautrophobic...

...relieved to be out.....

....roofing made from the dried leaves I showed in an earlier post, waterproof and fireproof...

....tapioca root, pulped and sliced, all the food available during the war...

....dipped in crushed peanuts and salt, quite tasty...

....the inevitable shop, this was constructed from a series of woven panels, many designs.

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Entering Saigon, bikes, bikes and more bikes dodging and weaving...

....it was so busy it took us over an hour to cross the city!

Botanic Garden Trail....

This is my 500th blog post!

Our last day at the lodge.....

.....we were told this tree only flowered/looked like this about every 20 years so were very lucky to see it....

....a log rescued from poachers, it had this 'cup like' fungus...

.....a buggy took us across this flowing water on the road....

....the hotel for the forest cleaners, a termite hill about 5 ft high....

.....a Red Eyed Viper, one of the many poisonous snakes, also has a red tip on it's tail tail....

....the black mass high up the tree and lines coming down are termites...

.....close up of some bark....

....a tree fern on the ground, it was taken back to the lodge to be planted....

....put my camera in the hollow tree pointing up, results of the strangler...

....this picture shows the fern and an orchid attached high up the tree trunk....

....a small section of paved trail, very uneven and slippy...

....a magnificent Redwood, the rare, valuable trees are marked by the rangers as poachers frequently enter this area from across the river to steal the trees. the area near the river is most popular for this practise during the rainy season when the chainsaws cannot be heard above the sound of the flowing water, logs are then floated across the river. Rangers mark these trees and are always watching for poachers animal traps....

...the deterrent for poaching is a small fine or a very short prison stay, so no serious threat whereas in Thailand poachers are shot!!!

Redwood seed pod..

....more termite evidence....

....two very tall rosewood trees, also very rare and valuable...

....Roy trying to clear the trail, we had to stoop low here...

.....two flat backed millipedes....

.....more lovely shell like fungus, some still holding water after the rain....

....a log was rolled over and this fungus mass was discovered, it is the start of a termite mound...

...spiky moss on this rock...

.....back to the lodge for a cold drink, shower and de-leech!!! Everyone found at least one leech on their socks despite the special substance used to deter!

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A cookery/hands on demonstration making spring rolls....

....egg, finely chopped onion, chilli and chives were whisked using chop sticks and cooked in a sizzling pan...

....rice paper has salad, egg and herbs placed on it and rolled up, this particular one was not fried...

....Flavia...

....Anita both were really good...

....tofu and finely chopped mushroom being deep fried for the vegetarians...

....chopped tomatoes added to the pan, looked delicious!

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View of the rapids from the lodge....

.....wild ginger, many varieties of ginger here....

....near the river, so many roots...

....the upstairs of the lodge used for our meals and socialising and wifi!!

Resident animals...

....about 3 weeks old, such a cute, playful pup I had difficulty catching it..

Long journey to Saigon (Ho Chi Min ) tomorrow......