Day 1: Holy See Temple of Cao Dai & Cu Chi Tunnels

For the beginning of this tour, you will collect from your hotel by our guide at 8:00 am for the drive to Tay Ninh Province. Passing through the idyllic countryside, you’ll arrive at the impressive Holy See Temple. This temple is the centre of religious life for the Cao Dai Religion. Followers of this religion practice a unique blend of Confucianism, Christianity, Taoism and Buddhism.  The temple is a brightly-coloured blend of these religions architectural styles. Here, you may be able to witness a service during which followers wear robes of different hues denoting their status and function.

The Cao Dai religion is just under one hundred years old and centres itself on being inclusive of all faiths. It originates from Buddhism and embraces Christianity, Islam and some non-traditional faiths. It also includes some latter-day Saints such as Louis Pasteur, Martin Luther King & Victor Hugo. Not surprisingly, those who practice Cao Daism are pacifists. They pray up to four times daily and for ten days each month they consume a vegetarian diet. Although Cao Daism is practised by a small amount of Vietnamese, it is widely known and one can see temples scattered all over the country. Their symbol is very similar to the U.S Dollar bill’s “All-seeing-eye”.

Please note, you are by all means welcome take photographs of the prayer session from the upstairs terrace however you’re not permitted to take any picture of an individual without first asking permission. Please also be mindful and think to yourself, would you ask to take a photo of a Catholic Priest or Khatib? As with most temples, respectful attire is required — no singlet tops, shorts, short dresses etc. This ain’t Bali folks.

For lunch, we’ll stop at a popular local eatery to sample some typical Tay Ninh dishes.

In the afternoon we visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. In order to battle much better-supplied American, Australian & South Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam war, Communist guerrilla troops otherwise known as the Viet Cong dug tens of thousands (yes, you read that right) of kilometres of tunnels thus creating an extensive network around the Cu Chi district and North-West of Saigon. These tunnels were used by soldiers to house troops, transport soldiers, import supplies lay traps and attack. The ingenious part was they were able to disappear underground to safety and thus avoided heavy bombing. The Cu Chu Tunnels is a prime example of ‘guerrilla’ warfare tactics.

At the site, you will view numerous craters left by the 500-pound bombs dropped by B-52 bombers, view command centres, traps and even eat a meal featuring some of the typical food that those living in the tunnels would have eaten.

We then head back to Saigon around 5:00 pm and you will be dropped off at your hotel. We would be happy to offer some recommendations for the night! Safe travels for your trip.