Tunnel of Fear

April 14: Cu Chi

Our second tour was to the Cu Chi tunnels. I didn't know much about the tunnels beforehand. I just heard that they were a must-see while in HCMC. And they turned out to be fascinating.

The Cu Chi tunnels were 75 miles of tunnels outside of Saigon. They played a significant role in North Vietnam winning the war - and I can see why. The Viet Cong lived in this elaborate system of tunnels that included kitchens, hospitals, supply rooms, and living quarters. I can't even imagine what that was like.

Tunnel entrances were small and camouflaged. Air holes were disguised and scattered throughout the woods.

Smoke from the kitchen fires was diverted yards away to prevent discovery (You can see the smoke dispersed through the leaves in the top picture.

Tunnel Rats

Once the US discovered the tunnels, they would send volunteer forces, called "tunnel rats," into the tunnels. The tunnels were very small, dark, and hot, and there were a lot of booby traps. I can't imagine the amount of courage someone had to have to volunteer to go into these tunnels. Here is a video I found from a 1985 interview with some of the tunnel rats.

There was a display of lots of different types of booby traps, both big and small. The doors at the tunnel entrances were rigged with land mines. 

Into the Tunnels

After walking around and viewing the above ground sites, it was time to venture into the tunnels. There are two sections that have been widened to accommodate the larger frames of Western tourists - but they are still pretty tight. Our guide told us we could go 20 meters or 40 meters.

I never considered myself claustrophobic until I went into the tunnels. When the couple in front of me stopped to start looking through their bag for something, I'm afraid I lost my cool just a bit. Crouched down in the small, hot, dark tunnel, I asked them (as nicely as I could given the circumstances) to keep moving as I was starting to freak out. Then I just kept repeating, "20 meters" as I crawled to the other side. Needless to say, I opted not to go 40 meters.

Me descending into the tunnel (you can already see the fear forming on my face).
Maynard coming out the other end.
Maynard took the picture of the tunnel itself - I was too focused on getting out to stop for pictures.

Here's a blog with a good video of some Australian tourists going through the tunnel. (Which - btw - Australia was fighting in Vietnam too, but you don't see much about their role while there.)

Like a Crazy Batch of Devils

At the end of our visit, we stopped to watch the "educational" video. We were warned that some may see it as propaganda - which was an understatement. The dated video starts with a sweet-sounding Vietnamese woman speaking in English describing how calm and peaceful Cu Chi was. The tone changes when she describes how the Americans came in "like a crazy batch of devils" and started bombing everything. She then lists everything - included "pots and pans." The video was so over the top that it was almost funny.

Towards the end the video shows the hero "American killers," which includes young girls. This part was not so funny.

If you want to hear for yourself, I found the audio on this blog.

Back to the Future

We ended our day back in modern Vietnam by the pool, where we are all friends again.

The Cu Chi tunnels were definitely interesting. Some of the tour was a bit theme-parkish, but that was all wiped away when I entered the tunnel. You really start to get a sense of how horrible the war must have been for both sides - and I think that's an important lesson for future generations.