Fasten your seat belts as HO CHI MINH CITY is a metropolis on the move – and we’re not just talking about the motorbikes that throng the streets. Saigon, as it’s known to all but city officials, is Vietnam at its most dizzying: a high-octane city of commerce and culture that has driven the whole country forward with its limitless energy. It is a living organism that breathes life and vitality into all who settle here, and visitors cannot help but be hauled along for the ride.

CU CHI UNDERGROUND TUNNELS

The tunnels of Cu Chi were built over a period of 25 years beginning in the late 1940s. They were the improvised response of a poorly equipped peasant army to its enemy's high-tech ordnance, helicopters, artillery, bombers and chemical weapons.

The tunnel network became legendary during the 1960s for its role in facilitating Viet Cong (VC) control of a large rural area only 30km to 40km from HCMC. At its height, the tunnel system stretched from the South Vietnamese capital to the Cambodian border: in a district of Cu Chi alone, there were over 250km of tunnels. The network, parts of which were several storey deep, included innumerable trapdoors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapon factories, command center and kitchens.

CAO DAI HOLY SEE TEMPLE

Cao Dai Great Temple is the cathedral of the Cao Dai religion and is a main attraction in Tay Ninh. The official symbol of Caodaism is the "Divine Eye." apart from the worship of the divine eye Caodai followers also worship, Jesus Christ, confucius, Laotze and Buddha (Phat Ba Quan am).

The Great Temple is 140 metres long and 40 metres wide. The temple has four towers each with a different name: Tam Dai, Hiep Thien Dai, Cuu Trung Dai, and Bat Quai Dai. The interior of the temple consists of a colonnaded hall and a sanctuary. The two rows of columns are decorated with dragons and are coated in white, red, and blue paint. The domed ceiling is divided into nine parts similar to a night sky full of stars and symbolising heaven. Under the dome is a giant star-speckled blue globe on which is painted the Divine Eye, the official symbol of Caodaism.

Cao Dai followers worship Jesus Christ, Confucius, Laotze, and Buddha.