Tay Ninh Cu Chi Tunnels Tour 1 Day
Tay Ninh, near the Cambodian border, is home to the unique Cao Dai sect, whose patron saints include Joan of Arc, Victor Hugo and Winston Churchill to name a few. The religion is a hybrid of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Christianity. The Cao Dai Temple at Tay Ninh has been described as a Walt Disney fantasia of the East. The temple's exterior is decorated with multi-colored dragons of all shapes and sizes competing for space with a number of swastikas. Above the main entrance is the all-seeing holy eye, the symbol of the Cao Dai sect. The interior is just as engaging as statues of Jesus Christ, Buddha and the Hindu god, Brahma, stand side by side.
The trip to Tay Ninh is combined with a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels. At its height the tunnel system stretched over 250km. from Saigon to the Cambodian border and was three levels deep. The network included innumerable trap doors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers and kitchens. Today the remaining tunnels have become a major tourist attraction giving the visitor a unique experience and a feel of what underground life in the American war must have been like. The tunnels have been widened for our benefit (otherwise we would not be able to enter them!) For those interested there's even the opportunity to fire off rounds from an AK47 or MK16 at the nearby rifle range...

Tay Ninh

Tay Ninh is situated 95 km north-west of Ho Chi Minh City and is the original home of the Cao Dai religious sect. It is from here that Cao Daism has spread its influence onto surrounding provinces. In the years gone by, this sect had its own army and they were ruthlessly oppressed by the Diem regime. The Cao Dais did not support the Viet Cong and as a result, following Reunification, they were punished for this intransigence by the confiscation of their lands and temples which were not returned to them until 1985. The central temple, the Cao Dai Temple, is located 4 km from Tay Ninh in the village of Long Hoa. Surrounded by a series of schools and administrative buildings, the temple contains an awesome array of colors and symbols unlike anything else you will see in Vietnam. Built entirely with donations from its parishioners, the temple is built has nine levels and the inside is lined with a series of pillars with ornate colored dragons curling upwards around the pillars. The ceiling of the temple is painted sky blue and adorned with white fluffy clouds as they represent the heavens or sky above. In fact, almost everything in the temple has some symbolic value. At the far end of the great hallway is a large brightly colored globe upon which is a large eye. This is the divine "all seeing eye" believed to represent the creator of the universe and similar eyes can be seen lining both sides of the building within its lattice windows. The temple always looks like it has just had a fresh coat of paint and is an extremely great place to take pictures. Masses are held at 6 am, midday, 6 PM and midnight. It is worth timing your visit to the temple for one of these ceremonies as they are quite spectacular. Men enter from and pray on the right side of the temple whereas women enter from and pray on the left side. During festivals, all of the worshipers are dressed from head to toe in white to add a bit of formality to the scene. The three colors you will see are red, yellow and blue which represent Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism respectively. If a funeral is in progress, an icon is placed on the central altar for each of the deceased. Although you are not allowed in the actual area of worship during prayer, you are allowed in the foyer from where you can take some great photos of the mass. The Cao Dai do not mind having their photo taken, though it is always polite to ask first.