We spent 4 days in Ho Chi Minh City, and for one of those days, we visited the Cu Chi tunnels from the Vietnamese war (1955-1975).
We didn't want to go where the all the tourists were, so we chose to go to the less touristy part of the tunnels. We drove 1 hour and 45 minutes to get there- but it was definitely worth it! The tickets to get in were 5 dollars (Canadian) for adults and 3 for 5 dollars for kids. You can go in at any time in the day and it will be a maximum wait of ~10 minutes for a guide. Our group was about 9 people and we got an English guide... a Vietnamese man who spoke relatively well in English. The tour was about 1 hour and we got to go inside the tunnels.
The tunnels were built over a 10-year period by the North Vietnamese army led by Ho Chi Minh. They were built in order to get close to the Americans during the war. The Americans dropped lots of bombs when the North Vietnamese Army was far away from the American Army but once the North Vietnamese Army got close to the Americans (in secret) on their own territory, they could ambush them quickly and the Americans wouldn't have time to use bombs.
The North Vietnamese guerillas dug at night and went underground in the day. They dug the tunnels in the deep jungle on enemy territory. When they did move or walk above ground, they made shoes that had backwards soles, so their footprints looked like they were walking the other way!
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The entrance is covered with leaves... |
Nowadays, with all of the tourists, they have new entrances which were specifically built to accommodate larger people.
Still, the tunnels were pretty tiny inside.
There were 3 levels of tunnels. The deepest one was only tunnels, the middle one was for sleeping, cooking and fighting, and the top one was only for fighting.
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| A model displaying the way the tunnels were built |
On the top level of the tunnel, they built tiny slits for shooting the enemy as they walked by.
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| That's where the tip of the gun went
The tunnels go for 250 kilometers!!!!!! Imagine having all your guns and gear with you. You have to fit into the tunnel... You pass your bags down. Then you get in... You're in... You need light, you light a candle. Now you walk.
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| The lamps were put in after the war for tourists |
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Even Parker couldn't stand up straight in the tunnels |
There were also rooms- kitchens, hospitals, sleeping rooms, meeting rooms and many more!
When the army cooked, they made a special tunnel for the smoke. The smoke went through the tunnel and came up 50 meters away from where they were cooking! They timed the cooking with the morning fog so that the smoke blended in so the Americans would not suspect anything.
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| One of the kitchens |
As you can see, they took the roof off to make it safer for tourists. They also put concrete in the tunnels for reinforcement.
At the Cu Chi Tunnels, they also had replicas of different traps the guerillas used. They were very frightening!!!
There were also old American planes and helicopters that you could climb on and take pictures of. It was very strange seeing vehicles that had actually been used in war.
After visiting the tunnels, I was amazed by the ideas the North Vietnamese Army had- the ideas that helped them win the war. I can't believe how complex the tunnels were but, most importantly, how small they were!
Great Post Chelsea! Old timers like me who were around during the Vietnam war remember the many stories about the Viet Cong tunnels. However, we never knew just how small and cramped they were for the soldiers who had to use them. It must have been a very difficult way to fight.
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling us about them. Pop.
Awesome reporting Chelsea. Now I'm going to look up how far back in time people began to dig out tunnels for warfare. I know it's still done today in places war is occuring. I wonder who is attributed as being the first people to create tunnels. Thx for the pics and stories about the bunkers Chelsea!
ReplyDeleteYou got me interested to look up about the use if tunnels in warfare. Apparently tunnels began before medieval times, before the 15th century: "Prior to this, military engineers would dig tunnels up to or under castle walls or city fortifications." Apparently the Vietnamese military created the most sophisticated tunnels in all of history with living quarters, hospitals, etc. I never knew any of this before I read your post Chelsea. Thanks to you guys, I'm not just entertained but I am learning from you. Way cool and, thank you Chelsea, Nathan, Parker, mom and dad.
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