Vietnam/Cambodia Day 3: Tunnels and boarding the Jahan

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Day 3 began early. We packed, ate breakfast, checked out of our hotel, and then took buses to the Saigon River (just a few blocks). There we boarded speedboats to take us up the river to Cu Cha, a journey of a little under two hours. Cu Cha is the site of many tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the war, where the tunnels and related facilities can be visited by the public.

The tour began with a small, leaf-covered tunnel opening that one of our fellow travelers climbed into, showing the ease with which the tunnel openings could be concealed. As we walked around, we were shown some of the scary booby-traps used against our soldiers, and facilities like ordnance-making factories, classrooms, kitchens, and medical facilities, all of which were well concealed. We were also given the opportunity to crawl through one of the tunnels, which was definitely not for large or claustrophobic people.

We then returned to Saigon by speedboat and had lunch at a restaurant close to our hotel. We then reboarded the buses for our journey to My Tho to board our home for the next several days, The Jahan. Traffic was, as usual, terrible. We had planned to stop at a temple before boarding the ship, but that was canceled due to schedule (another temple visit will be added later).

Upon reaching the Jahan, we were quickly welcomed and shown to our cabins. The ship is beautifully decorated in a classic style, reminiscent of the 1930s, with rich dark woodwork throughout the ship. Our room is comfortable, although there is less storage space for clothes than we are accustomed to from previous Lindblad ships.

After a short safety and orientation briefing, we moved to the upper deck for drinks and snacks and to watch our first sunset from the ship. This was followed by a buffet dinner and a short documentary, “Vietnam’s Enigma: Ho Chi Minh”, shown in the ship’s lounge.

This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.