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...

- Length of the trip	: 1 days
- Trip Starts from	: Saigon city
- Trip Ends in	: Saigon city
- Required booking time	: 15 hours for individuals and 5 days for group in advance
- Rates per person	: 28$ - detail price
- Rates are valid from 1 Janualy 2009

Details of Tour:
AM: You will visit the Great Temple of Caodaism in Tay Ninh, about 100 km from Ho Chi Minh City. The Temple is built on nine levels that represent nine steps to heaven at which you will see a prayer session at noon. Caodaism is a Vietnamese religion with its philosophy based on Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Christianity. Its tenets include believing in one God, the existence of the soul and the ability to communicate with the spiritual world.

PM: You will stop for about 2 hours to visit Ben Dinh tunnel, a section of the 200 km-long Cu Chi tunnel network that was built over 2 decades and used as an army base during the Vietnamese-American War. You will be amazed at the tunnels with their underground storeys including trap-door, living areas, storage, weapon factories, field hospitals, kitchen, command centres, etc. You can also fire M-16, AK-47, carbine rifle

Tour price:

Price	Group	Private				Booking
Standard	28$	1 pax	2-3pax	4-6pax	over 7pax	BOOK
Standard	28$	124$	76$	60$	50$	BOOK

The trip includes

The car with air-condition
English speaking tour guide
Mineral Water and Towel

All entrance, permission and visiting fees

The trip excludes

Visa to Vietnam
Departure airport tax
Meals which are not included in the program
Personal travel & medical insurance
International flights to and from Vietnam
All personal & daily expenses
All gratuities and tips to drivers and guides

Note:

Please not wearing skirts or shorts when visiting these places.
Surcharges for peak seasons, Christmas and New Year Holidays, lunar New Year Festival, extras for room, air tickets upgrades shall be applied

General information about Cao Dai Temple:

Overview

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 Cu Chi Tunnels Vietnam Tunnels 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.

Tay Ninh Cao Daism Temple Cao Dai Temple Vietnam

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.