Cu Chi Tunnel Complex

From the Cao Dai Temple, we stopped by a local eatery for lunch. Then, it is another one and a half hour drive to the Cu Chi Tunnel Complex.

The Cu Chi Tunnel Complex is an elaborate series of tunnels dug by the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. It has now been preserved and has become a popular tourist attraction. According to “Mr. Skinny”, bombs dropped by the Americans during the Vietnam War turned the fertile land of the Cu Chi District to become a wasteland. The Vietnamese then started to plant peanuts to let the soil breath again, and bamboo and a certain type of tree that I forgot for water retention. Now, they were already able to rehabilitate the place. The entrance fee is pegged at VND80,000.00.

Jackfruit

Our group was then herded into a hut whose walls were built underground. It seems like an underground conference room. There, we were made to watch a film about the history of the tunnels and its importance to the Vietnamese during the war. The film is clearly anti-USA, so it is not uncommon that Americans may air out reactions thereafter.

A Vietnamese dressed in combat uniform then shows how the Cu Chi people were able to enter the tunnel and camouflage the entrance in the process. At the self-made weapons gallery and the military workshop, different types of traps and improvised weapons made from bamboo and metal scraps from unexploded ordnance show the ingenuity of the Vietnamese.

Camouflage the wooden plank with leaves

down he goes

he fits

don't look up

oooppss, he's gone

it's Kuya Richard's turn

Tiger Trap

Mr. Skinny

Hunny

Ouch! I just couldn't imagine how it feels to step on that thing.

There is also an area where rice paper and rice wine, as well as the footwear/slippers used by the Vietnamese during the war are made. It is really amusing that the slippers were made in such a way that they are able to wear them backwards. This way, the Viet Cong were able to cover their tracks since trackers will eventually lose their way in pursuing them.

Slipper Man

Visitors are then invited to crawl around in one part of the tunnel system. The shortest route would be 50 meters and the longest about 200 meters. It really is hard to enter the tunnels as it gets cramped with people. The air inside is so damped thereby making the atmosphere so hot. Nonetheless, crawling in the dark is still one great experience.

We were then led to the mess hall to enjoy a simple meal that Viet Cong fighters usually eat during the war, tapioca (cassava) dipped in sugar mixed with grounded peanuts and a hot tea.

Other attractions include souvenir shops, and a shooting range where visitors can fire a number of assault rifles that became popular during the Vietnam War, such as the M-16, the AK-47, and the M-60 machine gun.