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  • Day 5

    Vin Moc Tunnels

    April 23, 2015 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌫 28 °C

    So we got to the tunnels half soaked but the weather was fitting for us to more appreciate what it would have been like to live here. Damp, dark, cramped. Trench foot would have been terrible. They were deep down though so hidden from the horrors of American bombing. Very defensible. Being just on the north side of the Dmz this area would have been a crucial position for the viet cong. We ended up going off the standard tour guide path into the darkness, like we did in paradise cave in Phòng na, to get a better feel for the age and the reality of the place. A power cut would have meant total darkness. We turned our phone torches off for a few meters and our pace slowed and our arms came up in front of our faces. Could not see one thing. We came out of one of the sea facing entrances to more rain, and took a stroll to the shoreline to take a piss. Ended up noticing the largest washed up jellyfish I've ever seen in my life, even in all of Australia. It looked like it had been hit by a boat prop. We went to leave and trudged back through to the main museum area taking guidance from some local children, then stopped to watch a few documentary clips of the history of the tunnels. Apparently about 35 kids were born and a hundred more were schooled here. I forgot to mention the 55,000 dong instant noodles and the fuss we kicked up after having had enough people rip us off. Usually a decent noodle / rice dish was 30,000, with real shit, not plastic no nutrient instant string. Blah. It was raining and we were mardy. After regrouping we made our way onwards to Hue, still in the rain.Read more