One of my favorite days in Vietnam was visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels. I didn't even know what the tunnels were beforehand, but it was a fascinating hands-on glimpse at history. When we started our Vietnam tour and our guide spoke about the "Vietnam War", which by the way is called the "American War" in Vietnam, I realized I didn't know what the war was about and I had no idea who 'won' or if anyone had 'won'. I only knew many Americans were against it at the time, and that tens of thousands of Americans had died and I had no idea how many Vietnamese.
What I learned over the next few days was that Vietnam was in the middle of a civil war that began after 1954, when France left their claims of Indochina. North Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh, was pro communist and had strong ties to China and the Soviet Union. South Vietnam was opposed to communism and sought freedom from the north. The United States supported South Vietnam in the war, fearing the whole region would become communist if Vietnam did.
The Cu Chi Tunnels are located about 90 minutes from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly called Saigon) in the middle of wilderness, and the area was a stronghold of communist North Vietnam and their fighters, the Viet Cong. We got to learn about the guerrilla tactics, as well as the American tactics, explore tunnels, and learn about the war I never knew much about.
The tunnels, which span over 200km, played a critical role during the Vietnam War and were functioning underground cities that included trap doors, living areas, storage facilities, weapon factories, field hospitals, command centers, and kitchens.
Here is an entrance to one of the tunnels used by the Viet Cong. Karina was a good sport showing us how a Viet Cong soldier might slip down the tiny entrance.
The average Viet Cong fighter weighed between 40-45 kg (88-99 pounds) and was 163 cm / 5'3 inches tall. Karina is both taller than that and weighs more, but she was still small enough to fit through without any issues.
I was going to try to go down into a tunnel, but quickly realized I wouldn't fit, and wouldn't have the upper body strength to lift myself out anyway.
There were some other entrances to the tunnels and hiding spots.
This is a an American tank that the Viet Cong destroyed. There was no mention of what happened to the American soldiers.
We did learn about how the rubber tires of American vehicles were used though. Of the many uses, rubber was cut up to make shoes for the Viet Cong. The shoes were carefully crafted so that the footprints would look like the guerrilla was walking in both directions. This would confuse the Americans and make the Viet Cong harder to track. The right shoe doesn't look comfortable, but the design is ingenious.
The display of the different kinds of booby traps set up by the Viet Cong was memorable. It was easy to see how someone not native to the land would be at a major disadvantage. The Americans and South Vietnamese Army were ill equipped to fight the Viet Cong. We also learned how the Viet Cong were able to trick sniffer dogs, how cooking smoke was routed to alternative locations, how entrances to tunnels were hidden in rivers, how mines/bombs were made and hidden, etc. Unfortunately, some land mines remain, as do the effects of Agent Orange, an herbicide used by the Americans and South Vietnamese to kill plants and remove cover from the Viet Cong. Agent Orange has many toxic properties that causes various cancers, and is still causing damage so many years later.
We were able to explore some of the original tunnels as well. The Vietnamese government preserved about 75 miles of the tunnels. The main tunnel for tourists to explore has been expanded to accommodate their larger size. Lydia and I crawled through 20 meters of tunnel and Nate crawled through 40 meters of tunnel. After the first 40 meters of tunnel, the crawl-able tunnel shrinks back to the non-tourist size, and is as it was for the Viet Cong. Derek understandably did not want to be down in a dark and dingy tunnels, and didn't go at all. Karina was the one who outdid all of us. First she crawled through the first 100m of tunnel, and then there is another 100m section of optional, original tunnel for the very adventurous, and Karina crawled through those too, despite it being very cramped.
Below is Karina in the oversized, expanded tourist tunnel. I'm not sure how much wider and taller they made it for the tourists, as I never got to see the Viet Cong sized tunnels.
And here is Karina coming up after her 200 meters in narrow tunnels. The tunnels had multiple levels, and various ventilation shafts.
Below, Nate is pretending to be a commander in a command center, with the Viet Cong flag and Ho Chi Minh pictured behind him.
Below is a display showing the various levels of tunnels, how rooms were organized and connected, and how an entrance could be hidden at a river.
For anyone traveling to Vietnam, I highly recommend going to the Cu Chi Tunnels.
On our drive to the tunnels, we stopped at an art studio where traditional Vietnamese lacquer paintings are made by people affected by Agent Orange. It gives a job to people otherwise disabled. We were walked through each step of the lacquer painting process. Below Lydia is crushing egg shells to form part of an animal for a piece of artwork.
Our lunch stop had walls that allowed tourists to write messages. The kids were eager to participate. The lunch had a set multi-course menu, and this was the day that Derek gave in and decided to try plain white rice, so that he wouldn't 'starve'. Karina and Lydia were adventurous and ate most things.
In Ho Chi Minh City, we also went on a tour of the city. We saw a lot of architecture built by the French in the 19th century, including the Central Post Office, designed by Gustave Eiffel and also saw the Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City.
We also explored the Reunification Palace, the former presidential palace of South Vietnam and a symbol of the country's tumultuous past. In 1975, the palace was stormed by Viet Cong tanks crashing through the gates (see a replica below) and the war officially ended. The South Vietnamese Army (who the USA supported for many years) was officially defeated, and Vietnam became a united communist country. Today there are 5 communist countries in the world: China, Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, North Korea. The former presidential palace of South Vietnam is now a museum as the capital of the unified country is in Hanoi.
We got to see how the palace was decorated and go through the various rooms. I enjoyed seeing the 1960's architecture and decor. We saw how the South Vietnam government worked with the Americans as well.
Pictured is a helicopter pad above the palace with one of the American Huey helicopters that was used for evacuations at the end of the war. One of the stories we learned about was when the building sustained an air assault by two pilots of the South Vietnamese military who attempted to assassinate the president in 1962 because they were upset with some of the president's policies and felt he wasn't doing enough to fight the Viet Cong. Ironically, it seemed that these pilots were portrayed as heroes now by the Vietnamese communist government based on commemorating signage around this helicopter where two of their bombs landed.
A computer room in the bunker of the palace:
Later on, we walked around the city by ourselves two nights in a row. We also went to an indoor tourist market. In retrospect, I wish I had haggled for and purchased even more items, because the prices in that market were very good. I did purchase a traditional Vietnamese lacquer painting. I wish we had spent more time buying some t-shirts and other souvenirs.
The next morning, we were off on a plane to Hanoi, in northern Vietnam.
No comments:
Post a Comment