Southern Vietnam: HCMC and Con Dao

This was our second time visiting Vietnam! A few years ago, in the summer of 2023, we traveled through the northern part of the country, visiting places like Hanoi, Tam Coc/Ninh Binh, Halong Bay, Hoi An and Da Nang. But this time, we explored the south—and it was totally different! We started in the bustling city of Ho Chi Minh City and then ended our trip relaxing on a quiet little island called Con Dao.
​
Our first stop was Ho Chi Minh City, which used to be called Saigon. Even though the official name changed after the Vietnam War, a lot of people still call it Saigon today. It’s a huge, modern city now, filled with tall skyscrapers, fancy malls, tasty restaurants, and more motorbikes than I’ve ever seen in one place. Seriously—there were so many motorbikes, it felt like the streets were rivers of scooters!

Saigon was once part of French Indochina, and the French ruled it from 1859 until 1954. You can still see the influence in some of the buildings, like the old post office and the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which look super European. After the French left, the American military got involved in the Vietnam War, supporting the South Vietnamese government against the Communist North. Saigon was the capital of South Vietnam until 1975, when the North took over and the war ended. After that, the city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City, after the leader of the North, Ho Chi Minh.

One of the coolest (and kind of scariest) things we did was visit the 
​Cu Chi Tunnels. These tunnels were used by the Viet Cong—the Communist fighters in the South—during the war. They hid underground to stay safe, travel secretly, and store weapons and food. Some people even lived in the tunnels for years! There are over 150 miles of tunnels, and some go down three levels deep, up to 33 feet underground. There were tiny hidden entrances covered with leaves so enemies couldn’t find them. They even had underground kitchens and hospitals!

We visited a less crowded section of the tunnels about two hours outside the city, which was great because there weren’t huge crowds. Only the top level of the tunnels is open to tourists, and they made them 30% wider than the originals—but they were still super narrow. It was SO hot down there, and my dad almost got stuck halfway through! I had to crawl through parts on my hands and knees, and when we finally popped out into the sunlight, I was so happy.

After the tunnels, we learned about some of the traps used during the war and wow, they were intense:
 -Bamboo Sticks: Sharp bamboo sticks hidden in holes to injure soldiers who stepped on them.
 -Tiger Traps: Deep pits filled with spikes, covered with leaves to hide them.
 -Swinging Spike Traps: Spikes that would swing down when someone triggered them.
 - Trip Wires: Thin wires that set off things like explosions or other traps.

It was kind of spooky, but also really interesting to see how the Viet Cong defended themselves with stuff they made from the jungle.

After a week of exploring war tunnels and learning about history, we were ready for some relaxing time. So we flew to a peaceful island called Con Dao.

Con Dao is off the southern coast of Vietnam, and it’s part of a group of islands called the Con Dao Archipelago. At first, we thought it would just be a chill island with nice beaches (which it totally was), but what surprised us was how important this island is in Vietnam’s history.

Con Dao Prison, also known as the Con Son Prison (known to the locals as “hell on Earth”), was used by the French and later by the Americans to hold political prisoners. It was built in the 1800s and became super well-known because of how terrible the conditions were. Prisoners were tortured and kept in tiny, hot cells called “tiger cages”—iron-barred roof cells where they couldn’t stand up straight or lie down properly. It was really sad to learn about, but also powerful, because many of the people imprisoned there later became leaders in Vietnam’s fight for independence.

We didn’t expect to learn so much on this little island, and it was kind of crazy to realize how much history it held. For many Vietnamese people, Con Dao is a symbol of strength, resistance, and sacrifice.

After learning all that, we spent the rest of our time just soaking in the island’s peaceful side. The best part was riding a motorbike around. We rented one for a few days, and it was my first time ever riding on a motorbike—and it was awesome! We circled the whole island in just three hours. The roads were super quiet, and sometimes it felt like we had the whole island to ourselves. There were gorgeous beaches, green mountains, and barely any traffic.

After driving around, we always went back to our favorite restaurant—May Bistro. We seriously ate there almost every single day. The food was amazing! Our favorite dish was Bún Thịt Nướng, which is grilled pork served over rice noodles. It comes with fresh herbs, crunchy peanuts, pickled veggies, and this sweet and tangy fish sauce that you pour on top. I could eat that dish forever.