Visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels

It’s our last Sunday here in Saigon and we have not yet been to Cu Chi Tunnels, one of the most famous (and tourist-filled) attraction here, in South Vietnam. After some last-minute planning, we finally decide on a tour company that would take us to the tunnels and back. We got to District 1 with a couple hours to spend, so the only sensible thing to do is try out a Vietnamese McDonalds! If you didn’t know, McDonalds in different countries has varying menus that cater to the local population (for example, the McDonalds in India doesn’t serve beef!). I got a Spicy McChicken on rice, which comes out exactly as it sounds like—a Spicy McChicken patty and a side of rice.

Spicy McChicken on Rice

We then got on a van and headed to the tunnels. It’s just us and the tour guide who is pretty funny and knows a lot about the area. After about a 90-minute drive, we arrive and head to the attraction site. The Cu Chi tunnels are a set of tunnel networks right outside Ho Chi Minh City that were used by the Viet Cong (North Vietnam soldiers) during the war. The tunnels were used for everything – hiding, fighting, communicating, living, etc. One of the first things we saw was the entrances to the tunnels. These trap doors were completely camouflaged on the forest floor and were definitely a squeeze to get into. We also see a multitude of traps employed by the soldiers to use on the Americans—generally a form of swinging trap door that led into a pit of spikes. I could only imagine how painful it would be to fall into one of those. We also witnessed the ingenuity of the Viet Cong as they learned how to problem solve disguising their tunnel vents from American soldiers and dogs. We also got to go in one of the tunnels for about 1000 meters. The tunnels were tiny—maybe only about three feet in height; and they were enlarged for tourists! Think about having to live in this vast network of cramped passageways with minimum air or light, all while fighting for your life. These tunnels not only contained bunkers for the soldiers, but also hospitals, gun production sites, kitchens, weapon and food caches.

In all. the Cu Chi tunnels site has been pretty developed for the ease of the tourists, but it still provided a good picture of the resourcefulness of the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Itwas pretty cool to see firsthand the experiences the war put men, women, and children through; truly engaged learning at its finest! — Nate