Cu Chi Tunnels

Cu Chi is considered a suburb type district of Ho Chi Minh City. It's a 65km drive from the center and our hotel and yen and I thought we'd splurge and spend the $4 for transportation there including a guide for the day. We rose bright and early and were picked up by the bus and en route to the tunnels by 8:30am. About 15 minutes into the ride, we pulled into a back alley and were asked to go in and check out an art factory (for lack of a better term) full of artists somehow physically affected by the war. Their afflictions ranged from actual fighting wounds to mine injuries to post war birth defects caused by agent orange used during the war. They were creating everything (really -- a very impressive array of items) from wood and eggshells or mother of pearl. It was an impressive sight to see with rows and rows of people meticulously arranging the tiniest fragments of eggshell into impressive and sometimes huge works of art. When we got through the production lines, we hit the gallery, picked up some chopstick holders, and got back on the bus -- this time right to the tunnels.

Our guide gave us a bit of background en route and we arrived into a 20 minute propaganda video about the Cu Chi people. It was interesting to see propaganda from the other side of the coin -- the peasant girl who fought with the guerrillas against the devil Americans and still managed to prepare the meals and get the house sorted out before bed. She was awarded special status as an American killing hero. There were a few others as well. Interesting as it was, it was still propaganda. We were ready to see some real stuff.

We headed into the forest, where we first encountered huge craters caused by American bombs dropped during the war. Then we saw our first of many "secret" tunnel entrances. These secret entrances were extremely small and rectangular with wooden covers that were camoflaged by leaves and branches back in the day. I don't remember the exact size, but 34 waist and above could forget about even trying to get in. These secret entrances were used to sneak up amongst the enemy American soldiers or disappear quickly in case they were under fire. There were some not so secret entrances as well, but most American soldiers wouldn't fit in the tunnels anyway -- even without their equipment.

Next we saw a "bamboo trap." It's basically a rectangular hole a few meters deep with sharpened bamboo stakes sticking up from the bottom. Covering the hole was a rotating board made of dried palm leaves and sticks. An unlucky American would fall in and, well... it looked painful. There were many similar very evil looking traps on display and apparently quite a few were set in the forests. The story goes that the Cu Chi people remembered exactly where they were all set and none of them ever stepped in one by accident. There traps were set in the tunnels as well, just in case there was ever a skinny American soldier brave enough to enter the network of over 250km of underground tunnels.

Other things of note in our trek through the forest included an American tank disabled by Cu Chi guerrillas still in its original location, tunnel air holes hidden in rocks, an armoury where the people would take used American bombs and other weapons to retro-fit for their own uses, a mess hall and an infirmary. All of these low hut-like places were dug into the ground a bit and had tiny holes in the floor for a quick escape into the tunnels if necessary. We got to try a bit of the Cu Chi guerrillas' snack food too -- boiled tapioca plant, otherwise known as casava. Not bad.

Finally, we got to enter the tunnels. The section we got to go in was a bit bigger than the majority of them; let's face it, us fat westerners just can't fit. A few people bypassed the tunnel bit while the rest of us descended. I have to admit: it certainly wasn't a comfortable experience. I didn't have to crawl, but i was really crumpled and waddling. When I took a deep breath I could feel the walls pressing in against lungs. It was creepy. I was last in the line and was near panic when the couple in front of us stopped for a few minutes to line up a picture. I guess I've got a claustrophobic streak in me.

We also got a chance to shoot some of the weapons used in the war. We opted out, but the blasts of others were deafening.

After the tunnels we reboarded the bus and asked to get dropped off at the "War Remnance Museum", formerly known as the "American War Crimes Museum." I'm assuming the name change was something of a compromise when diplomatic relations were re-established with the States in 1995.

The museum had some American planes and tanks outside on display. Inside was mostly a photo tour of different aspects of the war with photo journalist photos and quotes. Again, there was a lot propoganda, but a lot of graphic photos and press statements that were supposedly independent. Not the kind of stuff you learn on our side of the world. An interesting and very depressing wander it was.

We took a cab from the museum to a nearby market where we were overwhelmed by rude and aggressive sales people. We wanted to leave almost immediately, but the pouring rain prevented such desires from coming to fruition. We did happen to stumble across a very pushy durian shake lady though. No need to twist my rubber arm. It was the best durian shake I'd ever had. WooooHooooo!!! I love that shit. I also love that it let me sit down amongst the craziness of the market.

We found a local street that evening and found a very big and popular looking restaurant. It wasn't stellar but it filled us up. I had the 5 spice deer and Yen had boiled pork with raw veggies. All in all, nothing special. Then we headed out for a few drinks with Josh, one of the guys on our Cambodia trip who is still in town. It was a weird bar playing mostly western music and having very few people in it. We watched the street go by from the second floor -- watching countless dried squid vendors pedal by, a sandwich stand lady peddling her Vietnamese hoagies, and a random guy asleep on his parked motor bike. Good times.

Them back to the hotel for a good night sleep before our final day in Vietnam :-(