Thursday, we signed up for a half-day tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, the famous tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Located about 70kms outside of Ho Chi Minh City, it took about two hours to get to the tunnels. I was amazed by the drive though, it seemed to take forever to get out of the city but then all of a sudden we were surrounded by nature.
(Sidenote: Vietnamese rely on their car/bike horns rather than their blinkers. Motorbikes seriously just weave in and out of traffic. It’s insane but I loved it.)
When we arrived at the tunnels, we were taken to an ‘underground’ room- it was a huge square hole, around 10-12 feet deep, and contained a diagram of a tunnel as well a map of the surrounding area. The tunnels that we used during the war were over 200km long and connect Cambodia and Vietnam, which was how the Viet Cong got their supplies. In addition, the Viet Cong lived in these tunnels for months on end. There were 3 or 4 different levels of the tunnels, a well for water and some tunnels that connected to the Saigon River.
Map of the surrounding area- HCMC is in the bottom right corner, Cu Chi Tunnels are in the red area, Cambodia is in the top left corner.
Tunnel Diagram. You can see the water well on the left side, the Saigon River on the right, various bunkers in the middle of the picture (1st level of tunnels) and various connecting tunnels throughout the rest of the ground.
Throughout the tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, we were able to see and experience different techniques used by the Viet Cong. Some included manholes, various traps and camouflage things. There was also a shooting range that allowed tourists to use some of the guns used during the war, but I opted out of that.
Guns that we used during the war. You could try them out in the shooting range. Sorry the picture isn't too clear.
Before leaving, we were able to go through a tunnel. Although this tunnel had been made larger for tourists, it was still extremely small. I have no idea how people lived in them for so long. Our group started off heading down one by one, following the local guide but we slowly got spread out- you would have never known though since our voices carried and it sounded like people were right in front of you even when they were a good 30 feet ahead of you. I took a video of my experience in the tunnel, but it’s mainly dark and then towards the end Kat and I were taking each other’s picture so my camera was being handed around, but just for kicks…
Inside the tunnel!
After we got out of the tunnel, we made our way back to Ho Chi Minh City. We went back to the Ben Thanh Market and got some souvenirs and gifts before heading back to our hostel. We grabbed a quick dinner at a restaurant nearby, nothing too exciting. And then packed up and got ready to leave for Hanoi on Friday.
And here are some pictures of the hostel we stayed at...
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