Cu Chi Tunnels

We were supposed to take a scooter tour around all the districts of Saigon yesterday, but after our tour guide was late by a half hour, we learned that he was in an accident (didnt get hurt, but scooter didnt make it) so we cancelled and just checked more on foot. Today, we took a tour to see the Cu Chi Tunnels. It was eye-opening to hear a local perspective of the war and see how they fought the Americans and their allies without nearly the amount of artillery as they had. The massive tunnels (hundreds of kilometers and multiple levels in some areas) were used for in and out strategies. As the America's waited for the Vietnamese to come back out, they would come out another hole and shoot them from behind, or wait in total darkness in the tunnel for them to enter. Since they couldn't see, they would smell and listen. The Americans wore leather combat boots, and the Vietnamese wore rubber sandles. When they smelt the wet leather and they would shoot. The bulk of the Vietnamese were not fighting to support the communists they were fighting to protect their families from the attacks. It was a horrible war with many casualties. The Cu Chi plant, for which the tunnels in this area were named after, is also poisonous. 20 small leaves crushed up, and the liquid added to a drink, and you would die from a heart attack in 20- 30 minutes. I went went down a hole used for sneak attacks, Chris and I shot AK-47 riffles, we crawled through an actual tunnel (which isn't easy and they are maximum about 3' high - tougher for bigger Americans), saw the different types of traps they used to mame soldiers and then kill them. We made a stop to a disabilities facility (families affected by the agent orange chemicals that were used to spray the jungles), where they made beautiful duck shell and sea shell art - some pieces took months to finish. Stopped at a local rural restaurant for a late lunch, which was great. The men's washroom was something new to me - outdoorsRead more